Pawtucket in pact with Depot developers

THE DEPOT, as townspeople call the former Pawtucket/Central Falls Station, straddles the railway line and the city line. The curve in the tracks makes it less desirable as a new commuter rail station,  a study found. /
THE DEPOT, as townspeople call the former Pawtucket/Central Falls Station, straddles the railway line and the city line. The curve in the tracks makes it less desirable as a new commuter rail station, a study found. /

PAWTUCKET – Mayor James E. Doyle today announced an agreement between the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency and SMPO/Warwick RICS LLC, the current owners of the former Pawtucket/Central Falls Station.

The historic railway station, known locally as the Depot, was closed in 1959. It later had served as a flea market and a Pentecostal church, but has been vacant for some time.

The west wing of the 14,000-square-foot building is in Central Falls. That city granted the developers a demolition permit late last year.

The work began in early December, but was halted when Pawtucket obtained a temporary restraining order. Representatives of the two cities, the developers and prospective tenant CVS/pharmacies later met to discuss options for the site.

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One suggestion was that, by narrowing Broad Street and its 12-foot-wide sidewalk, Memphis-based SMPO Properties could create the parking spaces needed to accommodate a CVS store without tearing down the Depot. Eliminating the street’s parking lane and narrowing the sidewalk could yield an extra 17 feet across the front of the property for parking, Pawtucket Planning Director Michael Cassidy said at the time. (READ MORE.)

In the new pact, the city agrees to abandon a portion of Broad Street adjacent to the property.

In exchange, the Depot’s owners agree to notify the City of Pawtucket in advance of any work, plans or proposals to weatherproof the building; to “make reasonable efforts to repair” demolished portions of the building; to refrain from any further demolition for five years; and to “use their best efforts to find suitable reuse” for the former train station.

Though a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail station has been proposed for Pawtucket (READ MORE.), planners have said the old station is positioned on a bend in the tracks, rather than the straightaway they would prefer, and lacks sufficient parking. “My client has worked hard to find clients to go into the building, but no retailers are willing,” SMPO lawyer Thomas Moses said this winter, adding: “Inside, there is a significant handicap-accessibility problem.”

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