Citizens project gets first approvals

Citizens Bank’s plans for a new corporate campus in Johnston received initial approval from the Planning Board on Tuesday, with amendments to the town’s zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan recommended favorably to the Town Council.

The board also approved the master plan submission for the project, which town solicitor and acting planning director William Conley described as the “concept” for the development. Roughly 100 people were in attendance at the meeting.

Citizens in March announced its plans for the new campus, which is to be located on a more than 100-acre site near Greenville Avenue and I-295. The 420,000-square-foot facility is being eyed for a 2018 opening, housing more than 3,200 employees. The project will also require an extension of sewer service to the area and the construction of a new highway ramp.

The Town Council last month unanimously approved a tax treaty with Citizens for the project. Its terms provide for $250,000 annual payments to the town over a 20-year period, for a total of $5 million.

Tuesday’s Planning Board meeting represented the first step in terms of the project’s needed zoning and logistical approvals. The property in question is currently classified for residential use, and the comprehensive plan and zoning amendments seek support for a commercial designation.

Mayor Joseph Polesina addressed the board and presented a similar argument to the one he delivered to the Town Council last month, saying the proposed Citizens development would be far more financially advantageous to the town than other types of development.

Attorney John Bolton of Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP, who represented Citizens Bank during the hearing, called Joseph Lombardo, of Randall Realtors and the former town planner for Westerly, Richmond, and Hopkinton, to testify in support of the amendments.

“When you have an opportunity to look at a land use such as this, it helps balance off other growth,” Lombardo said. “For a community to be healthy, and I’m talking more financially, you need the economic development engine to drive it, and this [plan] helps with that balance … If you’re going to broaden your tax base, which all towns need to do, it’s telling you that you need to delineate areas and identify them and actively promote them.”

Lombardo also asserted that the Citizens project carries a degree of certainty not seen with some other kinds of development.

“These are the types of projects that are not a whim, it’s not a project that is speculative,” he said. “This is a real, large-scale office complex campus with a big commitment of time, money, and employees.”

Thomas Sweeney, a licensed real estate broker at Sweeney Real Estate & Appraisal, also testified on behalf of Citizens. He called the project “very well thought out,” and said he believes it “will not have a negative impact on surrounding property values or their use.” He also said the sewer and highway improvements will “be a catalyst for further development within the area,” boosting the town’s tax base.

Conley suggested the revenue generated by local businesses from the construction process could exceed six figures.

A number of residents on hand raised questions and concerns regarding the Citizens project. Mindy Montecalvo of Greenville Avenue spoke out against the changes to the comprehensive plan, saying the area has always been low-use residential.

“To say that the land use in this planning district is for the good of the area and complies with the comprehensive plan doesn’t seem to make sense to me,” she said. “For statements to be said that it’s good for the town … I’m sure that it might be good for some people, I’m sure that it might be good for the whole town, but I feel that you’re telling our area to take a [hit] for the team.”

Others who spoke questioned the effects of the development on traffic, residential wells, and property values, as well as the removal of landfill debris and the purchase of neighboring properties by Citizens.

Thomas Kimberley, a nearby resident, questioned whether or not the zoning needed to be changed now, as Citizens has yet to purchase the property and proposed exits to I-295 have not been approved.

Officials did acknowledge the infrastructure upgrades would be needed for the project to move forward. The proposed changes include no provisions to revert the zoning back to residential should the project not proceed.

“At the end of the day, and we can go back and forth on this, this project doesn’t get built without those ramps,” Bolton said.

Conley said the master plan approval is an initial step in the project’s overall approval process.

“I understand why, sometimes, the master plan part of the process can be really confusing and frustrating to people because those in the community come to the public hearing expecting to see more detail [than] what’s required as a matter of law,” he said. “Most of the details that have been brought up tonight will be addressed by the applicant when they come back for more preliminary approvals.”

Others who testified before the Planning Board on Tuesday were Nicole Reilly, civil engineer with DiPrete Engineering; traffic engineer Paul Bannon, senior project manager with BETA Group; and David Manfredi from Elkus Manfredi Architects.

Reilly’s overview included a topographical analysis of the plot’s features, where the campus would be positioned on the site, building layouts, and two proposed boulevard-style access points to the facility. She described wetlands on the property, which would be preserved; parking lot positioning; and a proposed parking garage to mitigate the effects parking lots would have on the area.

Acknowledging that the work is still at concept level, she also addressed the recreational fields, storm runoff, utilities, as well as the four-acre landfill on site, historically known as Tucker’s Dump. She highlighted plans for a Citizens-financed remediation program that will remove approximately 60,000 tons of debris and contaminants, which will then be used as landfill cover at the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation facility. She stressed that this would be a highly regulated process following all state and local laws.

Bannon testified about the proposed changes in traffic patterns, the addition of exits to I-295, and the effect of road widening of Grenville Avenue. He provided traffic figures from a preliminary traffic study, and explained the placement of traffic lights at the main entrance to the facility, and at the proposed four exits on and off of I-295, which are still subject to state and federal approval. Based upon his analysis of the study and neighborhood, he estimated that there would be no adverse effects to neighbors.

Manfredi also presented an overview of the work his firm has done in developing the look of the campus. While preliminary, he stated that the campus would only occupy about 59 acres of the 110 acre site, and that the buildings would be configured and located in a way to follow the land’s topography and have no environmental impacts to wetlands and neighbors. He said the buildings are of “first-class” design, have been inspired by Rhode Island architecture, and have a village feel.