By: Philip Cozzolino, Newport This Week
The Newport Historical Society will stay in its Brick Market location after signing a 30-year lease with the city.
The nonprofit organization will pay the city $6,667 per year for use of its headquarters and museum located at 127 Thames St., a city- owned building.
NHS, which offers the public free admission to the museum, has been leasing the building for $1 per year since 1991. The agreement has not been formal since 2016. The City Council unanimously approved the new contract on Feb. 12.
Annual lease payments to the city over 30 years totaling $200,000 will help offset the cost of a new geothermal HVAC system and the modernization of restrooms in the building, which the city is paying for. According to city officials, the current system needs to be replaced, and restrooms updated for ADA compliance, with work estimated at $665,800.
The city received two bids for the project in its second request for proposals after a first round yielded no responses. Farrar Associates of Newport bid $625,800, while E.W. Burman of Warwick proposed $744,900 to complete the work. The city added a $40,000 contingency for the project.
At the meeting, the council approved a contract with Farrar Associates to complete the project in a 5-1 vote, with councilor David Carlin opposed. Carlin pressed public services director William Riccio about the cost.
“Even with the addition of the bathroom upgrades, roughly $625,000 for this type of work is extraordinarily expensive in my opinion,” he said. “I can’t vote for something I don’t have an explanation for. Get the contractor here; this is a lot of money.”
Carlin requested a cost breakdown for the project. Riccio said he did not have the bid on hand but that it could be procured for Carlin’s review. The increased cost is likely due to the historic nature of the structure and much of the work needing to take place in a basement crawlspace, according to Riccio.
The Brick Market, built between 1762 and 1771, sits at the foot of Washington Square.
“It’s not like you’re just putting a wall-mounted unit up,” he said. “I hate to say that’s the price of doing business in historic structures, but it does come into play.”
Carlin said the city is “just guessing” as to the project total. Riccio said the city has “hard bids” to complete the work.
Mayor Charles Holder conceded the price tag is high but said increased costs are expected when working with historic buildings.
“If Farrar Associates came to us with a breakdown of what it costs, would you know if that’s the correct number?” he asked Carlin. “I’m not trying to be funny. I’m just saying I’ve worked in these situations before and, yes, that number is high, but it’s really not that far out of the park.”
Holder said Farrar Associates is a reputable local company with a track record of completing projects on time and on budget.
Councilor Xay Khamsyvoravong said the purchase is “not a typical HVAC system” that would otherwise cost a fraction of what the city is paying.
“This is one of the oldest systems in the state,” he said. “It’s supporting a free public museum on the top floor of historic artifacts, including a printing press from the Franklin family.”
A large portion of the project total is being covered by a grant from the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources. Khamsyvoravong noted recent federal freezes and cuts by the Trump Administration and said speed is of the essence.
“If anybody’s watching the news right now, two weeks can make a lot of difference when it comes to funding that is trickling down to us from the federal government,” he said. “We need to be moving decisively on any opportunity we have to obligate funds that we have that are tied back to federal funds. We’re at risk of losing these funds if we don’t act quickly.”
In other matters:
The council approved a resolution acting as the first administrative step in allowing Discover Newport to create a new tourism marketing district, which will allow the organization to assess increased nightly room fees for 18 participating hotels.
After a unanimous council vote, city manager Colin Kennedy will have authorization to sign contracts up to $250,000 for work related to renovations at the Florence Gray Center, which is serving as Newport’s and Middletown’s learning hub for the municipal Learn365 initiative. Kennedy will be required to only notify the council that contracts below that threshold are being executed.
The council unanimously withdrew a show cause hearing for Gardiner House, which was one of several restaurants that did not get paperwork squared away with the state in time for annual liquor license renewals with the city last month.
Read the story online: https://www.newportthisweek.com/articles/lease-signed-to-stay-in-brick-market/
