Rocky Point developer plans housing near park

Where the Corkscrew, Freefall and Log Flume rides once entertained countless Rhode Islanders, single-family housing, well-placed hedges and a public park with a Narragansett Bay view will take shape on 126 acres that were once home to Rocky Point Amusement Park.
The future development of the Warwick land was made official on Dec. 17, when Nicholas Cambio, principal of Universal Properties Group, was awarded an 85-acre parcel by a U.S. District Court order.
As the higher of two bidders, his Atlantic American Rocky Point Partners will pay $17,161,000 for the land. The purchase agreement is part of a deal inked with the City of Warwick, in which the remaining 41 coastal acres become a public park.
Although Cambio last week said his plans aren’t finalized – and that they likely won’t be until they are presented to the city after a late-March 2008 closing – there could be as many as 300 residential units built. Those could be single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums or apartments, he said in an interview with Providence Business News.
“It will definitely be residential and it could be a very small amount of retail – what I mean by that is small shops,” Cambio said, adding that a restaurant might fit into the plans. “We’re going to go about doing our due diligence to see what the market dictates.
Cambio will own most of the property – including roads, common areas, storm-water management – and the homeowners will own “limited common elements,” he said. They will own the land, but they will have limited options for changing that property, he said. Owners will have limits placed on paint colors that can be used and renovations to houses. Eyesores, such as unregistered cars, won’t be allowed on the properties, Cambio said.
The city closed on its portion at the end of December(READ MORE), but March 27 would be the earliest that Cambio cpi;d close his purchase, U.S. Small Business Administration District Director Mark S. Hayward said. Since 2000, the SBA has been court-appointed receiver for the parcel.
After years of financial struggles, the previous owner, Moneta Capital Corp., filed for bankruptcy and closed the amusement park in 1995. It had been an entertainment hub for Rhode Islanders since opening during the 1840s.
Cambio’s partners are in Tampa and Orlando, Fla.; New York City and Rochester, N.Y. and in Boston. They are financial backers and will likely not have onsite, day-to-day roles during development, Cambio said, adding, “They’re not from Rhode Island. I am.”
What makes the project unique is the partnership between the city and a developer, Cambio said. He’ll be working with the city to develop parts of its parcel, including the proposed parking lots.
“It’s really one piece of land owned by two owners, and the two owners have to have the same desires,” he said. “For example, on the public property, you can’t have the general public there 24-7. Certainly, they can be there seven days a week, but they can’t be there for all hours of the night.”
Cambio’s development won’t be a gated community, but it will use bushes and berms to separate it from the public land.
During the summer, when Cambio was seen as the leading candidate to develop the property, the city entered into discussions with him about the joint development of the two properties. Those discussions have started anew, said Mark Carruolo, planning director for the city.
“He would like to participate greatly in what we’re doing, in … supplying the city with some of the parking lots and paths [and] scenic overlooks,” Carruolo said. “So if we’re able to work out details with Cambio, we think that it would actually be a substantial improvement. The two, while they’re on separate properties, would be tied together very well.”
But the city hasn’t finalized its plans yet, either.
“The design isn’t finalized, but the city’s concept is to allow access, by way of foot, along the whole coastline of the property and to have at least one – perhaps two – public parking areas,” Carruolo said. •