Brown is looking to redevelop — and potentially sell — a number of its properties on College Hill and in the Jewelry District, according to an official request for proposals shared with The Herald.
The sites up for potential redevelopment total almost 115,000 square feet and span 21 properties and lots, according to the RFP created by Dallas-based real estate firm CBRE, which appears to be aiding the University’s redevelopment procurement efforts.
The request, initiated earlier this month, comes amid the University’s deepening financial troubles, including recent threats to federal research funding and financial aid. Brown took out a $500 million loan earlier this week, and the University has continued to adopt measures — ranging from a staff hiring freeze to to modifications of graduate school admissions — to manage its $46 million budget deficit.
The University will either choose to sell these “underdeveloped” and “underutilized” properties to or enter long-term lease agreements with qualified developers to streamline Brown’s real estate portfolio and promote housing development, University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald.
Brown aims to “strategically align and right-size our real estate portfolio with our operational needs, monetizing underdeveloped properties” while also starting residential projects to help lessen the long-term housing demands from students and community members, Clark wrote. Brown’s plans to redevelop the properties were first reported by local news outlet GoLocalProv.
According to the request, the University is open to outright sale for some sites, but prefers long-term ground leases for others — a model that allows developers to construct and own buildings while Brown retains land ownership.
The move follows scrutiny of Brown’s real estate footprint in Providence. In recent years, the University has rapidly acquired properties across the city, drawing concern from local residents and community members over Brown’s tax-exempt status.
These recent expansions were made in accordance with the University’s 2013 strategic plan, which included a goal to “reinvigorate” Brown’s physical campus “both on College Hill and off” while strengthening connections to Providence and Rhode Island.
The properties listed in the request include five sites on College Hill and two in the Jewelry District. Brown’s vision, according to the RFP, is to attract “highly amenitized, vibrant mixed-use” developments that complement its academic and research missions while boosting Providence’s housing stock and economic base.
The move also comes after Brown announced in March that it may “pull back” from its investment in a seven-story life sciences laboratory in the Jewelry District in light of federal threats. But the location of the proposed facility — the William A. and Ami Kuan Danoff Life Sciences Laboratories — is not one of the sites included in the RFP.
Brown has invested more than $500 million in the Jewelry District over the past 15 years through acquisitions and new construction to support its expanding medical and research infrastructure, the RFP states.
The College Hill properties that are potentially up for redevelopment include 272 Thayer St. and 20 Olive St., a building across the street from the BioMed Center. The request also mentions four lots on Brook Street across from Stephen Robert ’62 Hall, as well three properties on Benevolent Street — including The Herald’s office at 88 Benevolent St., which the media organization leases through the University.
After receiving the proposals, Brown will decide whether any or all of the properties will proceed to redevelopment. Clark wrote that proposals will be evaluated based on factors like financial feasibility, sustainability and “opportunities for vibrant placemaking.”
Maya Nelson is a university news and metro editor covering undergraduate student life as well as business and development. She’s interested in studying either English or Literary Arts and loves to read sci-fi and fantasy in her free time. She also enjoys playing guitar, crocheting and spending an unreasonable amount of time on NYT Spelling Bee.
Cate Latimer is a university news editor covering faculty, University Hall and higher education. She is from Portland, OR, and studies English and Urban Studies. In her free time, you can find her playing ultimate frisbee or rewatching episodes of Parks and Rec.
