Investment in the Jewelry District of Providence has accelerated, fueled by large commercial and residential projects bringing new jobs and residents to the once-forlorn downtown neighborhood.
New construction now underway includes the first building in the Wexford Science & Technology development, which will be leased to Brown University, the Cambridge Innovation Center and other occupants.
Two new apartment buildings also are underway, including the River House apartments, which will provide housing for graduate and nursing students attending class in South Street Landing.
The activity has helped to attract new investment and leases throughout the district, once home to the costume-jewelry industry.
CB Richard Ellis New England compiles occupancy and lease statistics for the city’s eight commercial districts. The Jewelry District added 238,000 square feet of office space to its size, with completion of South Street Landing in 2017, for a total of 638,000 square feet of space. The district had a vacancy rate of 10 percent, lower than all but the South Main, Randall Square and Empire districts in Providence.
In all, the neighborhood absorbed 214,000 square feet of office space last year, which CBRE attributed to the full occupancy of South Street Landing.
Among the developments in the past year, according to commercial real estate brokers and public records:
• 10 Davol Square, at 82 Point St., sold in October for $5.06 million and is fully occupied. Brown sold the five-story building to Coastal Care Medical Management Realty LLC, which had previously leased the space for several years for its headquarters. Coastal Medical of Rhode Island is the state’s largest physician-owned primary care group. Its headquarters now occupy the third, fourth and fifth floors of the building and three-quarters of the second floor.
South Street Landing is open and fully occupied. The $220 million project has administrative offices for Brown, and the Nursing Education Center operated by Rhode Island College and University of Rhode Island.
• Up to 300 new apartments are under construction in the neighborhood. They are contained in a 30-apartment building nearing completion at 44 Hospital St. and at the River House apartments near South Street Landing, which will provide 300 luxury beds in studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom configurations for graduate and medical students. According to the River House website, occupancy is expected in fall 2019.
• The Wexford Innovation Center, the first building in what is envisioned to become a life science and tech district for the city, recently had a topping-off ceremony to mark the completion of structural steel. The $90 million building will include 191,000 square feet of office space and house the Cambridge Innovation Center and Brown’s School of Professional Studies. Johnson & Johnson, which is temporarily occupying space at 1 Ship St., will also move into the new building on completion. A Wexford-affiliated limited liability company purchased 1 Ship St. in July 2016 for $3.48 million before embarking on a renovation.
The presence of large and expanding employers in the medical and technology fields and construction of new housing have created intensifying demand for smaller commercial spaces within the district, according to brokers.
Coastal Medical had leased its space for years before purchasing. The location was important to them, according to Matt Fair, a broker who handled the building sale for Providence-based Hayes & Sherry Real Estate Services, a Cushman & Wakefield affiliate.
‘They wanted to be near these “best-in-class” institutions.’
MATT FAIR, Hayes & Sherry Real Estate Services broker
“The location was important because of the proximity to the major medical institutions,” he said. “It made sense. They wanted to be near these ‘best-in-class’ institutions.”
Overall, Fair said he’s seen more interest in the Jewelry District as the major projects have started to materialize in the neighborhood. “It’s people looking into the future and realizing that this is the center for medical and academic innovation in Providence.”
In late November, Olga’s Cup and Saucer, a fixture for breakfast and lunch in the neighborhood, sold for $660,000, according to deed records. The price did not include the sale of the business at 103 Point St., which was handled in a separate transaction.
New owner Joanne Chang said she and her husband own several investment properties in Providence, including multifamily housing, but this was the first investment in the Jewelry District. The arrival of the Cambridge Innovation Center, which is a shared work space, and construction of new housing were among the developments that attracted her interest, she said.
“Anyone who is even tangentially familiar with Providence commercial real estate understands there has been a lot of eyes looking at the Jewelry District,” she said. “A lot of people like us, who are looking for opportunities, know that this is an area that is going to grow in terms of foot traffic and visibility.”
