Potential vote on Metacomet Golf Club redevelopment Friday

THE MARSHALL PROPERTIES plan for redeveloping Metacomet Golf Club would include retail, restaurants and townhouses, as well as a supermarket and homes. This is a rendering of the retail area. / COURTESY MARSHALL PROPERTIES
THE MARSHALL PROPERTIES plan for redeveloping Metacomet Golf Club would include retail, restaurants and townhouses, as well as a supermarket and homes. This is a rendering of the retail area. / COURTESY MARSHALL PROPERTIES

EAST PROVIDENCE – A public hearing and a potential vote on whether to rezone Metacomet Golf Club for mixed-use development will be held on Friday night. The meeting was shifted to East Providence High School’s auditorium to accommodate the expected crowd.

The rezoning proposal, by Marshall Properties, would also include adding the property to the East Providence Waterfront District, which would then oversee how the site is developed.

A walking trail beside Watchemoket Cove is shown in this rendering. / COURTESY MARSHALL PROPERTIES

The idea of development covering much of the historical golf course has infuriated many residents of the city, where the bright-green Keep Metacomet Green! signs are visible in many neighborhoods.

Candy Seel, a founder of the group, said she’s cautiously optimistic that a majority of the five-member City Council shares their concern. “They are people of integrity,” Seel said. “I think they’re going to do what’s best for the community.”

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In a recent community meeting, the development company’s representatives likened their plans, for a mixture of retail, restaurant and townhouse spaces, to what people may see at Mashpee Commons. That development, on Cape Cod, is highly regarded for bringing homes and retail together in a manner like a traditional New England village.

“This has a Main Street feel,” said Matt Smith, a representative of Bohler Engineering, speaking on behalf of Marshall Properties.

The development company, based in Pawtucket, has the Metacomet Golf Club site under contract. The principals have said several times they intend to move forward with the purchase, whether or not the city rezones the site.

Although it is classified as open space, the property can be redeveloped now, through the city’s Planning Board, for more-intensive uses, according to the development team.

Its proposal for the redevelopment of the course would involve a series of areas, developed into a mix of townhouses, retail, a grocery store and restaurants.

William Conley Jr., an attorney and a state senator, who recently lost his bid for reelection at the primary election, has said the property could yield $10 million in tax benefits for the city at full buildout.

The plan also includes dedicated open space for the public, he said, including hiking trails and a publicly accessible wildlife preserve.

“Nothing like it, perhaps in the state, exists,” he said.

The City Council meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Friday. In addition to providing space at the East Providence High School, for up to 125 people, the meeting will be held on the Zoom platform.

Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at MacDonald@PBN.com.

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