Providence commission approves redevelopment of closed Army Navy Surplus

TWO COUSINS LLC RECEIVED APPROVAL from the Providence City Plan Commission for plans to demolish the former Army Navy Surplus store and two other buildings at 279 Thayer St., to build a four-story, mixed-use apartment building in its place. / COURTESY PROVIDENCE CITY PLAN COMMISSION
TWO COUSINS LLC RECEIVED APPROVAL from the Providence City Plan Commission for plans to demolish the former Army Navy Surplus store and two other buildings at 279 Thayer St., to build a four-story, mixed-use apartment building in its place. / COURTESY PROVIDENCE CITY PLAN COMMISSION

PROVIDENCE – Plans to tear down three structures, including the former Army Navy Surplus store, which was in business for 40 years at 279 Thayer St., and to replace them with a new mixed-use apartment building were approved on Tuesday by the Providence City Plan Commission in a 5-0 vote.

Michael Boutros and his company Two Cousins LLC received approval from the commission for both a preliminary and master stage plan to demolish to construct a new four-story, 4,900-square-foot building with 12 market rate apartments and two ground floor commercial units in place of the former Army Navy Surplus store. The neighboring, closed down Sushi X-Press and Dojo smoke shop properties will also be torn down as part of the proposal.

One of the last remaining mom-and-pop stores in the normally bustling Thayer Street business area, The Army Navy Surplus store closed in late 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Everyone knows this as the site of the old Army Navy store,” said attorney Nicholas J. Hemond, who represented Two Cousins LLC at the meeting. “Hopefully, this will be a positive addition to the community on Thayer Street, and be consistent with the focus on pedestrian access, the environment, and the mixed-use character in the educational institutional overlay district.”

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The final design plans incorporated input from the community, after Two Cousins LLC held public outreach meetings with organizations like the College Hill Neighborhood Association. The facade of the proposed 49-foot tall building features an inverted “L” shape running up the side of the structure and under the roofline.

The City Plan Commission considers the proposal a “major land development project.”

Plans for the new building include six two-bedroom units and six three-bedroom units on the upper floors. 

Hemond said the plan is to rent the two-bedroom units for around $1,800 per month and the three-bedroom units for $2,400 per month.

The building will include three bicycle spaces in the basement for residents to use.

Part of the plans submitted include the removal of a tree out front and to replace it with a Japanese zelkova tree.

The City Plan Commission heard from the nonprofit Providence Preservation Society, which opposed the demolitions of the buildings on the site.

Commissioner Miguel Quezada also said he wasn’t happy about the demolitions of the buildings, which were constructed in 1900, 1925 and 1940, according to city property records. But there’s no zoning regulations or laws against doing so, he said.

“The demolition of any buildings is always something that kind of breaks my heart,” Quezada said. “But I wanted to make a point that these are not protected buildings in the area. There’s only so much we can do on that. They have a right to demolish these buildings and construct a new building.”

While the commission approved a master plan and preliminary plan for the project, approval of a final plan was delegated to Providence city planning staff.

According to public records, Two Cousins LLC bought the 279 Thayer St. properties for $2 million in December 2020 from Jesse Berman and Sheryl Berman.

Boutros is a Thayer Street business owner whose family operates the popular East Side Pockets falafel shop across the street, and he also owns the neighboring China Town on Thayer and the nearby Mike’s Calzones.

Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @LaRockPBN.

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