NEWS

Mulligan's owner makes case for Cranston Crossing

Hearings begin on zoning change for Costco-anchored development

By DANIEL A. KITTREDGE
Posted 12/2/20

By DANIEL KITTREDGE As a zoning change sought for the proposed Cranston Crossing development went before its first public hearing this week after months of the delays, the current ownership of Mulligan's Island Golf & Entertainment has spoken out in

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NEWS

Mulligan's owner makes case for Cranston Crossing

Hearings begin on zoning change for Costco-anchored development

Posted

As a zoning change sought for the proposed Cranston Crossing development went before its first public hearing this week after months of the delays, the current ownership of Mulligan’s Island Golf & Entertainment has spoken out in support of the project.

“Hopefully someday there’ll be a Facebook page with memories of Mulligan’s Island … We’re trying to create a very smooth transition to something that will be part of the community for the next 20, 50 years,” Michael Friedman, managing partner of Mulligan’s Island LLC, said during a phone interview Monday.

He later added: “Mulligan’s Island won’t be here forever. It’s not sustainable.”

The 55-acre property off New London Avenue – a former undeveloped, state-owned site known as the “Cornfields” – has housed Mulligan’s for roughly two decades and become a recreational destination for Cranstonians and others across Rhode Island.

The site is currently governed by Mixed Use Planned District, or MPD, zoning that was adopted in the late 1990s specifically for the Mulligan’s operation. Now, Cranston Crossing’s developer, Massachusetts-based Coastal Partners LLC, has a purchase agreement in place as it seeks to bring a new commercial development to the location.

Cranston Crossing would be anchored by a Costco wholesale club, which would include a fueling station. The project’s developer is also proposing additional retail and restaurant space.

A future residential development on roughly 18 acres along the southeastern portion of the property has been dropped from revised plans, with Coastal Partners instead seeking to give that land to the city for open space and recreational use.

Friedman said a number of factors led to the decision to move on from Mulligan’s. He said the agreement with Coastal Properties resulted from “a long conversation and a lot of back-and-forth” among the parties involved – including Costco representatives – as well as consultations with “people around town who gave us their opinions on what would and wouldn’t work” at the site.

“It was going to have to be something that we believed was really good for Cranston,” he said.

Increasing costs are a major factor in the decision to pursue the sale of the property, according to Friedman.

During Monday’s interview and in a letter in support of Cranston Crossing that appears in this week’s edition, he cited the increase in the state’s minimum wage over the years as having significantly added to the costs of supporting the largely seasonal workforce at Mulligan’s, which he said numbers more than 40 employees.

“We’ve been doing this for almost 20 years,” he said. “The industry’s changed a lot.”

Rhode Island’s minimum wage has gradually increased over the past two decades, from $6.15 in 2000 to $7.40 in 2007 and $10.50 in 2019. Another increase, to $11.50, took effect on Oct. 1 of this year.

“We can’t charge 40-plus percent more to our clients. Our customers in Cranston, families and working class folks, they have a limit,” he said, referencing the increase seen over the last decade-plus.

Other expenses – taxes, maintenance of the facility, utilities – also “continue to go up,” Friedman said.

Revenues are also an issue. In his letter, he wrote: “Similarly, families in our area are living on thinner margins and have less money to spend on recreation. After raising our prices to meet the costs, our guests can now make fewer trips to Mulligan’s Island and we are making less on each visit. And with rising summer temperatures we have experienced far fewer days available for miniature golf and batting cages in recent years.”

He continued: “Shrinking returns make it nearly unworkable to afford to reinvest in the facility to keep it updated with the latest equipment and technology. Our experience is not unique; countless golf and entertainment facilities have been closing at a rapid pace for redevelopment across the country.”

Against that backdrop, Friedman described the pending arrival of Topgolf, a sports entertainment facility being built on Sockanosset Cross Road, as the “icing on the cake.”

While the plans for the competing facility were not the original motivating factor to pursue a sale of the Mulligan’s property, he added, it “brought a lot of urgency.” A zoning change needed for Topgolf to proceed received the City Council’s approval in January 2019.

