Revised lease for Sockanosset site OK’d

During a special virtual meeting Monday, the City Council approved a revised lease agreement for space to house the city’s building inspections, engineering and community development offices.

The agreement with Renaissance Development Corp. for the roughly 4,000-square-foot space at 35 Sockanosset Cross Road includes three guarantee years at an annual rental cost of approximately $70,000.

There will be options for the fourth and fifth years of the lease, as well as the option for a five-year extension with a 3-percent annual rent increase at the conclusion of the initial term.

The building inspections, engineering and community development offices have until recently been located in the Hamilton Building on Cranston Street. All three have been closed to the public since March in response to the pandemic.

The city’s current lease for space at the Hamilton Building, which is owned by the Comprehensive Community Action Program, had been due to expire in the fall, but the opening of a COVID-19 testing site at the location earlier this month necessitated more rapid action to relocate.

Mayor Allan Fung’s administration in late April brought a proposed five-year lease agreement for the 35 Sockanosset Cross Road space before the council as an emergency measure, but it fell short of the needed two-thirds support on a 5-3-1 vote.

Council President Michael Farina abstained from that vote – citing a relative’s employment with the site’s owner – while Citywide Councilman Steve Stycos, Ward 1 Councilwoman Lammis Vargas and Ward 3 Councilman John Donegan voted no after unsuccessfully seeking a continuation.

Stycos had pushed for a closer look at alternatives, such as space at the now-closed Chester Barrows School, to help reduce costs ahead of what he foresees as a deeply challenging financial situation for the city in the year ahead.

In a Facebook post following Monday’s special meeting, Stycos said he was “convinced suitable other space was not available” based on a follow-up tour of the Norwood Avenue School building and discussions with city and state officials. He and Donegan then backed Vargas’ suggestion that the administration seek a shorter lease for the Sockanosset Cross Road space “so that the option of moving would be possible after school construction is complete.”

“It’s an example of cooperation between the mayor and the Council, and may save the city money in the future,” Stycos wrote of Monday’s outcome.

Renaissance Development Corp. is a holding company for The Jan Companies, which owns a number of Burger King locations across the region. It was the sole bidder to a request for proposals issued for the new office space. The 35 Sockanosset Cross Road site sits next to the former Burger King at the intersection with Pontiac Avenue.

The administration has indicated that initial costs associated with the new office space will likely be eligible for federal reimbursement due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Noise, vibration proposals get panel’s backing

The council’s Ordinance Committee on May 14 unanimously approved two proposals aimed at providing local officials with enhanced ability to enforce the city’s rules for noise and vibration violations.

The measures would amend the city’s zoning ordinance to allow for the use of a “properly calibrated and tested noise decibel monitoring device” – installed under the supervision of the director of building inspections, police chief or a designee – to measure noise and vibrations in C-5 commercial and M-1 industrial zones for compliance with the city’s existing limits.

Both were sponsored by Stycos, who said he introduced the measures in an effort to allow the city to pursue new compliance checks for the Yard Works site off Warwick Avenue. For several months, neighbors of the site have raised concerns before the council over the kind of work being performed there and its affects on the surrounding area, including through noise and vibrations.

“This is to allow the city to basically try again,” Stycos said.

Elsewhere during recent council and committee meetings:

The Ordinance Committee on May 14 voted to continue a proposal from Ward 3 Councilman John Donegan that seeks to cap the fees that third-party food delivery services can charge city restaurants. The measure would also require those services to disclose both their fees and the availability of in-house delivery services from restaurants. * The Ordinance Committee also unanimously approved a resolution calling on the General Assembly to reschedule the statewide primary election from Tuesday, Sept. 8, to Wednesday, Sept. 9. The timing of the vote just after Labor Day has raised concerns among many elections officials, including Cranston Registrar Nick Lima.

-- Daniel Kittredge