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LOOKING FOR ANSWERS: Ward 5
Councilman John DelGiudice, (right), poses questions of
Joseph Shivell of Toll Brothers, left, and his company's
attorney Robert Stolzman at Wednesday's meeting. The
company plans to submit formal plans for a development
at Rocky Point Park this week or next. (Warwick
Beacon photo) For more photos, click here
By John Howell
The
information many people had wanted to learn didn’t come
until almost the end of the
meeting.
“What will the
units sell for?” queried one of the 50 Warwick Neck
residents who had come to City Hall last Wednesday to
hear developers outline plans for the former Rocky Point
Amusement Park.
A representative
for the luxury home builder Toll Brothers was hesitant
to give firm figures as it will be many months before
the sale of the park is finalized and construction on
the first of more than 350 condominiums and townhouses
begins.
But there was an
answer.
The condos, he
said, would sell in the low $400,000 to low $600,000
range. The townhouses would sell for more the
mid-$400,000 to high $600,000.
There were no
oohs and ahhs. Rather, the amounts were less than what
some had thought they would be, and when the meeting
came to an end people gathered around aerial photographs
of the park and a single architectural drawing. They had
more questions, and Joseph Shivell, director of land
services for Toll Brothers and Mark Rhoades, architect
with CBT (Childs Bertman Tseckares Inc.) of Boston had
answers.
Of the 123-acre
former park more than half the land will be preserved as
open space. The property is to be divided into two basic
developments: a village-like grouping of six buildings
each containing about 44 condo units at the site of the
amusement park and the townhouses in groups of three to
five units each on what was the park’s north parking lot
and into what is now Rocky
Beach.
Rhoades
described the design of the condo buildings as Victorian
amusement park. That had people questioning what he had
in mind. Rhoades pointed to the roofline of towers and
peaks. He said he had looked at a number of properties
throughout the state, settling on a Newport property
built by the Vanderbilts as the theme for the Rocky
Point development. Shivell pulled out a board with a
picture. There were nods and
smiles.
There were also
more details:
the condos will range in size from 1,200 to 2,000
square feet. Each of the U-shaped three-story buildings
would face Narragansett Bay with views south to the
Newport and Jamestown Bridges or east to Bristol and
Barrington. The U-shape would offer a courtyard for each
building and parking would be below grade, under the
buildings and out of sight. A walking promenade will
follow the route of the road that now loops along the
waterfront.
Townhouses would
be larger, offering 2,100 to 2,500 square feet and three
bedrooms. Shivell said five unit types are proposed with
three out of each five units having a master bedroom on
the first level. This is a big attraction to senior
buyers, he said.
There were more
questions.
What would be
the condo fee?
Shivell hadn’t
gotten that far into it, but said there would be an
association and that fees could be in the $350 to $400 a
month range. And yes, he responded to another question,
there would be a clubhouse and a swimming
pool.
Some of those
listening joked as to who would be the first to buy.
There were laughs, but it was obvious that even though
it could be years, there’s interest in buying a piece of
one of the best views in
Warwick.
A lot has got to
happen before a shovel goes in the ground, the least of
which being a resolution of the number of housing units
to be built. When the Small Business Administration was
named receiver of the property and placed it up for
auction, they and the city administration set forth a
series of conditions that would become part of the
purchase and sales agreement. Those conditions included
350 housing units, public access to the property,
preservation of open space and possible use of the Rocky
Point dock as part of state plans for a ferry serving
bay island parks.
Mayor Scott
Avedisian is surprised Toll Brothers is looking to build
395 units; he had expected the company would have come
in with a much higher total, putting the city and the
company in an adversarial role.
“All other
conditions remain intact. I’ve got to give them credit
for that,” he said at the conclusion of the meeting. In
particular, he cited Toll Brothers’ plan to preserve
more than half the sites acreage for open
space.
Attorney for
Toll Brothers Robert Stolzman said the objective is to
integrate the development into the neighborhood. The
western side of the site, a rocky and wooded area
running along Palmer Avenue, is to be left in its
natural state. At the foot of Rocky Point Avenue next to
the entrance to the park will be a small public parking
area where people can leave their cars and join trails
that will wander the southern end of the
property.
Stolzman, who
served as emcee for the meeting, also fielded questions
about the development and its impact. Aware of coyotes
in the area, he said developers would have animal
control personnel address the issue. As for the dock,
Toll Brothers plans to keep a structure, but not as long
as it had once been now that the state’s interest in
establishing a ferry service to bay islands has
waned.
In response to a
question about water pressure, former Ward 5 councilman
and Warwick Neck resident Carlo Pisaturo pointed out
that the neck has a water tower and that it should not
be a problem. Sewers, and how the development might be
connected to the city system, was another question
raised. Toll Brothers Vice President Skip Kelleher said
no decision has been reached regarding
sewers.
Arnold S.
Goodstein, the man behind the winning bid for the park,
was also in attendance Wednesday night. Chief Executive
Officer of Summerville Homes in Summerville, South
Carolina, Goodstein’s company has developed more than 30
projects with a total of more than 5,000 dwelling
units.
Goodstein
learned of Rocky Point while visiting his son, who is
currently a senior at Brown University. He said he saw
the potential for a housing development and pursued the
matter forming Vanderbilt LLC, the company that entered
the SBA auction. He now has an agreement to sell the
land to Toll Brothers after it has gained all the
necessary state and local
approvals.
He said he would
have developed the project, but Toll Brothers is up here
and they know the market.
Goodstein was
pleased with the meeting. He called it marvelous and in
marked contrast to many of the less civil meetings he’s
attended in South Carolina. He called questions
thoughtful and reflective of concerns over the impact of
the project.
Joseph
Shekarchi, attorney for Goodstein, said that in addition
a newspaper advertisement for the meeting 100
invitations were sent to area residents. He was pleased
with the turnout, adding that there will be four or five
public hearings as the planning department, City Council
and Coastal Resources Management Council considers the
project. He is hopeful the permitting process can be
completed this year. No formal plans have been filed
with the city yet.
Shivell said
once the project has a green light, Toll Brothers would
do the site preparation up front, although the build-out
of the complete project could take four to five years.
In such a manner, he explained, all demolition, any
required blasting and major construction for utilities
would not interfere with those people buying the first
completed units.
Cleanup costs of
the property were pegged at $2.5 million to $3
million.
As for the
projected cost of the entire project, Kelleher said, the
tax contributions to the city are going to be
significant.
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