PROVIDENCE – R.I. Secretary of Housing Stefan Pryor on Monday confirmed the $220 million conversion of the “Superman” building at 111 Westminster St., also known as the Industrial National Bank Building, may require additional funding above and beyond what has already been secured.
After several delays, owner and developer High Rock Westminster LLC began the project in October 2023, a $25 million initial phase led by Consigni Construction Co. toward the redevelopment of the 428-feet-tall skyscraper that has sat vacant for more than a decade.
Pryor told The Boston Globe this past weekend that
the housing department's position on the building's financing hasn't shifted when he floated potential asks for federal funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“We at the state level, including R.I. Commerce, are continuing to dialogue with representatives of [High Rock Development],” he said. “Part of this discussion has been around exploring federal financing that has the potential to support the residential conversion."
Messages to the U.S. Department of Transportation press office were not immediately returned. Also, Pryor declined to comment to PBN over whether the project could advance without additional subsidies.
The plan calls for 300 residential apartments, with 20% deed restricted, 8,000 square feet of commercial office space and 26,000 square feet of retail and event space.
Both the city and state have approved financial support, including $26 million in state incentives and contributions, a $10 million loan from the city’s Housing Trust and a $5 million city grant. There is also bridge financing from the Rhode Island Foundation and millions in federal tax credits.
The Providence City Council also approved a 30-year tax stabilization agreement which is projected to save High Rock $29 million in property taxes.
Mayor Brett P. Smiley spokesperson Josh Estrella said the city was "encouraged" by the ongoing work at the site and remained “entirely supportive and interested in the success of this project,” but has not been asked by the developer to commit any additional funding "outside the originally approved dollars."
In January the Providence Preservation Society included the Industrial Trust Co. Building for the tenth consecutive year in its annual list of endangered properties, adding in a press release the organization is optimistic that the Superman building’s “period of precarity may finally be coming to a close.”
The revelation the project could require additional resources was followed by criticism from some public officials steadfastly against the allocation of public dollars and tax breaks without greater affordable housing mandates.
Rep. Enrique Sanchez, D-Providence, on Monday said the absence of “real affordable housing” units in the plan for a city facing a critical housing shortage was "absurd."
"They have no shame," he said.
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com
