Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Brown University's medical school is no longer homeless.

The university's governing board voted Friday to renovate a building it already owns in the Jewelry District, at 222 Richmond St., to serve as headquarters for the Warren Alpert Medical School.

The medical school, which opened in 1972, has always operated from offices scattered around the campus and in its affiliated hospitals. In 2007, the medical school received a $100 million gift -- and a new name -- from the Warren Alpert Foundation, established by the businessman and owner of the Xtra Mart convenience store chain.

At the time, Brown officials said some of the money would be spent building a new medical school in Providence, near Rhode Island Hospital, Brown's main teaching hospital. But with the economy declining, it was decided instead to renovate an existing property, which is about three-quarters of a mile from Rhode Island Hospital and about a mile from campus. The building could be ready for use sooner than new construction, the university's statement said.

Ellenzweig Associates will design a $45-million renovation of 222 Richmond St., a three-story, 65,000-square-foot building on the corner of Ship Street. The building was among seven properties that the university purchased in 2006, without specifying its plans for them. They were all commercial properties with offices and limited retail space. The university pledged to honor existing leases and pay property taxes; when a property is converted to university use, Brown will begin the 15-year transition from taxable status to tax-exempt status for the building.

 Tags  Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School

Comments

Are They Kidding? said:

Good for Brown! The people of Providence cannot thank you enough for taking another tax-paying property off our hands.

It is sad when I pay more in taxes on my VEHICLES than Brown does on all of their income-generating properties.

If Brown (and PC and J&W and RISD) were to pay taxes on even 30% of the assessed value of their properties the city would not be in the sad shape that it is.

Moving to MA or CT is looking better and better...

Link | May 22, 2009 5:13 PM
Report Abuse

---

Klark said:

eh, stop complaining. Brown has a very large positive impact on the city. Plus, they've already agreed to pay millions to the city.

Link | May 22, 2009 9:52 PM
Report Abuse

---

Leave a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.

Name:

Email:

URL:  

Remember personal info?

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.