By EMMA BARTLETT

A 210,000 square foot industrial warehouse has been proposed at the site of the former Donald Price Correctional Facility on Goddard Drive. The project came before the Plan Commission on June 7 in its master plan stage where the city’s senior planner, Joshua Berry, shared the proposed development with commissioners.

The correctional facility – which is on a 16.84-acre plot of land – was built in 1929 and opened in 1932. According to the Department of Corrections, the building originally served as a reformatory for men and housed youthful offenders. The center closed in 1992 when the John J. Moran Facility opened in the same year; however, the facility reopened again in 1997 and remained in operation until 2011 when the General Assembly mandated its closure due to the state’s fiscal situation. Toward the end of the facility’s lifetime, the building had 278 inmates with the capacity to hold 324. In 2020, Rhode Island went to sell the property and was purchased by 20 Goddard LLC, which is located out of Providence.

The Goddard Drive property is currently zoned M2 (general industry) which Berry said suits the proposed project since the surrounding buildings are industrial and are not near a residential area. Additionally, there is easy access to Route 37 and Route 95. Berry also informed the commission that Cranston’s Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Map designate the property as Government/Institutional because the property was previously a prison; however, no Comprehensive Plan amendment is required because the zoning governs the permissible uses.

According to Berry, the applicant would like to remove the location’s current road access to the building and reconstruct the northern and southern site entrances. In addition to the new warehouse, the plan proposes 295 parking spaces for employees with 40 loading spaces and 40 storage spaces. The development will also include landscaping (canopy and flowering trees), walkways, lighting and other amenities; a specific use or tenant is unknown at this time.

The masterplan narrative found no impacts from proposed traffic and parking conditions, and the proposed warehouse plans to connect to the existing water, gas and gravity sewer systems available within Goddard Drive. Additionally, the project plans to have the warehouse’s height be under 35 feet – which the current facility is.