Four years ago, the departure of Dassault Systèmes from the Rising Sun Mills for a suburban site did more than leave a vast opening in the former textile mill.
It required a fresh approach to remarket the Providence space, adapting the home of a single tenant to one that could accommodate a mix of companies representing multiple industries.
That plan has picked up pace in the last two years, with architectural changes to the building to make it better-suited to multiple companies. Interior space has been changed and refitted to accommodate specific needs of newly arrived companies.
It’s a second life for the revitalized Rising Sun Mills, which has a history in the city that dates to the post-Colonial era.
The 313,000-square-foot property, at 166 Valley St., is a mixed-use complex with 135 residential units and 130,000 square feet of commercial space.
The residential apartments remain near-fully leased, as they have since the building was refurbished in 2004.
Now, the commercial space is about 70 percent occupied, according to lease agents at Armory Management Co., which manages the property, and whose development arm, the Armory Revival Co., was a partner in the original $45 million revitalization.
“You’re close to the downtown. You’re close to the West Side,” said Seth Zeren, director of development for Armory Management. “It’s easy for you to hire and recruit staff. We have ample parking. We don’t charge extra for it.”
When Dassault pulled out, leaving for newly revitalized office space in Johnston, it left a 96,000-square-foot vacancy at Rising Sun, according to Zeren.
That opening has since been occupied by a multitude of tenants. The most recent arrivals include EpiVax Inc., a biotech company that develops vaccines, GZA Geo Environmental Inc., a geotechnical engineering firm, and Bisbano + Associates Inc., an architectural firm.
Several companies in the education and ed-tech industries have moved, or plan to move, into the buildings. Volute, a 3-year-old company that has a platform that personalizes executive education, has relocated from Lincoln.
Next spring, the nonprofit Teach For America Rhode Island will relocate from Federal Hill to Rising Sun, an anchor in the Olneyville neighborhood.
By next year, given a few leases now in the works, Armory expects the commercial space in the mills will be 85 percent filled.
What’s helped in the transition is an improved economy, which has allowed several of the companies to expand and seek new space to allow more room, as well as new investments in the building itself.
The signature atrium, a lobby created under Dassault that formed a new interior space from a former alley between buildings, will be rejuvenated over the next several months with more modern furnishings and a slightly altered layout.
The area newly occupied by Bisbano + Associates was a former gym, now converted smartly to a footprint that includes a private conference room, a reception area and kitchen, and a series of shared and private work spaces.
[caption id="attachment_235382" align="alignleft" width="242"]
NEW SPACE: Pictured is one of the recently redone spaces at Rising Sun Mills on Valley Street in Providence for biotech company EpiVax, which moved in June to the newly renovated complex from the Jewelry District.
/ PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO[/caption]
The traditional cubicles of the Dassault era have been removed, replaced with more-streamlined, individual work spaces and an oblong-shaped conference table. A bold color on a partition wall marks the beginning of a private office area.
On a recent afternoon, natural light streamed into the offices through massive windows facing the Woonasquatucket River and a bike path.
What attracted the architects to Rising Sun? “These windows and ceiling heights,” said Amy Goto, a senior designer.
The Bisbano firm moved in June from the Fox Point neighborhood on the East Side of Providence, leaving a space at Corliss Landing that it had occupied for more than 20 years. Once it outgrew the space, the company looked at alternates within the city.
“As we started to grow over the past three or four years, we outgrew our primary space and we sublet an additional space about three or four doors down,” Goto said. “It just wasn’t very practical.”
The mill has ample, free parking, and offers the space and atmosphere that works for the company, she said, adding, “We liked the vibe [here] and the atrium.”
In another mill building across the glass atrium, EpiVax has settled into its new headquarters. The company moved from the Jewelry District into its Rising Sun suite in June.
The buildout includes a full kitchen, an open, living room-like area that has several fabric-covered couches grouped around a coffee table and a wall-mounted screen. Another area, which used to have cubicles under Dassault, has been transformed into a wet lab.
Mark Van Noppen, vice president and managing director of the Armory Revival Co., said what commercial tenants are conveying “loud and clear” is yes, they can find cheaper space on Jefferson Boulevard, in Warwick, or in other locations outside Providence, but they can’t recruit the employees they need, who want to live and work in the cities.
“I can’t find cool space and I can’t find people,” he said. “We have a company coming in from Middletown because they can’t recruit in Middletown.”
Young recruits, perhaps recently graduated from universities based in cities, want to live in the city near its amenities.
“They don’t want to take a 45-minute commute to work every day in Middletown, to work in an office park,” Zeren said. “It’s very hard to sell that today.”
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.