Critics of the Cranston Crossing proposal – including a number of elected officials, or those newly elected to office this year, as well as the group Cranston Neighbors for Smart Development – cite concerns over the project’s impact on already heavy traffic along the Route 2-Sockanosset Cross Road corridor and the effects of noise and lighting on the surrounding neighborhoods.

Friedman said he takes issue with the assertion that the planned change in activity at the Mulligan’s site will adversely affect the surrounding area.

He noted the type of commercial zoning, C-4, being sought in the amended MPD for the site is already in place for commercial properties nearby. He also pointed to the approval for Topgolf, which included “tremendous relief relative to what we’re looking for here” and “was given the green light” despite its own traffic, noise, lighting and aesthetic impacts.

“This idea that [Cranston Crossing] is so far out in left field is so far from the truth … It’s not like there’s skyscrapers going in here,” he said. He added that while he has not fully reviewed traffic studies for the development, he believes it will have a “very low impact.”

Some critics who seek a continued recreational use for the site have pointed to the success of smaller operations that are tenants of Mulligan’s, including a golf pro and volleyball leagues.

Friedman said those operations are a “very, very small piece of the whole puzzle” – and that their success owes in part to the benefits Mulligan’s offers, such as access to utilities and infrastructure.

“I kind of chuckle at it,” he said. “That’s like saying, ‘Well, you know, the Apple Store’s doing well at the mall, so the mall should be fine’ … I think we created an environment for them to succeed.”

In terms of the reaction the project has received, Friedman said: “I’m not surprised because there’s often negative pushback to every new development that comes into town.” He recalled that when Mulligan’s was initially proposed, it too faced opposition.

“And now, 20 years later, they can’t live without it … Change is hard,” he said.

Friedman spoke highly of Costco – calling it “one of the top-rated retailers by communities” – and of Michael DiGuiseppe, the managing partner of Coastal Properties. He dismissed the suggestion by some that the altered plan calling for the 18-acre land donation to the city represents a predetermined move on the developer’s part rather than a response to the objections the residential component drew.

“I honestly think the guy listened to what he was being told … If you give a guy commentary, and he listens, that should be commended,” he said.

He added: “It’s unfortunate that this got made into a grand campaign issue … He’s got time, he’s got our support.”

The Planning Commission was set to begin its public hearing on the Cranston Crossing zoning change on Tuesday night. It was the sole item on the agenda, and Planning Director Jason Pezzullo told the Herald that in anticipation of lengthy proceedings with significant public comment, the commission has scheduled an additional meeting for Dec. 8. The second meeting, he said, will likely include a vote on the zone change, along with the rest of the commission’s regular monthly business.

The zone change also requires approval from the City Council, a process that would begin during the Ordinance Committee’s meeting on Dec. 10.

Asked how Mulligan’s ownership would proceed if the zone change is not approved, Friedman said: “We’ll have to engage the council and the incoming mayor’s administration and find a different avenue to do it.”

Friedman also raised the possibility of the land returning to the state’s possession for potential expansion of its existing complex. He said several years ago, prior to the Raimondo administration, the state eyed the acquisition of the site through eminent domain as it sought a new headquarters for the Rhode Island State Police. He said state officials last contacted Mulligan’s ownership regarding the potential acquisition of the property last year.

“They were pretty vocal about their desire to reclaim the land,” he said.

He added: “If I’m an elected official in Cranston, I would think having a beautifully developed piece of land … is a far better outcome than having a new prison or a new state office complex put in at that facility.”

As for Mulligan’s Island’s longtime customers, Friedman said the location’s ownership is “proud of what we’ve done over 20 years” – particularly the role the operation has played in the community.

“We love our customers,” he said. “We’ve watched kids grow up from little tikes to teenagers. They’ve come to work with us, and sometimes they’ve come back with their own kids.”

Friedman said “there’s lots of outdoor recreation options in the state that we can take advantage of,” and while the departure of Mulligan’s from the scene will create a void, there are many other such businesses that have “come and gone” over the years. The amenities that Cranston Crossing would provide, he said, fit the community’s needs moving forward.

“In an age of coronavirus, these are the things that people really need and want … We’re not essential, as we’ve been told many times over the past year,” he said.

Mulligan's, Cranston Crossing

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