The Planning Board sets a special April 24 meeting to discuss its advisory recommendations to the Town Council about the #MiddletownRI Center project. Because the hearing was closed, comments from the public will have to wait for future sessions.
ANOTHER MIDDLETOWN CENTER MEETING SET FOR APRIL 24
MIDDLETOWN, RI (APRIL 8, 2025) – Another Planning Board special meeting is set for April 24 about the Middletown Center proposal.
Following close to four hours of discussion Thursday night about the plans for 600-740 West Main Road, the Planning Board agreed more time was needed to put together an advisory opinion to the Town Council on the zoning amendment requests.
The April 24 meeting will again be in the Gaudet Middle School cafetorium at 6 pm. Because the public hearing was closed at the end go the last meeting, the Planning Board will not be accepting additional public testimony during the April 24 session.
The public is welcome to attend the April 24 meeting to observe the Planning Board’s deliberations on its recommendations. Attendees are asked to park on the Turner Road side of the building.
If the Planning Board were to vote to reopen the public hearing, a new round of advertising and public notice would be required in advance of a hearing.
There will be additional opportunity for public input during the public hearings that will be held by the Town Council once it receives the Planning Board’s recommendations.
During the well-attended public hearing last week before an audience of about 300 people, the developers made a number of concessions with the project at the request of the Planning Board should it gain approval from the town.
Among those included taking large department stores and supermarkets entirely off the table. Another was to add language to the zoning amendments specifying Middletown Center be walkable, family friendly and serves as a “community gathering place” for all of Middletown.
They also agreed to limiting the hotel to four stories, with a pitched roof on top to make it fit into the area and look more ascetically pleasing.
Going through the proposed Middletown Center Overlay Zoning document page by page, Planning Board members and the developers said it was important to get everything done right the first time. To see that document, go to https://ri-middletown.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/18351/Planning-Board-memo-3-21-2025 online.
“This is not just another mixed use project or another shopping center,” Planning Board member Stephen Huttler said. “This is a very special and important project for Middletown.”
Opening the meeting, Town Solicitor Peter Regan reminded everyone that Middletown Center had a number of steps to complete before a shovel was in the ground.
He said the Planning Board must first offer an advisory opinion to the council about the zoning amendments before the board now. From there, Regan said there’s a multi-step public process intended to make sure every aspect of the proposed development was thoroughly reviewed and vetted.
He and others reiterated that there has been no formal plan submitted for Middletown Center to date, just the overlay district amendments, which serve as the first step in the town and state review.
After waiting about two hours to speak, residents outlined a number of concerns with Middletown Center, with many comments receiving loud applause.
This included everything from the impact of the project on stormwater and sewerage to why wasn’t more affordable housing part of the development.
“Putting more pavement over there, it’s not good,” resident Robert Braman said. “There’s got to be something done with the stormwater…Slow this process down. Don’t rush into anything.”
Others questioned how much traffic would be added as a result of Middletown Center, whether there was enough parking, the landscaping and whether the town was putting too much into too small a space. Adding another hotel and bank were panned, something developers have said were integral to the project.
“One of the things that kind of concerns me read about this whole project was the continual description of this area as being underutilized,” resident Audrey MacLeod-Pfeiffer said. “I believe the following measures were taken over a period of time to purposefully give it that designation. The town stopped the adult education classes at (the former Kennedy School). They stopped renting out that space. They took down the tennis courts. They took down the playground behind JFK. They moved the park and recreation program that used to be there every summer for the kids to Gaudet.”
There were also concerns expressed about how part of the development would be built on land now occupied the West Main Road Recreational Complex — including Pottsy Field — when there were strict restrictions governing such a move.
This comes in light of a March 31, 2025 letter from the Department of Interior reiterating those requirements. That document can be viewed at https://www.middletownri.gov/DocumentCenter/View/18483/NPS-ltr-Pottsy-Field-Middletown-RI-3-31-25 online.
In response, the town solicitor Regan said Middletown and the developers have been well aware of those restrictions from the outset.
