JOHNSTON – A commercial building that contains the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Johnston was sold recently for $10.1 million, according to public records.
The 20,560-square-foot office building at 1543 Atwood Ave. was sold earlier this fall by Atwood Development LLC, a Rhode Island-based limited liability company, and it was purchased by a group that includes a former mayor of Providence, according to the warranty deed, a public record documenting the sale.
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Joseph R. Paolino Jr., a former Providence mayor and current managing partner of Paolino Properties LP, together with Jennifer Coia, was granted a 27.3% interest in the sale as trustees of the Joseph R. Paolino Jr. Family Cranston Trust. The same amount was granted to Donna Paolino together with Coia as trustees of the Donna M. Paolino Urcioli Family Cranston Trust. Charles Montague Realty LLC was granted a 38.8% interest, while the remainder went to Christina Paolino.
Joseph Paolino said the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is the only tenant of 1543 Atwood, and he hopes the agency remains a long-term occupant of the building.
“It’s just a real estate investment,” Paolino said. “We do a lot of business with the General Services Administration with several properties. … We sold some property and thought that would be a good investment. The town of Johnston is a very good town to invest in.”
Paolino said the U.S. Small Business Administration and other government agencies are also his tenants at the Federal Building at 380 Westminster St. in downtown Providence, which his company bought in an auction for $9.3 million in 2018.
Corporate filings show that Atwood Development is managed by G. Alfred Calcagni Jr., vice president of Calson Construction Corp.
Atwood Development owned the 1543 Atwood Ave. property since 2000, eight years before the two-story office building was constructed on the nearly 2-acre lot, according to the city’s online property tax evaluation database.
The office building features a flat roof and a brick-and-masonry exterior. The property’s parking lot spans 28,000 square feet, according to the database.
The property was most recently valued by town assessors in 2018 as being worth $1.4 million, according to the town’s online property tax evaluation database.
The sale of the property was negotiated by the Boston office of real estate firm Marcus & Millichap, according to the firm, which expects the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to renew a short-term lease that’s currently in place.
“This was such a unique opportunity in the marketplace given that it was [an] LEED certified, build-to-suit project with a lease backed by the U.S. government,” said Seth Richard, investment specialist for Marcus & Millichap. “The term of the lease was short, but these facilities typically renew at a very high rate. And with the recent tenant expansion within the building, it was clear how important this regional facility is.”
Marc Larocque is a PBN contributing writer.
