Warwick board OKs hotel-retail complex near airport
7:25 AM Thu, Nov 19, 2009 | Permalink
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WARWICK, R.I. -- An ambitious plan to build a hotel, parking garage and complex of buildings that will combine office and retail space on Jefferson Boulevard received final approval from the city Wednesday night. The proposal, which is the vision of contractor Michael D'Ambra, got the green light from the Planning Board after months of review by the city's Planning Department. The $300-million project will not only create jobs and generate taxes, but also represents a sizable gamble on the state's new intermodal station that is being built next door to D'Ambra's 8.4 acres on Jefferson Boulevard. "That's the reason I'm building this," D'Ambra said, referring to the combination train station, commuter parking garage and car rental center that is slated for completion next year. The most outstanding feature of the joint project by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation and the state Department of Transportation is that it is all linked to the airport by a glass-enclosed skywalk that spans Post Road. D'Ambra has permission to connect his complex to the intermodal station, prompting his lawyer K. Joseph Shekarchi to tell Planning Board members that "one of the best things about this project is that you'll be able to leave your office or hotel room and get in a car or (catch) a flight to Florida without ever having to carry an umbrella or put on an overcoats." D'Ambra said he is already courting tenants and needs a few signed leases and more of a rebound in the economy before construction begins, but he is hopeful "that will happen by mid-2010." The construction will be done in phases and the project will take three to four years to complete, D'Ambra said in an interviews. The project, which also involved D'Ambra relocating his asphalt and concrete plant that is currently located on his property at 800 Jefferson Boulevard, has already won kudos from city officials. He first publicly broached the idea last year when applying to the City Council for relief from setback requirements, height restrictions and other zoning stipulations. The council not only granted the requests but also praised the project for the energizing effect it will have on the local economy. On Wednesday night former U.S. Sen. and now gubernatorial candidate Lincoln D. Chafee -- who was a strong advocate for the intermodal station when he was Warwick's mayor-- showed up to congratulate D'Ambra. "This is what we wanted," he said. "The private development." 
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This is great news. However, the idea of going to the airport without an overcoat is a little far fetched. People will have to walk about 1,000 feet before they reach a heated walkway.
I'm glad to see Linc Chafee supporting the Intermodal project. It is going to require all the political push we can collective muster to get "real train service" activated. RIAC just passed a severn month extension to the project management contract with PB Americas, the overseer of the Intermodal construction. Apparently things are not going all that smoothly with Amtrak and MBTA. This extension will cost RIAC $1 million. PB, by the way, was the project manager for the Big Dig and worked with Mike Lewis there, He is now the Ex Dir of RI DOT.
In the end, I do believe that Amtrak will service this station but it going to take somebody like Linc to do some heavy lifting here. MBTA needs to invest $10 million plus in rail cars to get to the Intermodal. That is money it does not have and the Rhode Island General Assembly is unwilling to liberate from other projects.
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It is telling to me, that a project this large, with this many jobs at stake...Gets so little comment, Yet the "Baby-Daddy", social disaster story blows up.
Baby Daddies are a drag, development is a job generator. Get hip, RI.
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