RISD leases Moshassuck Square Apts.

BUILT IN THE MID-1970s, the Moshassuck Square Apartments were designed by architect William Warner. /
BUILT IN THE MID-1970s, the Moshassuck Square Apartments were designed by architect William Warner. /

PROVIDENCE – The Mount Vernon Co. today announced that the Rhode Island School of Design has signed a long-term master lease on the Moshassuck Square Apartments.
The Boston-based property-management company said its current tenants at the 122-unit complex will not be displaced, but their leases will not be renewed. The transition to RISD tenancy is expected to take about one year.
“Having a central location to consolidate our students’ off-campus housing requirements will be a great asset to them,” said RISD President Roger Mandle, adding that the deal “will relieve housing pressure in the College Hill neighborhood and in other parts of the city.”
The lease is “a win-win agreement that is also a win for the City of Providence,” said Mayor David N. Cicilline. “It alleviates a housing shortage for RISD students and assures full, long-term occupancy of the Moshassuck Square Apartments, while also guaranteeing that the property remains on the tax rolls.
The apartment complex, at Charles and North Main streets, was the first major urban project of architect William Warner. It was built in the mid-1970s, in sections divided by the Moshassuck River and linked by a wooden bridge.
The Mount Vernon Co. bought the landmark property in March for $10 million, as the first step in what Bruce A. Percelay, the company’s founder and chairman, said would be a “major expansion” into the Providence market. The company has begun an extensive upgrade it says will return the complex “to its original condition.”
The Mount Vernon Co. Inc., founded in 1987 by Bruce A. Percelay, owns and manages Boston-area properties valued at $200 million, and has been named the region’s best landlord by Boston Magazine. To learn more, visit www.mvernon.com.

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