A long driveway snakes back behind the Johnston Senior Center and leads to a hidden industrial property. Old railroad remnants and demolition debris populate the site, currently occupied by AA Wrecking & Asbestos Abatement Co., Inc.
In the future, however, the location at 1307 Hartford Ave. may be home to a new industry.
Johnston Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to pass a resolution, allowing Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. to enter into an agreement between Johnston, the Quonset Development Corporation (QDC), Winfield Realty Company, Inc. and Valentino A. Tirocchi Jr. (one of AA’s partners) to authorize the enrollment of 1307 Hartford Ave. into the Rhode Island Ready Program.
Rhode Island Ready aims “to activate industrial sites across Rhode Island to create jobs, attract private investment from companies, generate tax revenue and provide economic benefits for the people of Rhode Island,” according to the program’s mission statement.
Ready projects have a shared goal: “to create an inventory of pre-permitted properties throughout the (Ocean State) that can successfully support industrial development.”
“Basically this program uses state-bonded funds to prepare industrial sites as pad-ready,” Johnston Assistant Town Solicitor Dylan Conley told Town Council on Monday evening. “Quonset Development Corporation manages the project but it’s a Commerce RI program.”
The QDC “is a quasi-state agency, established as a special purpose subsidiary of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation (formerly the RI Economic Development Corporation) which is responsible for the development and management of the Quonset Business Park,” according to the QDC website.
Quonset Business Park in North Kingstown links Rhode Island industries via its deepwater port.
The Rhode Island General Assembly created the QDC on July 1, 2004, and is governed by an 11-member board of directors.
“The QDC is a real estate development and management company responsible for developing and managing the Quonset Business Park in accordance with the QDC Master Land Use and Development Plan and in the best interests of the citizens of Rhode Island in order to attract and retain successful businesses that provide diversified jobs,” according to the QDC mission statement.
“In broad terms,” QDC's development goals are to “create jobs, stimulate private sector investment and create additional tax base.”
“Commerce RI in the process of recruiting industrial development, and companies that need … spaces to Rhode Island,” Conley told Town Council. “It’s a large advantage to the state if the sites are pad-ready.”
AA Wrecking & Asbestos is still operating at the site. On Tuesday afternoon, the office was open and vehicles were traveling in and out of the facility.
The business’s future is uncertain.
“We don’t know yet,” said John Furtado Jr., President of AA Wrecking & Asbestos. “We don’t know what’s going to come here. We have to clean this up and do something with it.”
Furtado said the site is not contaminated; that any asbestos entering the site is already in “bags or barrels” and shipped out immediately. It is a bit messy, though.
“We just need to clean up the mess we made,” Furtado said. “It’s not that much really ... Just think of the size of what we have here. We need another piece of property.”
AA Wrecking & Asbestos is located on 17 acres of land, adjacent to the Johnston Senior Center, and smack in the middle of downtown. Furtado said that about 10 of the acres are “usable land.”
He said the company has outgrown the site, but he and his two partners — Tirocchi and Valerie Mooney — hope to relocate this business to another, more appropriate site.
The “three-generation family-owned company,” was founded in 1986, to “meet the state's growing need for asbestos removal,” according to AA’s website.
The business is “a full-service demolition contractor,” and has tackled projects “from baseball stadiums to bridges, railroads and smokestacks.” AA is “licensed, bonded and insured for all phases in asbestos removal, disposal and encapsulation.”
“What we do and where we go is so far up in the air,” Furtado said Wednesday. “We have no sure plans. We’re just looking to see if we can get it pad-ready and find somewhere else to go. I don’t have answers of where, when and why.”
Even after all the work is done, the site may not find a new owner.
“While it’s no guarantee we’ll get a tenant as a result of it, what they do ask is agreement from the local municipality, so that all the permitting is done up front,” Conley told Town Council. “And the potential corporation has an understanding that the municipality is a partner and not an obstacle.”
Conley said the town will be working with the QDC.
“This is something they’ve done several times before,” he explained. “They’re very experienced in this area … It’s quite frankly an excellent program. It’s great news that the town of Johnston has basically been deemed to have a site that they’re interested in.”
Town Councilman Robert J. Civetti asked who would be covering fees associated with site development.
“My understanding is, there is no cost to the town,” Civetti said. “Permit fees are still paid by the property owner?”
“The town is basically a willing partner … zoning is good … we wouldn’t object to them using this location,” Conley said. “It’s paid for from a statewide bond program.”
Town Council President Robert V. Russo inquired about the parcel’s zoning.
“Would that be industrial?” Russo asked.
“Yes … the reason why the site gets identified is because it’s already zoned as such,” Conley answered. “They’re not asking for us to change anything. They’re basically asking us to continue to not change anything.”
Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. confirmed future plans at the site are unclear.
“There are no current plans for development there,” Polisena said on Wednesday. “The Rhode Island Ready Program, managed by Quonset Development Corporation, requires town council approval in every municipality.”
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