And the town and its attorneys were working through the process now to move the deed restrictions to similarly valued sites for open space and recreation. Under the current plan, he said the town wanted to place those restrictions on close to five acres at the northern part of the development. If that doesn’t satisfy those requirements, Regan said the town’s Hoogendoorn property between Turner Road and Berkeley Avenue was also in play.
Regan noted Middletown Center approvals can move forward on a parallel track with approvals for the overlay district while the deed restrictions on the West Main Road Recreational Complex were being sorted out.
But he strongly reiterated that until the deed restrictions were finalized with the federal government, absolutely no construction would take place on the impacted land.
The Middletown Center Citizens Advisory Committee has been recharged with redesigning the close to five acres of open space at the northern part of the site into a welcoming community gathering place for Middletown Center and other nearby neighborhoods.
Planning Board members applauded the Middletown Center development team — Chris Bicho, James Karam and Rocky Kempenaar — for their willingness to work with the board to make the project more amenable to the community wherever possible.
“You seem to be very receptive to some of these suggestions that Steve and (Planning Board member) Leon (Amarant) have brought to the table,” said Planning Board member Charlie Vaillancourt to Middletown Center attorney Girard Galvin. “Hopefully, we can come up with a final determination that is acceptable to most — if not all — of us.”
“I really appreciate the flexibility the project team is offering and the willingness to consider limited business,” Planning Board Chair Paul Croce added.
However, the developers said there were limits to how far they could go to make the project viable. Agreeing to look at adding three more affordable housing units to bring the total to 18, Galvin said there wasn’t much more give.
“There are areas where there’s flexibility and I’ve tried to reflect that tonight in the dialogue we’ve had,” Galvin said. “There are certain aspects of the economics here that have to be achieved. The components of the plan that are the drivers have not changed since 2021 when this was first submitted. One hundred forty four hotel rooms, 150 apartments with 10 percent being dedicated to affordable and the retail component. Without those, this team cannot make it work.”
The Town Council approved the public-private development agreement with Bicho, Karam and Kempenaar in early October 2024. To view that document, go to https://mdl.town/MC-Lease online.
The news was the culmination of around 16 years of work by the town with the Navy, community partners and others to create a new dynamic project in the center of Middletown’s commercial district.
Proponents have long questioned why Middletown wasn’t doing more with the site, which hasn’t collected a cent in taxes since the World War II era.
They’ve said Middletown Center would help the town on a number of fronts. In addition to bringing in at least $1.1 million in new revenues for the community, they point to the 150
new apartments — including 18 affordable units — as vital for the town.
Supporters have also said half the units in the 144-room hotel would be aimed at extended stay customers like those at Naval Station Newport and defense related entities. There’s also hope a new hotel will bring down the high room rates, especially during the busy summer months.
The mixed shopping, office and business opportunities have been applauded by supporters, growth that would help the community collect taxes for the first time in generations in the heart of its commercial district.
Library leaders, officials and others have complimented plans to move the Middletown Public Library around the corner to 110 Enterprise Center. In addition to saving the town at
least $14 million and getting a better building in the process, they’ve noted the project is
not expected to cost taxpayers any new money under the current funding model.
The fate of Pottsy Field has stirred emotions, with some saying the town and the developers weren’t doing enough to honor Sgt. Chris Potts. A Tiverton resident who grew up and went to school in Middletown, Potts was killed on Oct. 3, 2004 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom on his 38th birthday.
In his honor, the softball field was dedicated to Potts, who played there frequently, with a
large sign erected as a lasting memory of his sacrifice.
Multiple town officials have spoken with members of the Potts family in recent weeks to make sure their wishes were honored with whatever happens with the 4.875 acres of open space in Middletown Center.
To follow the latest with Middletown Center, go to https://mdl.town/MC-Planning online. For a Middletown Center question and answer sheet, go to https://mdl.town/MC-QA online. To watch a recording of the April 3 meeting, go to https://mdl.town/PB-PH-4325 online.
Document Link: https://mdl.town/NYCU-42425
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