State sells Johnston computer center

JOHNSTON – The state received permission last week to sell the property housing its computer data center to the owner of a car dealership.
The State Properties Committee granted the R.I. Department of Administration permission to enter into a purchase-and-sales agreement for the 17,757-square-foot building in Johnston. The building sits on a 2.28-acre site along Hartford Avenue (Route 6).
Michael Grieco, who is listed on state records as the president of Vantage Motor Sales Inc., Metro Chrysler Inc., MAG Motors Inc. and other auto businesses, submitted the highest bid at $1.4 million. The state said it plans to close the deal by June 30, the end of its fiscal year.
Originally constructed as an automobile dealership in 1960, the state purchased the property in 1981. Besides the data center, the Rhode Island Army National Guard uses part of the building as a Distance Learning Center.
The state is consolidating its information technology departments into the R.I. Division of Information Technology at 50 Service Road in Warwick and plans to lease the Johnston building until the Warwick facility is complete. &#8226