SEEKONK – In a special town meeting, Seekonk residents voted down a proposed rezoning of land adjacent to the town’s former Showcase Cinemas site, the Seekonk Town Clerk’s Office confirmed Tuesday.
Developer H. Charles Tapalian, who owns the 22-acre property, had proposed two separate uses for the site, a plan to convert the former cinema into a marijuana-processing and/or grow facility and the plan voted on Monday, which would have rezoned some of the property to accommodate construction of a multifamily housing unit. Tapalian originally proposed roughly 100 townhouses on the site but has since reportedly had interest in building 240 units, according to WJAR-TV NBC 10.
The undeveloped 15 acres that would have housed the multifamily units is currently zoned for single-family residences.
Tapalian, who is manager of Providence-based R.I. Seekonk Holdings LLC, purchased the Showcase property for $3.7 million in September, according to online land records with the Bristol County Registry of Deeds. David Tapalian is listed as the registered agent for the real estate company.
The property, at 800 Fall River Ave., has been vacant for a decade.