City to decide on lease of Skyline at Waterplace

Skyline at Waterplace is located at 1 Finance Way.

Skyline at Waterplace may soon no longer be the tenant at its troubled events venue at 1 Finance Way.

In two weeks, a decision is expected on whether the business will be able to transfer the lease it has with the city of Providence over to a new owner. It was not immediately clear what changes, if any, that could mean for the property or its operations.

The Board of Park Commissioners, chaired by Mayor Brett Smiley, will meet on Feb. 12 to consider the transfer to Ithaka LLC, an East Greenwich company registered with the state in 2022 as a real estate holding company.

“Mayor Smiley understands that the Skyline space is a critical asset to Providence’s downtown that has been underutilized over the last few years,” said Smiley’s spokesman Josh Estrella.

“It is the Administration’s hope that this potential new partnership will bring new life to this space and benefit Providence residents and visitors.”

The transfer might bring to an end a protracted fight between the city and Skyline over maintenance of its space.

In November 2023, a District Court judge decided the city could evict Skyline from its events space. For months prior, the city claimed the business broke the terms of its lease by staying open too late, accumulating trash, dodging rent payments, violating fire codes and operating with lapsed liability insurance. Skyline denied those allegations and appealed the eviction.

In an interview with The Providence Journal last year, Skyline CEO Michael Mota claimed the city’s eviction damaged his business, pushed away wouldbe customers and blemished his reputation.

Now, Estrella said the board will “thoroughly evaluate this lease transfer proposal to ensure that this partnership is the right fit for this space.”

The Journal’s comment requests to Mota and Ithaka were not immediately returned.