Quonset Business Park's Gateway reaches milestones

With the onset of the fall season, the Quonset Business Park is marking several milestones at its new Gateway. The mixed use Gateway will include over 900,000 s/f of offices, R&D space, a sports center, restaurants, hotel and retail to provide amenities for park residents and the surrounding community. Construction over the summer has been moving forward on several coordinated fronts, including roadwork, sewer connections, landscaping and building construction. The first building to open its doors will be Kohl's, the anchor store for the open air center. Slated to open next month, Kohl's staged a job fair at Quonset last month that attracted hundreds of applicants. New Boston, the developer of the Gateway is also reaching out to local businesses interested in office or retail space. Already, a well known local grocer, Dave's Marketplace has announced it will open a Quonset Gateway store. Working with Rhode Island chambers of commerce, New Boston Development Partners has been talking with other local and regional businesses about additional space that is available in the open air center including retail spaces from 1,000-6,500 s/f and office spaces from 1,000-10,000 s/f. It is anticipated that upon completion, $144 million Gateway will include: almost 400,000 s/f of premier office and R& D space; a 40,000 s/f hotel with expansion capability to double its size to accommodate the park's growth; new meeting space for businesses and the community; and retail and restaurant space which will be 35% of the total project. In conjunction with the Gateway development, the Quonset Development Corp. (QDC) has been working on construction of a new road configuration that adds a rotary inside the park and constructs a new road connecting Gate and Commerce Park. Getting the road configuration right sets the foundation for traffic patterns and future development plans at the business park. The new configuration will allow for dedicated access to the auto import logistics center to improve security and eliminate traffic conflict between public vehicles and import vehicles.. We are nearing completion of phase I of the new two lane connector road that will segregate the Gateway public traffic from port traffic. At its August meeting the QDC board voted to name the new road Romano Vineyard Way, pending final sign-off from the town of North Kingstown. The Romano family operated a vineyard on 370 acres of land bordered by Newcomb and Post Rds. for many years prior to the arrival of the U.S. Navy in the early-1940s. Romano Farm and Vineyard once covered a large portion of Davisville with grape arbors and fruit trees. Started by four brothers, the Vineyard produced 100,000 gallons of wine each year. Varieties included Rhode Island Red Sparkling Burgundy and Devil's Foot American Port, each selling for 50 cents a gallon. During prohibition, the vineyard sold sacramental wine to churches and synagogues and wine for "medicinal purposes." When WWII broke out, the Vineyard was taken by the federal government as part of its massive war effort that necessitated the building of the Davisville and Quonset bases. The new Romano Vineyard Way will serve as critical connection linking the business park's waterfront initiatives with Rte. 403, thus providing direct highway access that can bypass the Gateway. When completed the road system will be able to service businesses inside the office park and along the waterfront as well as support the Gateway's pedestrian friendly design that mark's the entryway to the business park and incorporates the nearby Seabee Museum, chapel and walking paths. Steven King, P.E., is the managing director for the Quonset Development Corp., North Kingstown.