PROVIDENCE – The first-floor renovations underway at the former Fleet Center, purchased by O’Connor Capital Partners in 2006, are intended to help establish its new “100 Westminster” identity, the company said Tuesday.
The 20-story granite building, built in 1985, had also been known as “50 Kennedy Plaza.”
The “new exterior will bring greater visibility from the street to business service retailers and restaurants,” the company said of the redesign of the first floor. Cambridge, Mass.-based Cambridge Seven Associates Inc. designed the renovations.
The lobby houses retail tenants, including FedEx and Au Bon Pain restaurant and the renovation is an attempt to draw new tenants. Of the 19,240 square feet of retail space, 7,372 square feet is vacant, the company said.
“O’Connor Capital Partners’ major objective with the lobby upgrade is to provide a first-class corporate environment,” said property manager MPM LLC President John J. Macliver, in a statement this week. “OCP is creating distinct identities for both the 100 Westminster office lobby and the street-level retail stores while solidifying the position of 100 Westminster as the most convenient and desirable office location in Providence.
Altogether, about 63,000 square feet of the about 360,000-square-foot building is vacant and O’Connor Capital hopes new tenants will be drawn by the upgraded lobby. Vision 3 Architects has been hired to custom design office space.
O’Connor Capital purchased the building from Bank of America in November 2006 for $58 million, according to the Providence Assessor’s Office.
O’Connor Capital Partners Inc., based in New York City, has opened a Providence office at 100 Westminster. More information about the company can be found at www.oconnorcp.com.
