NTCIC Financing
$10.4 Million in Federal HTCs and NMTCs
Total Development Cost
$16.9 Million
Project Partner
AS220
History
Washington Street
The Mercantile Block, located at 125-135 Washington St, dates back to 1901 and is composed of several buildings that were joined over time. It is owned by AS220, Providence’s leading nonprofit artist support organization, who renovated the abutting Dreyfus Hotel in 2006, which is home to artist live/work studios and a popular restaurant and bar. Both buildings are about a block away from the arts organization’s main space at Empire and Washington Streets.
Revitalization Efforts
Building the Block
The $16.9 million renovation project created retail and office space, a restaurant, and 22 artists’ live/work studios in a 50,000 square foot, four-story plus basement building. Tenants include a small-scale workshop offering digital fabrication called the Fab Lab, a silkscreen shop, and nonprofits such as College Visions, a program that helps disadvantaged youths apply to college and the Rhode Island Council on the Humanities (RICH). AS220’s vision is for the building to become a hub for the city’s thriving arts and business district.
Community Impact
Providence Arts and Entertainment District
The Mercantile Block project rehabilitated a nearly vacant building in a distressed, low-income census tract in downtown Providence. The completed building includes 22 live/work studios, 16 of which are affordably priced, and an entire floor of below-market office space and work studios for artists and arts-related business, including several nonprofit organizations. This project represented another step in the creation of the Providence Arts and Entertainment District and had a large impact on the area’s ongoing revitalization.
NTCIC & Progress
Economic Impact
Mercantile Block was made possible, in part, by NTCIC through a $10.4 Million investment generated by both federal Historic Tax Credits and New Markets Tax Credits.
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