Crews start tearing down derelict Lighthouse Inn

NARRAGANSETT – The Lighthouse Inn will soon be no more.

Construction workers on Thursday started tearing down the derelict building that has stood in the heart of Galilee for nearly 60 years.

The motel closed in 2017, and as efforts failed to find a reuse for the 5-acre property off Great Island Road, the building fell into disrepair.

Crews hired by the state Department of Environmental Management, which owns the land, started pre-demolition of the building a month ago, clearing out mattresses, furniture and debris.

The start of demolition was delayed by the discovery of foam insulation in the roof rafters that had to be disposed of safely, according to a DEM spokesman. But by Thursday morning, an excavator was tearing into the concreteblock building.

Once the building is gone, the empty lot will be landscaped and maintained as a public green space until the DEM finds a new long-term use for it.

In the meantime, the state agency negotiated a new lease for the property’s two other lots with PRI X, the arm of the Cranston-based Procaccianti Companies that used to operate the motel and still uses the land for parking. The new agreement replaces the previous lease that covered the entire property, which the two sides agreed to terminate.

Under the new pact, PRI X will continue to use the lots for surface parking, and has agreed to add automated parking controls and new signage while also enhancing landscaping, lighting and stormwater management.

In February, the State Properties Committee approved the new agreement

Crews working with the Department of Environmental Management began the long-awaited demolition of the Lighthouse Inn on Thursday.

over the objections of the Town of Narragansett, which blames PRI X for allowing the building to deteriorate and become an eyesore in the bustling Galilee fishing port.

The term of the new lease is an initial five years. PRI X has three five-year renewal options through 2043.

The company will pay $103,000 a year for the land, but the payments are set to be reassessed later this year and every three years thereafter based on market conditions.

As for the soon-to-be-vacant motel lot, the DEM is looking for a use that’s complementary to the commercial fishing businesses in the port.