Struever Bros. drop ALCO

Matthew Kazas

The $230 million American Locomotive Works project (ALCO) was headed by Struever Bros., Eccles & Rouse until this Tuesday when William C. Struever, the president and chief executive officer of Struever Bros., announced that the company will no longer be involved in the rehabilitation.

Struever was quoted as saying: “Like many other real estate development and construction companies, Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse is working through the complex challenges of these trying economic times. While Struever Bros. will have no continued ownership in the future phases of ALCO, McCormack Baron and Olneyville Housing are committed to the revitalization of one of the most important projects in all of Providence.”

The ALCO project has had its hardships; when it was originally proposed in 2005 it was supposed to be a $333-million development with 650 residences, 450,000 square feet of commercial space and a 180-room hotel. But last year the proposal only called for $230-million and 378 residences; 15,676 square feet of the original plan were lost, with 404,044 of the remaining area being office space and the other 30,280 designated retail space. The hotel was also taken out of the proposal.

Now that McCormack Baron Salazar, a St. Louis-based housing developer, and Olneyville Housing Corporation have taken over the rehabilitation of ALCO, Karl Schlachter, the company’s senior vice president, says that they will continue to build the 85 units of low- to moderate-income housing and 25 units of work force housing required in the tax agreements for phases two and three, but that they will lower the amount of market-rate housing.

In order to receive the appropriate financing the city will have to agree to this, and they must also gain approval for low income housing tax credits from Rhode Island Housing. If all goes as planned, this project should provide nearly 2,000 construction jobs and $167 million of investment into the city of Providence over the next three years.


Sources:
http://newsblog.projo.com/2009/10/struever-bros-gives-up-stake-i-1.html
http://www.olneyville.org/
http://www.mccormackbaron.com/
http://www.sber.com/home.php