West Warwick complex ready to open its doors
One of the marquee projects of Rhode Island’s mill rehabilitation efforts is about ready to open its doors along the banks of the Pawtuxet River.
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Royal Mills, a West Warwick mill complex being redeveloped into apartments and condominiums by Baltimore-based Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, opened its leasing office for the first phase of the project, which is slated to come on line in August.
The first building to open, which is separate from the 265,000-square-foot centerpiece of the project, includes 91 apartments, said Quentin Chafee, development director for the project.
A spokeswoman for Struever Bros. described the traffic at the leasing office as “brisk,” with more than 130 people looking at the site since it opened this month. Several leases already have been signed, she said.
“The interest in Royal Mills since we opened our leasing doors has been intense,” Chafee said. “We have been very pleased with the turnout for the lofts and flats so far.”
In total, the $80 million mixed-use project will add 230 one- and two-bedroom apartments, luxury condominiums and a pub to West Warwick, bringing an estimated 550 new residents to the town once fully occupied.
Leasing is slated to begin this summer for the north end of Royal Mills, the main portion of the project, with 62 apartments; it is expected to be ready for move-in in October.
In September, Struever Bros. will open the pre-sale office for the 78 condominiums, Chafee said. Those units are slated to be priced between $200,000 and $400,000 when they open next spring.
The speed at which the project is being completed is impressive, he said. Announced in June 2004, the historic renovation is nearing completion.
“It’s racing along – the construction team has done a fabulous job. They’ve been very creative in how to maintain a pace, yet stay out of their own way because the space is very, very tight,” said Chafee, who is the brother of U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee.
The development, which is being built in the home of the “Fruit of the Loom” trademark, is one of the “few places in Rhode Island where you can wake up next to a waterfall, live in a building with 150 years of history and character and still be in downtown Providence in 15 minutes,” Chafee said.
Mill conversions, enabled in part because of programs such as the state’s 30-percent historic tax credit, have spurred recent development in West Warwick. Town officials have pushed for the redevelopment projects, which are taking large, unused buildings viewed as safety hazards and converting them to vibrant developments.
Several projects in other buildings are already under way, potentially adding 1,000 housing units to the town. Aside from Royal Mills, Struever is planning a $30 million project at the Crompton Mills, which is slated to support residential, office and retail use.
The Centreville Mill is also planned for a conversion, where the $15 million project is slated to turn the 12-acre site into an apartment complex. And while one of the town’s mills – the Phenix Mill – burned down in a four-alarm blaze last year, the developer has pledged to move along with a condominium project on the site.
