Sale of City Property Known As The Rochambeau Fire Station. 280 Rochambeau Avenue, Providence, RI Feasibility Study RWU 2018
| Bidders ID: | NBD13142266353643574 |
|---|---|
| Due Date: | Jun 29, 2026 |
| Posted Date: | Apr 21, 2026 |
| Level of Government: | State & Local |
| State: | Rhode Island |
| Agency: | City of Providence |
| Category: |
|
| Source: | Members Only |
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Rochambeau Avenue Fire Station Adaptive Reuse
Feasibility Study
Prepared for:
Providence Redevelopment Agency
Providence, RI
Prepared by:
Roger Williams University
School of Architecture, Art, and Historic Preservation
HP 525: Preservation Economics Course
Spring 2018
Contents
Introduction
1
Executive Summary
2
1.0 Objectives
3
2.0 Property History and Significance Analysis
4
2.1 Historical Background
4
2.2 Property Description and Character Defining Features
5
2.2.1 Exterior
5
2.2.2 Interior
9
3.0 Community and Political Factors
17
3.1 Neighborhood Profile
17
3.2 Rochambeau Fire Station Open House, September 2017
18
3.3. Political Factors
18
3.4 Analysis
19
4.0 Legal Limitations
20
4.1 Ownership & Deed Restrictions:
20
4.2 Land Use
20
4.2.1 Comprehensive Plan
20
4.2.2 Zoning
21
4.2.3 Building Codes
22
4.2.4 Historic District
23
5.0 Local and Regional Market Factors
24
5.1 Market Area Demographics
24
5.2 Business and Retail Analysis
26
5.3 Residential Real Estate
26
5.4 Commercial Real Estate
27
6.0 Target Market
29
7.0 Intervention Tools
30
8.0 Proposed Uses
31
8.1. Building Code Considerations for Proposed Uses
31
8.1.1 Americans with Disabilities Act
31
8.1.2 International Building/Fire Codes
32
8.2 Parking Considerations for Proposed Uses
32
9.0 Conceptual Design
33
9.1 Concept 1: Mixed-Use Multi-Family Residential and Office
33
9.2 Concept 2: Mixed-Use Multi-Family Residential and Community Use
34
10.0 Financial Synthesis
35
10.1 Concept 1: Mixed-Use Multi-Family Residential and Office
35
10.2 Concept 2: Mixed-Use Multi-Family Residential and Community Use
37
11.0 Conclusion
39
Sources Consulted
40
Introduction
This feasibility study for the reuse of the historic Rochambeau Fire Station at 280 Rochambeau
Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island was conducted by students in the 2018 Preservation
Economics course in the School of Architecture, Art, and Historic Preservation at Roger
Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. The study took place in partnership with the
Providence Redevelopment Agency and was facilitated by the Roger Williams University
Community Partnership Center.
The purpose of this study is to identify and examine feasible and historically appropriate
rehabilitation and reuse scenarios for Rochambeau Fire Station. Erected in 1929, the
Rochambeau Fire Station is one of the finer examples of early-twentieth-century municipal
architecture in the city and is a contributing resource in the Elmgrove Gardens Historic District
The facility served the citizens of the surrounding neighborhoods for nearly 90 years. Following
a consolidation of fire safety services in 2016, the City of Providence closed the Rochambeau
Fire Station in January 2017. The Providence Redevelopment Agency is charged with the
deaccessioning the vacant fire station from city ownership.
Students in the Preservation Economics class conducted architectural investigations to
determine character-defining features of the fire station, examined property planning and use
constraint, studied local real estate and commercial market factors, selected feasible reuse
scenarios based on property and market research designed concept schemes for feasible reuse
scenarios, calculated cost estimates based on price per square foot for use schemes, assessed
potential financial intervention tools available for rehabilitation and reuse, and prepared a
financial synthesis for residential and mixed residential and office uses.
The feasibility study team included graduate students Marjorie Drew Matthew McCarty, Alan
Pool, and Emeline Young and undergraduate students Lydia Costello, Diana Figueroa, Rosa
Ramirez, and Gabrielle Riley. Students were supervised by Assistant Professor Elaine Stiles
and advised and assisted by City of Providence preservation planner Jason Martin and principal
planner David Everett, and deputy director and general counsel of the Providence
Redevelopment Agency, Samuel Budway.
1
Executive Summary
This study was conducted to assess the feasibility of reuse scenarios for the Rochambeau Fire
Station at 280 Rochambeau Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island, a contributing resource in the
Elmgrove Gardens National Register Historic District. The study process identified and analyzed
potential uses that would preserve character-defining features of the historic building, contribute
to the community, and be financially feasible.
After analyzing the building, legal and planning limitations, community and political factors, and
local real estate and commercial market factors, the feasibility study team identified two
potentially feasible reuse scenarios:
● Concept 1: Mixed-use multi-family residential and office
● Concept 2: Mixed-use multi-family residential and community space
The team completed conceptual design schemes and financial synthesis for both uses and
determined that both were likely feasible. The costs for Concept 1 and Concept 2 were
comparable, however Concept 1, Mixed-Use Multi-Family Residential and Office, created a
significantly larger cash flow. Concept 2, Use Multi-Family Residential and Community Use,
however, more closely meets community objectives for the project. Furthermore, a nonprofit
community organization or developer would likely have access to incentives unavailable to a
for-profit developer which may improve the cost basis of the project.
One of the challenges with reusing Providence Rochambeau Fire Station is the lack of
preservation-related incentives available to the property. It does not fall within the areas of
intervention for the Providence Revolving Fund or qualify for low-interest financing from the
Rhode Island Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission’s Historic Preservation Loan
Fund. Reuse and rehabilitation projects for the property would also be unlikely to meet the
substantial rehabilitation standards for the federal historic preservation tax credit program or the
Rebuild Rhode Island tax credit program. A project would therefore likely be dependent on
developer equity and public or market-rate financing and housing and business incentives
unrelated to historic preservation.
2
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