A 207-room hotel in Warwick, Rhode Island, is being converted to serve a need for workforce housing.
New York-based developer GoodHomes Co. bought the former Wyndham Providence hotel at 1850 Post Rd. for $5.9 million, or $28,502 per room, in October 2023. The property sits on 3.7 acres in the Providence/Warwick submarket and features a business center, fitness center and indoor pool. The developer plans to convert it to 181 apartments for workforce housing.
The listing agents said the project comes at a time when "demand for quality, reasonably priced housing is at a new high." For this, it has been recognized by the 2024 CoStar Impact Awards as sale/acquisition of the year for Providence, as judged by a panel of experts in the market.
According to CoStar records, the seller, Sarchi Group, put the property on the market for $12.5 million and it sold at a 53% discount. It was on the market for more than three years. It was built in 1972 as the Airport Sheraton.
Buyer GoodHomes specializes in hotel-to-apartment conversions.
"The listing emerged during a challenging period for airport hotels, as the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the industry. However, I spotted a gap in the market and identified an ideal buyer who aligns with the evolving market demands," said Gregory Arakelian, broker and commercial director of Lila Delman Compass.
"GoodHomes Co. is in the process of transforming the property into 151 studio apartments and 30 one-bedroom units at a time when demand for quality, reasonably priced housing is at a new high. These apartments will offer an array of exceptional amenities, including an indoor pool and fitness center while maintaining convenient accessibility for all modes of transportation."
David Mitchell, a partner at GoodHomes Co., said great access to public transportation and a need in the area for workforce housing attracted the company to the property.
Additionally, “the improvements to T.F. Green in recent years are spectacular for what we want to do, as tenants could include airport employees and frequent travelers,” Mitchell said. “It's meeting a very critical need. You can see this being a safe, accessible, clean community that would appeal to people in the workforce, who are teachers, law enforcement, and people in the manufacturing, distribution or medical industries.
“In any of these communities, any business would ask — it could be Amazon, for instance — 'Where are our people going to live?' They know their salary levels and what they can afford. If there is no housing for that population for that company, they are not going to move in. People talk about shortages in the workforce, but one of the underlying factors is if people can live in a reasonable distance from the place of employment.”
About the Deal: A former five-story hotel at 1850 Post Rd. in Warwick, Rhode Island, next to Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport, is being converted into 181 units of workforce housing.
What the Judges Said: "This was a dynamic transaction that required multiple levels of approval and will generate much-needed new housing for the community," said Michael Friedman.
They Made it Happen: Lila Delaman Compass brokers Gregory Arakelian and David Lawrence.