PROVIDENCE – The Parcel 9 project in the I-195 Redevelopment District, a massive two-phase mixed use development proposed in Fox Point, is undergoing some significant revisions, including the addition of a child care center. But it’s still on pace to start construction in late 2022, developers said, so long as the project is awarded low-income housing tax credits in May next year.
“It’s on schedule and is being pursued by a strong and successful developer,” said Robert Davis, chairperson of the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission, reached by phone on Thursday. “This would be an important contribution to the community.”
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The I-195 Redevelopment District Commission on Wednesday approved a concept plan submitted with revisions from the Philadelphia-based Pennrose, the major rental housing developer that was selected last year by the commission to build 131 residential units with both market rate and affordable housing in two five-story, mixed use buildings on Parcel 9, the grassy one-acre plot located between Our Lady of The Rosary Church and the Interstate-195 off-ramp in Fox Point.
Those revisions to the design included refashioned first floor space to accommodate a child care facility, which was a major selling point for a competing proposal last year from the Providence-based ONE Neighborhood Builders, garnering it community support.
“That was an important issue for the neighborhood,” Davis said.
There’s also a new exterior and roofline composition for the buildings. Lastly, the plans included a restructured courtyard space that restricts vehicles from the back of the building, where the East Bay Bike Path passes through, now only allowing for pedestrian passage.
“Originally, the patio and courtyard also served as access to the parking,” Davis said. “That’s now totally a pedestrian area. It’s much safer because there’s no conflict with automobiles entering and exiting the building. That was a significant change.”
The I-195 Redevelopment District Commission, a quasi-public state agency that’s responsible for selling and developing 19 acres of former I-195 land, approved a $240,000 purchase agreement with Pennrose in April for the one-acre property.
Davis said he’s pleased with the progress of the roughly $48 million project, which includes $25 million for the proposed 66-unit “Fox Point West” building that would be come first, with a December 2022 target date to start construction, followed by the $23 million for the proposed “Fox Point East” building, as it’s been described in previous renderings. Pennrose is due to return to the commission for final approval of the project in the fall.
The west building would feature 1,200 square feet of retail on the ground floor along Alves Way, with a 25-space surface parking lot, developers said. Of those 66 units, 21 will be market rate, while the rest will be income-based affordable and workforce housing.
Now, the trajectory of the project hinges on the Pennrose’s application for low-income housing tax credits, which will be awarded next year by the R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp. However, failure to secure those tax credits will not derail the project, but would just delay it, Davis said.
“It’s a competitive process, you never know,” Davis said. “I think the proposal and the developer are generally well regarded, as I understand, by RI Housing. But one doesn’t know until the final decision. … I think it would be more of a delay (if tax credits are denied), than the project being no longer feasible.”
Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com.
