Pontiac Avenue residents gathered outside an empty office building on Oct. 19 for a site walk where they heard Omni Group’s proposal for constructing multi-family housing units at 747 Pontiac Ave. Residents were concerned about potential decreases in property value and limited parking – adding that developers were squeezing too much into such a small space.

William DiStefano, President of Omni Group, and Mick Hogan, Vice President of Business Development and Leasing, presented their idea for the 28,020 square foot facility in front of residents, the Planning Commission and City Council last Wednesday. The Omni Group owned the property 20 years ago but sold the building to someone who neglected the space overtime.

“Mom and pop offices just aren’t working right now especially since Covid, so I took it [the property] back and want to develop it into apartments,” said DiStefano.

The Omni Group is a Providence-based real estate investment and development company with a diverse mix of properties, including office, medical, retail, residential and industrial. Omni Group has an extensive background in all aspects of acquisition, development, construction, operations and management and, according to its website, Omni personnel take an active role in every project from design and construction, through lease-up and management.

The building has been empty for nine months. DiStefano, who grew up in Cranston near the prison, said he wanted to develop apartments at the Pontiac Avenue site because of his love for the area. He proposes creating 18 apartments – three of which are affordable housing units. The building would also include on-site laundry, access control and building security and modern interior finishes and appliances.

In order to convert the existing three-story multi-tenant office building into 18 multi-family residential units, a special zone change is required from the City Council (A-6 single-family residential to C-2 with conditions) to allow the increase in residential density.

The proposed project calls for 41 parking spaces for the multi-family residential units – which is five spaces over the required amount. Residents were worried that there wouldn’t be enough parking for the building’s residents and, if they had guests, this would result in people parking on neighbors’ lawns. Residents were also worried of a decrease in property value due to this project. DiStefano cited other projects the company completed and said the surrounding property values increased.

A single mother asked if the Omni Group would conduct a background check on applicants to see if they had a criminal record or were registered sex offenders; DiStefano said the company does look into applicants’ background. He added that there will be a number of safety features on the property including security cameras on the interior and exterior of the building. DiStefano said the cameras act as a deterrent for trouble.

Residents questioned why the affordable housing units had to be on Pontiac Avenue and not in other areas of the city. Planning Director Jason Pezzullo explained the state requires the city to provide a certain number of affordable housing units for low to moderate income. Therefore, the city asks any developer to make 15 percent of its units affordable.

On a separate project, DiStefano is building a single family home on a parcel of the 747 Pontiac Ave. property which went before the Planning Commission several months ago. One resident said the additional house, parking lot and multi-family residential building would be squished and suggested DiStefano reconsider building the home and instead create a grassy backyard space for the people in the multi-family units.

After hearing residents’ concerns, DiStefano said: “The only thing we can do is say what we do and think it’ll put everyone at ease.”

If the Omni Group is unsuccessful in obtaining the zone change, DiStefano said the business will continue using the area as office spaces. The company owns 300,000 square feet of office space in Providence and DiStefano said the business has potential office space tenants lined up for this building. At this time, the Omni Group is unsure of the total cost of the project.

The master plan application and recommendation on the special zone change are scheduled to be heard by the City Plan Commission on Nov. 1. Should the application gain a favorable recommenadtion, it will go on to the City Council Ordinance Committee on Nov. 17 and then the full City Council on Nov. 28. Master plan materials will be available to view prior to the Nov. 1 meeting on the city’s website. Opportunity for public comment will be available at all meetings.