Cities Seek Special Master For Pawtucket/Central Falls Station

PAWTUCKET, RI — The cities of Pawtucket and Central Falls are going to court in an effort to gain authority over a derelict former train station property that spans the two cities and is privately owned.

Lawyers for the cities on May 17 petitioned a Superior Court judge to appoint a special master to oversee and take control of the old Pawtucket-Central Falls Train Station on Barton and Broad streets, the Office of Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien said Thursday.

A special master would take control of the property, preserve the deteriorating building, report the current status of all safety and code violations, and find ways to address safety and security issues, the mayor's office said. Special masters may be appointed by judges to resolve issues within the context of complex litigation.

The parcels are currently owned by Broad Investments, LLC, and Reservoir Adventures, LLC, city property records show. Corporate records filed with the Rhode Island Secretary of State list the resident managers of Reservoir Adventures as H. Jeffrey Baker of Providence and Nathanial B. Baker of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. A search for "Broad Investments" on the state's corporate database turned up no results, although city records show the entity with a post office box in Warwick.

City of Pawtucket Property Records

The grand train station was first unveiled in 1916 for passengers on the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. It closed in 1959 in poor condition. The property was considered for development projects over the years, but nothing came to fruition. The structure was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, but the designation effort failed due to the property’s poor condition.

The old passenger rail station is now decrepit and crumbling with many ways for people to enter the unsafe building. During a visit to the property last month, passersby told a reporter that the building is regularly used by drug users, homeless individuals, and prostitutes.

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Trash fires have been set inside the building, with one in April and another last year. Recently there was an overdose death inside the structure. Police regularly issue trespassing citations. Local building officials have been working to develop cost estimates for securing the structure. Amtrak, owner of the nearby tracks, has been involved in recent discussions, officials said.

Patch procured 12 years of building inspection records relevant to the site. The records show that a string of owners repeatedly ignored orders to correct safety problems and bring the property up to code. A decade ago, the structure was owned by a limited liability corporation with a Memphis, Tennessee address. "Unsafe conditions," notes a 2011 inspection report. "Brick facade is crumbling and falling on the tracks below."

By 2013, the old train station was owned by the "Iglesia Pentecostal Nueva Vida en Cristo" with Mayra Vasquez of 63 Whipple Avenue in Cranston listed as a corporate officer. An inspector noted that the premise "has litter, refuse, rubbish and/or garbage, high grass, overgrown trees, and bushes." The roof was leaking and the property was unsecured, permitting unauthorized entry and water infiltration. The structure was rapidly eroding, the inspector noted.

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The city took the Pentecostal church owners to court in 2016, but records show no subsequent improvement. "The structure is infested with rats, the roof has large holes and is structurally unsound," an inspector noted.

In 2018, Broad Investments and Reservoir Adventures arrived as the new owners of record. "Property is a mess," a building inspector noted. Violations persisted, with the property owners failing to make corrections as ordered.

On Thursday, the mayors of Pawtucket an Central Falls issued statements:

“We are saddened to see this property is such disarray,” said Grebien. “It has become a location with numerous health and safety violations and a burden on both the Pawtucket and Central Falls Public Safety Departments. This building has fallen into such disrepair, and it is disheartening. We are trying to preserve what we can.”

“The severity of the public health and safety crisis at this property has forced the cities' hand,” said Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera. “From squatters to overdoses to a rotting building that is falling on the Amtrak line and endangering our firefighters, this property is the definition of a public nuisance. I want to thank Mayor Grebien for his partnership in working together to tackle this complex problem.”

Patch is seeking a copy of the receivership petition filed in Providence/Bristol Superior Court.