Home projects boost outlook

Planning Board to consider multiple developments at March 11 meeting

John Howell
Posted 3/3/15

Lidia Cruz-Abreu has her finger on the pulse of single-family and condo developments in the city of Warwick.

As a planning specialist, she is often the first contact a developer has with the city. …

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Home projects boost outlook

Planning Board to consider multiple developments at March 11 meeting

Posted

Lidia Cruz-Abreu has her finger on the pulse of single-family and condo developments in the city of Warwick.

As a planning specialist, she is often the first contact a developer has with the city. She answers questions, goes over zoning and building requirements, and then processes applications and schedules appearances before the Planning Board.

Cruz-Abreu can’t remember how long it’s been since the heartbeat of new home construction has been so strong in Warwick.

“We are getting busier and busier,” Cruz-Abreu said Friday as she prepared the agenda for the March 11 Planning Board meeting, to be held in the lower conference room of City Hall starting at 6 p.m.

On the docket are the petitions of Sturbridge Home Builders for a 13-unit condominium on West Shore Road next to the Tri-City Elks; 13 new single-family dwellings, also on West Shore Road, west of Nausauket Road; and four new houses between Dixie and Doris avenues off Warwick Avenue.

Philip Slocum, chairman of the planning board and vice president of the Slocum Agency, agreed it has “been quite some time” since the board has seen a docket with so many “good, quality projects.”

“It’s clearly the sentiment of builders that things are moving in the right direction,” he said.

As for the market, Slocum said, “there’s a real strong buying demand and a shortage of good quality inventory…things are coming back and they’re coming back at a pace that’s sustainable.”

William DePasquale, city Planner and acting chief of staff, called the number of development projects in the pipeline a “good sign of market momentum.”

“Not only are there solid sales, but the median price has increased,” he said.

DePasquale attributed the city’s robust single-family housing sales to “very attractive price points” in the rage of $200,000 and low interest rates. He said the city is seeing a lot of interest in “infill developments” – projects where oversized lots are being subdivided.

According to the State-Wide Multiple Listing service, the median price of a Warwick single-family home for this January was $162,950 as compared to $152,500 for January 2014. The state median price for January was $206,000. As is usually the case, there were more single-family home sales in Warwick for the month than any other city or town in the state. There were 62 sales as compared to 44 for January 2014.

The surge in development is not limited to housing, either.

At its meeting, the planning board will also consider preliminary approval of a 74-bed, four story assisted living facility on Post Road in Cowesett and a Cumberland Farms at the site of the former Gulf station at Apponaug Four Corners. DePasquale projects additional announcements concerning developments on Route 2, Route 5, City Centre Warwick and Warwick Avenue.

Both of the non-residential projects on the March 11 agenda, which have already been aired at hearings, are expected to gain board approval.

West Shore Development LLC proposes to build 13 new homes on 5.1 acres that was bought from Edward F. Asprinio for $525,000, according to city land records. There are currently two houses on the property that would remain. According to the plans submitted to the Planning Department and details provided by developer Steve Miller at a neighborhood informational meeting on Jan. 8, the homes would be modified raised ranches and colonials with about 1,800 square feet each. Three houses would be built on West Shore Road, with the remaining 10 on a cull de sac named Kylie Court.

Cruz-Abreu said the site is zoned A-7 and that the subdivision of the four original lots conform to the 7,000-square-foot lot requirement set by the zoning. The homes would tie into city sewers. In addition to master plan approval from the city, the development also requires state Department of Transportation approval for the curb cuts on West Shore Road and wetlands approvals from the Department of Environmental Management and Coastal Resources Management Council because of an intermittent stream to the rear of the property.

“We have had many people in many, many years come in about this property,” Cruz-Abreu said.

A huge “for sale” sign has been on the property for years. Miller told those attending the informational meeting the homes with hardwood floors and kitchens with granite counter tops would sell in the range of $259,000 to $299,000.

Asked what she sees happening, planner Trish Reynolds said, “It’s good news. I think we’re seeing a really healthy recovery.”

Developer Hugh Fisher of Sturbridge Home Builders has proposed the second major development to be considered by the planning board on March 11. His plan calls for a 13-unit condominium on a long 5.3-acre strip that he bought from Hendricken High School. He would build a mix of single and one-and-a-half story units of 1,000 to 1,400 square feet on West Shore Road.

The property offers a change in that it is of historical significance. There is a historic cemetery on the property that would not be distributed. But in addition, according to a letter received last week by the planning department from Edward F. Sanderson, executive director of the Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, it was the site of a colonial garrison.

He writes that the property is the site of the Stone Castle, built in 1649, which served as the garrison house of the colonial settlement in Warwick. He said the house is the only English building in Warwick to survive King Philip’s War, and it was demolished in 1795. Sanderson says the site is expected to contain the foundation to the castle and associated artifacts.

“This could be one of the most important early historic archaeological sites in Rhode Island,” he writes.

Fisher takes the historical nature of the site into consideration in the design of the complex. Four of the garages in the three-building development will have stone ends to replicate stone ender houses of colonial times.

“We’ve been working on this piece for three years; we know the history of this,” Fisher said Monday.

He explained that an archeological study of the site was performed 15 years ago, and while some artifacts were found the foundation to the garrison was never located. He is hopeful of finding some stones that could be incorporated into the stone ender design of the condos.

This is not the only Warwick development on which Fisher is working. He has approval for a six single-family housing development on Cowesett Road and is in the planning stages of another seven single-family housing development at the lower end of Warwick Neck.

Fisher says buyers have gained confidence.

“There’s always a need for new housing,” he said. He also sees a demand for energy-efficient homes, and said he is constantly improving designs and materials to not only meet HERS (Home Energy Rating System) standards, but also exceed them.

“Why pay National Grid,” he asks, “when you can pay yourself?”

Zarrella Development’s proposal to build four houses on a 32,000-square-foot lot on Dixie and Doris Avenues will also be heard by the board. A house and abandoned greenhouses are presently on the property owned by Crystal McNulty. The project, considered a minor subdivision, is up for preliminary approval.

“This is the busiest residential docket we’ve seen in a very, very long time,” Cruz-Abreu said.

Comments

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  • patientman

    Great news

    Tuesday, March 3, 2015 Report this

  • Arya Stark

    I live on Doris Ave. Honestly, it's not. Zarrella's first demolition crew consistent of friendly, non-speaking English kids... very good at nodding though.

    Monday, August 3, 2015 Report this

  • Arya Stark

    BTW, those houses are not even listed on their website.

    Monday, August 3, 2015 Report this