NY Developers Bought a Prov Office Building Last Fall, Now Asking RI for Monies to Convert It
GoLocalProv Business Team
NY Developers Bought a Prov Office Building Last Fall, Now Asking RI for Monies to Convert It
The Lauderdale Building was sold to Mendell’s limited liability corporation, 136 Westminster Street, LLC, for $2,350,000.
Today, the Christian Science Reading Room is one of the remaining tenants. Last summer, Franklin Rogers Ltd., a downtown men's clothing store closed. It was a mainstay to buy a suit or tuxedos for a wedding and had been the last remaining men’s store in the Financial District closed.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe building is located next to the Arcade and directly across from the Superman Building.
On Monday afternoon, the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation will consider the request for subsidies.
According to the Commerce Corp's agenda, “The company is undertaking an adaptive reuse of a historic office and retail building. The completed project will consist of 24 market-rate apartments and 3 commercial spaces located at 136 Westminster Street in Providence.”
Eric Edelman, another partner in the project and Mendell's son-in-law, told GoLocal, "I grew up just over the border in Lakeville, Massachusetts, and have been visiting Providence my whole life, especially since my brother, a creative, moved here 16 years ago. I specialize in restoring historic properties. After getting my start converting an 18th-century icebox car factory in New York into apartments, I was eager to start doing projects in Providence because of its beautiful historic buildings and proximity to my family."
Financing Request for the State
"Given the cost of repairing the structural issues and following the National Parks Service's standards for restoration, this project would not be possible without support from RI Commerce," he added.
The National Park Service manages the National Register of Historic Places, which is the official list of historic buildings, districts, sites, structures, and objects in the United States that are worth preserving.
According to Edelman, "The grant request is for $730,000. The grant is structured such that if we sell the project within five years we have to repay the entire grant amount plus 6% annual interest on the money. Receipt of funds from the grant is contingent upon completing the project by 2026. Project cost was $10.9 million at the time we applied back in Summer 2023 and will now likely be higher due to the rise in interest rates."
"This is our first historic redevelopment project in Providence. We hope to do several more office-to-residential conversions of historic buildings in Providence once we complete this project," added Edelman.
"There are 3 retail spaces on the ground floor of the building, two of which are vacant. We're in talks with local restaurant operators and retail tenants to lease the spaces. The two vacant spaces can be combined or leased separately. Prior to any tenants moving in, we'll be renovating the retail spaces. Our hope is that we can bring in tenants that will make the area more attractive for residents living downtown," said Edelman.
Latest Office Building to Be Converted
If successful, the transformation of the Lauderdale building from office usage to residential is just one of many in the Financial District that have been converted.
In recent years, the Arcade was redeveloped from retail on the upper floors into micro-apartments, Paolino Properties transformed the Case-Mead into apartments, and the Custom House Building was converted into condos.
Now pending is the Superman Building, which has been vacant for more than a decade and now appears to need upwards of $100 million to $200 million in additional financing. However, Governor Dan McKee announced in October that he was opposed to any more public funds for the Superman Building.
To date, officials have already pledged nearly $100 million in subsidies in federal and state historic tax credits, tax cuts and cash subsidies to help fund the Superman Building's conversion to apartments.