Work Starts on $100M Mixed-Use Project

PROVIDENCE, RI-Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. officially broke ground this week for Waterplace, a $100-million mixed-use development here that will include 193 luxury condominiums, restaurants and pubs along the Riverwalk and a three-level parking garage. The two-tower complex next to the basin at Waterplace Park will be taller than any other buildings in the Capital Center District and the first residential project there in 15 years.The towers, one 19 stories (235 feet) and the other 17 stories (213 feet), will sit across the street from the region’s commuter rail line. The towers will rise above the nearby Providence Place mall, One Citizens Plaza and the GTECH headquarters now under construction across the pond at Waterplace. Designed by ADD Inc of Cambridge, MA, the project will have a white finish, complementing the State House and of the bridge and stairway abutments in Waterplace. Intercontinental last year paid Eastman Pierce $3.2 million for the right to develop and lease the development site from the owner, Capital Properties of East Providence. Intercontinental originally proposed apartments, but earlier this year settled on condominiums for economic and market reasons, according to local reports. A principal with Intercontinental could not be reached Monday for further comment.Some of the condominiums will be townhouse-style with multiple floors. Units will average 1,150 sf to 1,200 sf, with the largest units coming in at around 2,500 sf and the smallest at 750 sf. Asking prices start at $300,000 and rise to well over $1 million. Amenities will include fitness and business centers, community rooms and a roof deck. The project will not include a swimming pool.The project is scheduled to be completed in August 2007. Gilbane Building Co. of Providence is the general contractor. The builders will construct the parking garage first. Part of the Riverwalk between the Exchange Street bridge and the pedestrian bridge will be closed during the estimated two years of construction. There is room for construction of two more buildings in a second development phase. Intercontinental says the parcels are tentatively slated for a hotel and a third residential tower. The official developer is Intercontinental Real Estate Investment Fund IV LLC.