Developer To Buy Wickford Elementary, Create Meeting Center, Hotel

Providence developer Stanley Weiss has agreed to buy Wickford Elementary School for $1.1 million, town officials announced Wednesday. Weiss plans to turn the building into a multi-purpose conference, event and meeting center, with 30 to 40 hotel rooms.

The agreement is contingent on Weiss’s ability to get all the needed permits from government agencies, said Town Council President Liz Dolan.

“There is a lot of excitement all the way up to the governor’s office on this,” she said. In particular, it’s viewed as a positive tie-in to Wickford Junction. With the train station to the west and Wickford Village within walking distance to the east, Dolan said, “It will be a nice easy way for people who want to have a small convention.”

Wickford Elementary was closed in 2005 and has sat dormant since then. A $3.85 million bond referendum in 2011 to turn the building into a joint town hall–school administration building failed. Voters however passed in the same election a ballot question allowing the sale of school building.

Since then, Dolan said, the Town Council has been working on selling the building.

“We had several people interested but this was by far the most attractive thing that came down the pike,” she said about Weiss’s bid. The Town Council spent about two months hammering out a deal with Weiss.

“There was a lot of negotiating, there was a lot of give and take,” Dolan said. “We satisfied his needs, he satisfied our needs, and we have a deal.”

Dolan stressed, though, that Weiss has to get all the proper permits, including allowances for an new septic system.

“He is doing what he needs to do with septic to make it work,” she said. “It’s a drawback but for someone who has the money, it’s possible.”

“It is contingent on his permitting, but working on the assumption that he gets his approvals, the whole council is behind this and the whole town will benefit and wickford will benefit.”

Weiss will need zoning reclassification, approvals from Coastal Resources Management Council, Department of Environmental Management, as well as permitting and financing. The plan is to retain the exterior of the building while adding a porte-chchere entrance on the Boone Street entrance. Weiss has a six-month option with an additional renewal period if extra time is needed.

Weiss previously developed the Hotel Providence, a boutique hotel in downtown Providence that has won historic preservation awards. He is a member of the state Economic Development Corporation and chairs the Providence Public Buildings Authority.

“It is contingent on his permitting,” said Dolan, “but working on the assumption that he gets his approvals, the whole council is behind this and the whole town will benefit and wickford will benefit.”