Pawtucket Armory Arts Exchange
Pawtucket, Rhode Island


[ photograph by Taintor & Associates Inc. ]

Constructed in 1895 in the Romanesque style, the Pawtucket Armory is listed on
the National Register of Historic Places. The building has been vacant for the past
8 years awaiting a new user to revive its presence as part of the Exchange Street
neighborhood. The Town obtained the Armory from the State, and subsequently
issued a Request for Proposals to select a preferred developer for the building.

In 2000, a group of citizens founded the non-profit Pawtucket Armory Association
to spearhead an effort to convert the building into an arts and entertainment center.
Preliminary planning is targeted at renting space to house a 180-seat Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theater, the music school of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and
a performing arts high school. So far approximately $700,000 in funding has been
secured to begin a project estimated to cost a total of $6.5 million.

The City has executed a purchase and sale agreement with the PAA, with a closing
scheduled for summer, 2002. Prior to closing, the City will complete an
environmental cleanup (lead and asbestos removal) and code compliance project
estimated to cost $200,000.

Contacts:

Michael Cassidy, Planning Director
Town of Pawtucket
401/724.5200

Sam Babbitt, Pawtucket Armory Association
Capital Campaign
401/497.1555

"A Work In Progress: Pawtucket Attempts to Reinvent Itself as a Haven for Artists" - Providence Journal, 9/8/01

RI National Guard: Buildings & Grounds