Bronhard Buys East Side M-F Portfolio; Arcade to Reopen

by Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

Walter L. Bronhard Real Estate has purchased seven multi-family buildings located on the East Side of Providence for approximately $5.9 million. According to the Providence Journal, the sellers are the Plushner Family Limited Partnership and 63 Realty Corp.

The Providence Business News reports that the acquisition includes the four-story, mixed-use George Earle Building on Benefit St. (pictured above); the Golden Ball Inn apartment building at 19 South Court, which dates from about 1785; the 1867 John Steere House at 122 Benefit St.; a three-story apartment building at 208 Benefit St.; an eight-unit building at 26 Pitman St.; the 1839 Charles Shaw House at 134 Benefit St.; and the nine-unit building 189 Williams St.

Louis Mendonca, a property manager for Bronhard Real Estate, told the newspaper that a lot next to the Earle Building is buildable and that the company would consider developing a duplex there, as market demand arises.

The properties were part of a portfolio that had been on the market for several years. Julie Longtin of ReMAX Cityside represented the seller in the transaction and  Armistead Covington, an agent for ReMAX Cityside, represented the buyer.

In other news, 14 small retail shops and four restaurants are scheduled to open by the end of September at the Arcade building in Providence, the nation’s oldest indoor mall. The 184-year-old Arcade, which has been closed since 2008, is undergoing a $7 million renovation.

Owner Evan Granoff, of 130 Westminster Street Associates L.L.C., told the Providence Journal that the retailers will occupy the first floor of the Westminster Street building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The top two floors are being converted into 48 residential micro-lofts of up to 450 square feet in size, a step that will help make the property self-sustaining.

Photo credits: www.julielongtin.com