Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Journal file photo / Frieda Squires
Now up for sale, the old Shooter's Waterfront Cafe has been heavily vandalized, as seen in this photo taken last September.

By Phlilp Marcelo
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- A former waterfront nightclub in the Fox Point neighborhood that was purchased by the state is going on sale to finance the next parts of the Route 195 relocation project. The property has an appraised value of $3.5 million.

The State Properties Committee, which manages the state's property assets, this morning approved a request by the state Department of Transportation to dispose of 73,436 square feet of land at 25 India St., the former Bootlegger's Nightclub (previous to that it was known as Shooter's Waterfront Cafe).

The state purchased the nightclub for $4.7 million in 2000 by eminent domain, which is the state government's power to seize private property, with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent.

The land up for sale is about 2 acres of the more than 3-acre property that initially was purchased. Part of the area (56,658 square feet) has been for part of the new stretch of Route 195, often referred to as the Iway. The rest was used temporarily as a staging area for construction.

State properties Committee chairman Kevin Flynn said that the state is obligated to put the property up for sale because 80 percent of the purchasing costs were covered with federal money, on the condition that whatever was left over be sold at market value and the proceeds used to help pay for the highway project.

The property will be advertised in a public auction, with the properties committee having say over whether the state moves forward with a sale or not.

Since the property was taken by eminent domain, Chestnut Street Associates owner Michael C. Kent, the original owners of the property, has the opportunity to match the highest bidder, a right that is often referred to as the right of first refusal. The city would be next in line to exercise that option.

Opened in June 1990, Shooter's was the city's first waterfront nightclub, a three-story dancehall and restaurant that could fit nearly 1,600 people. Since being taken over, the building and property have been the targets of much vandalism.

 Tags  Providence Shooter's Waterfront Cafe

Comments

Jack said:

Shooters opened in 1990...wow time does fly, I remember some wild nights there.

Link | January 6, 2009 3:52 PM
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