Newport Moves to Block Carpionato's $100M Development at Newport Grand Property for 6 Months

Newport Moves to Block Carpionato's $100M Development at Newport Grand Property for 6 Months

Newport City Council has moved forward with an ordinance that blocks the development of the proposed innovation center project proposed for the Carpionato Group — a project that was to replace the vacant Newport Grand and transform the North End of the City.

The ordinance received first passage and will need to approval for a second time in two weeks by the Council.

The six-month moratorium was passed by a 5-2 vote.

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David Martland, a Middletown attorney representing the Carpionato Group, warned the Council before the vote that the moratorium was illegal and targeted.

"A moratorium can only be implemented one year after the adoption of the City’s comprehensive plan by state law," said Martland.  In addition, Martland said when Carpionato Group initially met with city officials, the developer was told, “We want to see something bigger, we want to see a mixed-use.”

Martland warned that the city should be very cautious in that the passage of the moratorium would cause Carpionato to lose retail commitments and cause substantial loses and “irreparable damages.”

“It is millions in potential damages,” said Martland.

He asked, “Why is this not citywide?”

Split Opinions

The public who spoke at the Council meeting were evenly split with some residents calling for the delay due to the lack of planning by the city.

The Carpionato Group had unveiled their development plans in July for the former Newport Grand Casino property.

The project proposed to demolish the former Casino and create Newport North End -- a $100-million mixed-use development to serve as the amenity anchor for the Newport Resilience Innovation District

When completed, the project is slated to generate approximately $1.5 million in tax revenue to the City of Newport.

Newport North End will be the largest private development project in Newport to date, said the company.

Stephanie Schmidt charged, “Business doesn’t own Newport. Business does not rule Newport. Residents own Newport.”

But others, including the Newport County Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Director Erin Donovan-Boyle warned that the passage of the moratorium was an “anti-business” message and was using a “blunt instrument” to deal with a planning issue.

Michael Cullen, who lives in the Point section, criticized the City Council for their acceptance of political donations from developers and blasted the City Council, especially Jamie Bova for failure to respond to constituents. Bova and Cullen then sparred over the criticism.

One member of the City Council decried the proposed moratorium. Councilmember Lynn Ceglie asked, “Why would we stop a $100 million project. There is nothing there. No Jobs. Nothing.”

Councilmember Kate Leonard voted against a proposed last-minute amendment to the moratorium and voted for the passage. Leonard is an agent for the real estate firm Lila Delman — the firm is the listing agent for the former Newport Daily News building.  She refused to respond to questions about her dual role.

About Proposed Development

Carpionato's proposed new development will include two six-story hotels (182,604 sq. ft.) featuring a total of 260 rooms targeted to business travelers; two six-story apartment buildings (179,876 sq. ft) targeting younger workers and those seeking to downsize; as well as 164,548 square feet of innovative research and office space, as well as medical, retail and restaurant space. It is anticipated the project will create approximately 250 construction jobs, and approximately 500 full-time permanent jobs upon completion.

“Newport is seeking to create a national model for resilience and innovation that will attract new economy companies, and the people who will work there, and this project is designed to provide the amenities and infrastructure necessary to support that vision and the people working there,” said K. MacArthur Coates, President and CEO of Carpionato Group in July

“Newport North End is not a tourist destination, it will not be designed as such, nor marketed to compete with Thames Street and the vibrant businesses located there. Our goal is to help Newport create the energy and vibe needed to attract these companies in the way cities known for innovation like Seattle and historic Charleston, South Carolina which is a historic waterfront destination very much like Newport, have done,” stated Carpionato Group when they unveiled the plan.