Mayor, council at odds over changes to former middle school development plan

WOONSOCKET – Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt is urging the City Council to seek a new round of bids for the redevelopment of the old Woonsocket Middle School after Central Falls-based Tai-O Group’s promised investment in the property appears to have shrunk by nearly half, to about $13 million.

Tai-O won the bid for the 102-yearold schoolhouse for $470,000 and a pro- posed conversion of the property into more than 160 upscale apartments, a boat launch on the nearby Blackstone River, a gym, a movie theater and outdoor dining facilities. After an airing of the latest version before the City Council on Tuesday, members acknowledged that the company plans to cut the number of dwelling units to 110 and questioned whether other components of the original concept were still part of the plan.

“I don’t know if it’s a breach of con- tract, but it’s a bait and switch,” asserted Baldelli-Hunt. “If there’s a substantial change in the application, I think the city has an obligation to…go back out to bid. We want to make sure the entity we choose is actually delivering on the majority of what they indicated they would be performing.”

But most members of the council aren’t concerned about the changes and say the mayor is still smarting over the

loss of her favored bidder for the project last year, Chicagobased Hawthorne Development Group of Burr Ridge, Ill. The company wanted to convert the building into an assisted living center with some retail components.

Despite the changes, Council President Daniel Gendron expressed unwavering confidence in Tai-O’s capacity to redevelop the middle school and said the scale of the company’s investment is less important than the ultimate worth of the property. That figure is still the subject of negotiation between principals of Tai-O and members of BaldelliHunt’s administration, including Planning Director N. David Bouley and City Solicitor John DeSimone.

Gendron said he doesn’t know whether any components of the original concept have been eliminated, since he hasn’t had any direct contact with Tai-O principals. But he said changes may be related to the fact that the city’s initial request for proposals erroneously described the school as being about twice its actual size of about 200,000 square feet. Members of the planning department had also expressed worry that the original proposal was so eclectic it could shift the focus of the city’s redevelopments efforts away from Main Street.

“The one thing I’ve gotten from Tai-O all along is that they want to be cooperative partners with the city and they want to do what is best for them and the city,” Gendron said. “When you have the planner having concerns with what you are proposing it wouldn’t surprise me that they heeded his caution and his warning.”

In an interview on radio station WNRI this week, Councilman Christopher Beauchamp stopped short of calling for a do-over of the request for proposals. But Beauchamp, who voted with the minority to support Hawthorne’s rival bid last year, said that if his colleagues on the council aren’t concerned by the dramatic changes in Tai-O’s bid, “they should be.”

But Beauchamp’s view remains in the minority.

“There is no bait and switch,” said Councilman James Cournoyer.

In reply to the city’s request for proposes, he said, Tai-O clearly indicated that its investment forecasts of $2025 million were subject to the formalization of a final design plan with city officials.

“So they were very clear that the numbers were preliminary estimates, subject to change,” he said. “Consistent with their promise of collaboration between the developer and the city, the Tai-O group is now proposing fewer residential units in part to accommodate the city planner’s stated concerns.”

Cournoyer said the mayor’s call to rebid the project was “unfortunate political posturing” because BaldelliHunt wanted to sell the property to Hawthorne “without going out to bid.” The company promised to invest $100 million, but when Hawthorne and Tai-O both responded to an open request for proposals, Hawthorne’s offer dropped to $50 million in the competitive process. Nobody complained about bait-and-switch then, he said.

The renewed debate over the project surfaced as the council took up several measures on Tuesday aimed at moving the project forward. The most critical pieces, including a preliminary tax stabilization plan, were tabled for adjustment and reconsideration after a public hearing on Sept. 18.

Under the tabled measure, Tai-O’s assessment on the sprawling middle school building would be phased in over 12 years, maxing out at about $9.1 million. Also tabled was a measure that would concentrate the power of regulatory approvals in the hands of the city council and another setting the terms and conditions on the sale of the parcel, a precursor to a formal purchase and sales agreement.

Preliminarily approved, however, was a measure that would cap the cost of Tai-O’s building and related permits, such as fire, electrical and plumbing, at 50 percent of the usual rates.

Neither Jevon Chan nor Louis Yip – principals of TaiO – returned messages seeking comment on this story.