Superman Building Headed for Tax Sale UPDATED

Superman Building Headed for Tax Sale UPDATED

Rhode Island’s tallest building and largest public policy embarrassment— the Superman Building (a.k.a, the Industrial National Bank Building) is up for a tax sale in Providence, GoLocal has confirmed.

The city’s tax sale is scheduled for August 19 at 10:00 AM.

Learn more here.

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The owners -- High Rock Westminster Street -- owe more than $440,000 from the 4th quarter of 2020.

Now, High Rock says the failure to make payment was an oversight.

"Due to an internal error, the subject tax payment was not timely made. The payment will be made this week.  High Rock apologizes to the city for any inconvenience caused by this oversight," Bill Fisher, spokesperson for High Rock Westminster Street, tells GoLocal.

 

Vacancy — 8 Years and Counting

In April of 2013, Bank of America completed its exodus from the Superman Building.

The building is the most distinctive element of the capital city’s skyline has been vacant for 8 years. If redeveloping the building was difficult before the pandemic, the challenges may be far more complex due to changes in work behavior and some reluctance to live in a tower building.

Former Governor Gina Raimondo had run promising to redevelop the property.

“The State House and the Industrial National Bank Tower are Providence‘s most imposing and historically significant buildings. They are our Pantheon and our Colosseum. Like their counterparts in Rome, they must be preserved as part of our heritage," Friedrich St. Florian, Rhode Island’s most revered architect told GoLocal about the importance of the structure.

“We must have the collective will to re-invent the Industrial National Bank Tower in order to secure its future as a standard-bearer of excellence in architecture,” said Florian who is the architect of the World War Two Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The continued vacancy has left a stain on Providence’s financial district and an embarrassment for the state.

In March, Massachusetts developer David Sweetser of High Rock Development LLC refused to respond to questions about the building or how the building’s vacancy has adversely impacted the city.

The building is not only empty, but it is clear that it is being battered by the elements and crumbling. A GoLocal investigation found that the exterior was showing signs of major deterioration -- a drone explored the limestone facade and found significant chipping.

SEE DRONE VIDEO HERE

The building has been dubbed both locally and nationally as one of the most endangered structures in the country.

In 2019, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Superman Building one of the eleven most endangered properties in the U.S. 

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated with a statement from the property owner at 3:40 PM on 8/2/2021