When 500 Rhode Island School of Design students move into their new digs at 15 Westminster St. this fall, it will signify the end of a multimillion-dollar project to light a once dark and obsolete office building and presumably bring new life to Providence’s Financial District.
“Now we’re going to have a mass of people downtown 24-7 most of the year,” said Thomas O. Sweeney, vice president of Rodman Real Estate in Providence. “We’re going to start seeing them supporting retail similar to what you see around the Johnson & Wales (University) campus, and in the first floor spaces along Weybosset and Westminster. This also takes a big chunk of space off the market.”
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The building at 15 Westminster St. is the smaller half of a $48 million deal. Gilbane Properties, a subsidiary of Gilbane Inc., purchased 15 Westminster St. and One Financial Plaza in 2003. Gilbane sold the taller office building earlier this month.
Gilbane is supervising and financing the redevelopment work for the new RISD apartments. The school and the company have entered into a development agreement which includes a 99-year lease with an option to buy, which saves institutions money in the long-term, said Robert Gilbane, president of Gilbane Properties.
“Having 500 RISD students on this side of the river is great,” said Joshua Miller, president of the Downtown Merchants Association and owner of Trinity Brewhouse and the Hot Club. “I view college-age people and everything they bring with them as positive. Adding places for 500 students to live versus them living in apartments all over the city is positive as well.”
But Bob Burke, owner of the restaurant Pot au Feu, said the move will have an adverse impact that has already begun with other schools expanding downtown.
“Students will occupy the building eight months out of the year, versus the 12 months that professionals were occupying it,” he said. “I’m concerned because students on a beer, pizza and jeans budget are replacing professionals with larger disposable incomes.”
