PROVIDENCE – The city’s tallest building has lost nearly half its value over the past three years, according to the revaluation prepared for Providence by a commercial contractor.
The value of the iconic Industrial Trust Building, known colloquially as the Superman Building, has been set at $15.4 million, a 46.9 percent decline from $29 million in 2013, according to latest revaluation for Providence by Vision Government Solutions.
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This sum is less than half of what owner High Rock Development paid for the 26-story structure in 2008. The Newton, Mass.-based company that purchased the art deco office tower at 111 Westminster St. also has invested more than $6 million in improvements since that time, according to a report prepared for the city of Providence.
In 2013, the last tenant, Bank of America Corp., vacated the building, which was built in 1927.
As the city’s Taskforce on Economic Development report predicted in 2014, when the Superman Building was worth $31 million, the building has significantly lost value with continued years of vacancy.
The owner, David Sweetser, principal of High Rock Development, could not be reached immediately for comment as to any new plan for the building. He last presented a proposal for redevelopment, a conversion to apartments, in 2013, which would have required $39 million in state aid and $10 million to $15 million in city assistance, according to the task force report. The plan withered for lack of public support.
What a surprise ….without a complete renovation exterior and interior it will stay vacant for many more years and
be an eyesore for years to come.