Pawtucket Planning Commission OKs 6-Month Extension For Apex

PAWTUCKET, RI — The Pawtucket Planning Commission Tuesday night voted 3-1 to grant the Apex Companies a six-month extension to advance their master plan for "Riverfront Commons" — a major retail development proposed on five hotly-contested downtown parcels.

The current master plan, approved in 2015, consists of little more than a birds-eye schematic showing building footprints and parking spaces. Commissioners said they want to see progress in the form of engineering plans, architectural plans, stormwater permits, and the like. Lawyers for Apex said they have much of that documentation in hand, but admitted they have not presented it to the commission.

The Apex Companies must now return ahead of the new January 1 expiration date and show enough progress to persuade the commissioners to grant yet another extension. "Show us the plans," said member Antero Martins.

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Voting in favor of the extension were commission chairman Steven M. Pedro, member Stephanie Olarte, and Martins. Monique T. Renaud voted no, and Karen Kolodziej was absent.

Martins suggested the six-month solution following lengthy discussion over whether Apex had shown "good cause" to receive another one-year extension. Previous extensions were granted as a matter of "vested right," but now, under state law, the commissioners have more discretion.

City of Pawtucket

Apex initially came to the table Tuesday seeking a one-year extension that would only start tolling after all lawsuits between Apex and the city were resolved. Pedro said he was not comfortable with such an open-ended arrangement, and the other commissioners agreed. Assistant Planner Jay Rosa had recommended that if the commission approved an extension, that it be done with a hard-and-fast date, and not linked to the resolution of any court proceedings.

Lawyer Joshua Glass, representing Apex, described a lengthy history of litigation and conflict between Apex and the city, and asserted that progress could not be made under the circumstances. He said that "good cause" exists for an extension because city officials have stymied progress.

"Moving forward with the master plan has been impossible because of the city," said Glass.

Lawyer Joe Whalen, also representing Apex, made similar arguments. He said he expects clarity in the coming months as to whether the city will "take the property, buy the property, or leave us alone."

Tuesday night's Zoom hearing featured sniping between Whalen and Daniel J. Sullivan, co-chair of the Pawtucket Foundation. The foundation had written a letter to the Planning Commission opposing any master plan extension. "I'm sick of the excuses," said Sullivan, who appeared remotely at the meeting while walking outdoors with his cellphone. "They sat on the property for years."

Whalen challenged Sullivan to back up statements made in the letter that Apex had not negotiated "in good faith," and accused Sullivan of acting as an emissary for the mayor's office while trying to devalue the property.

The idea for a retail complex at Riverfront Commons was first floated in 2010, but little publicly visible progress has been made. The city in recent years wanted to include the land in its massive public-private Tidewater Landing project, but those talks fell through. Previously the owners of the former Pawtucket Red Sox proposed a baseball stadium at the site. Those negotiations did not bear fruit.

In October, Mayor Donald Grebien declared that the land would be taken by eminent domain, if necessary, to further the city's vision of a "downtown gateway" including public access and mixed use development along the Seekonk River. "Years of regular, cordial, and good faith negotiations for purchase have, unfortunately, been unsuccessful," Grebien said at the time.

Glass thanked the commissioners following Tuesday's hearing and said Apex would be in touch with the city's planning department.

Correction: Due to a typing error, an earlier version had Whalen, not Sullivan, joining the meeting while walking around outside with his cellphone.