State leases 2 commercial facilities for alternate medical sites, third lease under negotiation

NORTH KINGSTOWN – Short-term leases have been authorized for two facilities in Rhode Island that are expected to be converted into field hospitals related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

This week, the State Properties Committee met in a teleconference and approved leases for a site at 100 Sockanosset Cross Road in Cranston and at 1530 Davisville Road in North Kingstown.

The combined rental fee for the two facilities authorized is $402,105 a month, according to the lease agreements.

A third location, the R.I. Convention Center, is still under negotiation. A final proposal for a lease has not yet been completed, according to Brenna McCabe, a spokeswoman for the R.I. Department of Administration.

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The three locations were identified for their potential to allow the state of Rhode Island to expand its hospital-bed capacity by more than 1,000 to accommodate an anticipated surge in patients afflicted with the COVID-19 respiratory disease. The sites will have to be retrofitted for this purpose. The state’s first priority is to accommodate additional patients within the existing hospitals, according to R.I. Director of Health Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott.

The property in North Kingstown, a former Lowe’s, will be leased to the state for $100,000 a month for up to six months. The site is in the Quonset Business Park and covers 146,000 square feet of a building. Utilities will be paid by the tenant, which is the R.I. Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Rhode Island National Guard.

The site at 100 Sockanosett Cross Road, the former Citizens Bank building, is owned by 100 Sockanosset LLC, a company associated with the Carpionato Group.

It will be leased for $302,105 per month for up to six months, according to the agreement. The lease begins on April 15 and will end on Sept. 30 but can be extended by the state with 30 days’ notice.

The facility is 302,105 square feet, which puts the lease cost at $1 per square foot per month.

For both sites, the cost of any improvements, or changes for the conversion to the medical facility use, will be borne by the state.

Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.