Another hurdle to redeveloping Pell Bridge ramp land. What commission chair says is needed

NEWPORT – Although the Ad Hoc Bridge Property Advisory Commission has made great strides in understanding the nature of the parcels available for redevelopment in the North End, Chair Colin Kane said the commission, nor the city, are equipped to handle what could be a decades-long undertaking.

“Imagine that tomorrow, (the RI Department of Transportation) gave us 19 acres and the Navy decided to give us the hospital,” Colin Kane said. “We would not know what to do with that. We could figure it out because we’re smart, but we don’t have these guideposts or the staff or a plan, and these are 10, 20, 30-year activities.”

On Wednesday, Colin Kane gave the council more insight into the next steps for the commission, which was established just two days shy of a year ago to develop a plan that would make the land left over from the realignment of the Pell Bridge ramps available for development. Much of the information surrounding this task coming out of the commission has been less than favorable for the city , as the land is mired in challenges both physical and legal. Having previously housed state highway infrastructure, the four rather large parcels lack utility connections and road access, and stormwater runoff from the highway has created wetland habitats that could create a difficult permitting process with the RI Department of Environmental Management further down the line. Additionally, the state has a right of first refusal policy, meaning the land could be given to the parties who owned it prior to the construction of the Pell Bridge in the 1960s.

In his update to the council, Kane said part of the problem the commission is having is the lack of a fully staffed, nonvolunteer “center of planning and execution” dedicated to managing and coordinating different aspects of the project. This is why the commission has pivoted to developing recommendations on a governance structure for this kind of entity that can make this effort move more efficiently.

Among the possibilities Kane listed was having the Planning Board as the entity with oversight over the project, or something like Quonset Point has with the Quonset Development Corporation, a quasi-state agency that is solely responsible for the development and management of Quonset Business Park. He noted that he worked as a volunteer with the I-195 Commission for two years before the state passed legislation establishing the group as a quasi-public entity with full-time staff to support it. That, too, was chaired by Kane, and is still responsible for managing the sale, marketing and redevelopment of the 26 acres of land freed from the realignment of Interstate 195 in Providence.

Kane mapped out a loose path of where the city needs to take the project to ensure success. It starts with defining what goals the city wants to accomplish with the area, which Kane referred to as the project’s “prime drivers.” With those established, the city can “sell” those goals, both to encourage further collaboration with state regulatory agencies like RI Department of Transportation and the RI Department of Environmental Management and to get the resources to fund what might be needed through state and federal legislators.

RIDOT anticipates the project to be closed out within the next six months and Kane said the commission plans to give its recommendations on forming an entity within the first quarter of 2024.

When Councilor Angela Lima suggested utilizing a member of city staff, such as the recently established but currently vacant position of Deputy City Manager, to act as the point person for the project, Kane said management and organization is only a piece of the puzzle.

“The day-to-day ‘how do we get this done,’ who’s doing the scheduling, who’s managing the meetings with Jacobs Engineering, that is important and critical, but there’s also the statutory authority of a governing body,” Kane said. “I’m fairly confident that it won’t be able to be done with Newport residents. If the state is going to resource something, they’re going to ask for a gubernatorial appointee. I’m making this up, but that’s how other similar boards in Rhode Island are staffed and resourced from a Commission perspective.”

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Another hurdle to redeveloping Pell Bridge ramp land. What commission chair says is needed