NEWS

If all goes as planned, construction could start as soon as December on a four-story medical office and surgery center for Ortho Rhode Island at what Kelly Coates, president of the Carpionato Group, envisions as the nucleus for other medical buildings and for “medical tourism.”

Wednesday’s announcement, held in the foyer of 200 Crossings Boulevard in the shadow of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, represents the culmination of years of planning and talks. Ortho Rhode Island, consisting of 55 orthopedic surgeons and a staff of 300, would own the building and its six-acre site, said Mary Ellen Ashe, executive director. In the first of two phases a 60,000-square-foot building would be erected on the site followed by a 40,000 square feet addition at an undetermined time.

The development, along with a proposal to build seven four-story buildings with a total of 216 units on a seven-acre site east of Ortho Rhode Island off Greenwich Avenue gained approval of the Planning Board earlier this month without objection. The project still requires zoning approval by the City Council, an action that apparently Mayor Joseph Solomon is confident of happening as he joined Coates and Ashe in making yesterday’s announcement.

“There have been a number of exciting projects that we’ve celebrated in our community in just the past several months,” Solomon said, “a mix of commercial and residential developments that are broadening our tax base, bringing a healthy variety of jobs to Warwick and re-invigorating and re-energizing existing companies even as we are attracting significant private investments from out-of-state entities and their Rhode Island partners.”

He said the project would create 125 construction jobs, 275 permanent bio-medical jobs with a payroll of $30 million as well as add $25 million in assessed value to city tax rolls.

Coates used the occasion to pay tribute to Alfred Carpionato, who started working at 15 years old and has built the company that now owns scores of buildings with a combined total of 6 million square feet of development. Carpionato bought the Benny’s buildings and sites after Benny’s closed and has built multiple hotels and shopping centers.

“He took his heart right out,” Coates said of Carpionato, “and you can see it with every one of his buildings, every project, he always does the right thing.”

Coates also gave K. Joseph Shekarchi, House Majority Leader, a shout out as the attorney who legally steered the project.

Ashe said Ortho Rhode Island first envisioned a medical campus about four years ago that could potentially offer, “one stop shopping.”

“What we didn’t envision, what we didn’t know four years ago when we started this planning, was that we would be fortunate enough to meet Kelly and the Carpionatos and be able to find the best location in all of Rhode Island for our medical campus,” she said.

“Having this facility allows us to really recruit and retain some of the best surgical talents in the country, it will allow us to look at jobs and high paying jobs – we’re talking about physicians, and nurse practitioners and physician assistants,” she said.

In comments following the announcement Coates called the Crowne Plaza site “the hub” of Rhode Island. “This is where it is happening,” he said.

The concept of making the former sand and gravel pit with easy access to Route 95 and close to Green Airport a center for medical procedures and “medical tourism” is hardly new. Coates is hopeful that the Laser Spine Institute that was considered a tenant for a free standing building next to the hotel will take a second look at Rhode Island given the Ortho Rhode Island announcement. The concept of medical tourism is to offer a venue providing specialty medical procedures attracting patients from outside the state who would stay here for a limited time.

Coates said Carpionato stands ready to add another 100 rooms to the 266-room Crowne Plaza when and if additional medical buildings are built. In the meantime he announced a $12 million revision program of the Crowne that has already started. That work will include a revision to the Crowne tower, HVAC systems and the reconstruction of all 266 rooms. The work is to be done in increments without interruption to hotel operations.

In an interview earlier this week, Coates said he’s pleased to announce what will be a significant development for the city that will generate taxes and create jobs. He added that the development comes at an important time given the “epic [budget] shortfall” faced by the school department although, he agreed, it wouldn’t have an impact until the project is completed.

Ward 8 Councilman Joseph Gallucci, who attended an informational meeting with neighbors about the development prior to the Planning Board hearing, is delighted by the development. Furthermore, he notes, neither the Ortho Rhode Island nor the housing development, with no set timetable for construction, would interfere with the Continental Little League that leases land for its field from Carpionato.