The University purchased another building downtown Monday for roughly $6 million, according to Richard Spies, executive vice president for planning. The property, which will house the Office of Continuing Education, is near the Medical Education Building and other University-owned buildings in the Jewelry District.
The search for a new building for the Office of Continuing Education started six months ago, when the department's staff began to exceed its available work space in the Graduate Center.
"Deciding to buy the building was an explorative process," Spies said. "We were actively looking for a building, and the owner at the time was probing potential buyers. ... We met in the middle."
The 41,000 square-foot building sits on more than two acres near land to be freed up by the relocation of I-195, which will conclude in 2012. University administrators expressed interest in acquiring some of the parcels formerly occupied by the highway in 2009, but butted heads with city officials over issues of taxation.
The recently purchased property — at 198 Dyer St. — will be under non-educational use, and will function as a taxable commercial property.
The building's acquisition was part of the University's plan to grow into the city, Spies said. "We've had this ‘expand off College Hill' goal now for a couple years, mainly for reasons of space," he said. "The purchase of this building is part of an evolution of the campus, which hopefully will please everybody."
It is the 15th University-owned building not located on College Hill, according to the University's website.
"We're excited about the opportunity to be sharing part of the knowledge district and to be contributing to the brightness of the city of Providence," said Karen Sibley, dean of summer and continuing studies.
The building's lone current tenant — the City of Providence — leases approximately 12,500 square feet in the building for its Department of Licensing and Standards, according to yesterday's Providence Journal. But the city is planning on vacating the property as part of its own development plans, Spies said.
Though the University has no existing plans to lease the space to another tenant, "the question is on the table," he said. "The Office of Continuing Education doesn't need the entire building. … We're still figuring it out."
All 55 members of the Office of Continuing Education are expected to move into the building as soon as renovations finish next fall, according to Sibley.
Spies said the purchase has both short- and long-term benefits. "The Office of Continuing Education needed more space, and it worked out that we were able to buy this building at a reasonable cost rather than renting another building. … There's also a substantive amount of parking, which provides revenue," he said. It comes with 130 parking spaces, and increasing property values in the district provided another incentive.
The University purchased the property from Extell Providence LLC, a subsidiary of New York City-based Extell Development Corporation.
