Conimicut Village to get $133K facelift

By ETHAN HARTLEY
Posted 9/19/19

Frequenters of Conimicut should have reason to rejoice, as a long-awaited plan to improve areas of the village center were approved by the Warwick City Council during their Monday night …

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Conimicut Village to get $133K facelift

Posted

Frequenters of Conimicut should have reason to rejoice, as a long-awaited plan to improve areas of the village center were approved by the Warwick City Council during their Monday night meeting.

The $133,000 project is being paid for through a $69,000 award provided to the Conimicut Village Association by the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation’s Main Street Improvement grant program, which will be matched by city Community Development Block Grant funding. The grant was originally awarded in 2017, but complications over what it could be used to improve (specifically related to crosswalk renovation requirements) pushed its implementation back longer than anticipated.

But now the scope of the project has become clear. The updates will include pedestrian and roadway improvements to embolden fading crosswalks and replace degrading sidewalk panels, give a facelift to Donovan Park at the center of the village and will also enable the city to remove some aging and rotted trees and replace them with smaller, street-friendly trees. Work on the project must be completed prior to the end of the calendar year for the grant to be utilized.

The full scope of work for the project was initially intended to be larger but, due to the funding available and pricing received for the work, had to be scaled back. Three bidders were originally selected to do the work, but the funding complications led the city to award the bid to just one company, Skurka Construction, of West Warwick.

Regardless of the lessened scale, Conimicut Village Association president Virginia Barham is enthusiastic the work will finally be getting underway.

“We’re excited. We’ve had that money since Kevin Sullivan when we got the grant and it’s been one road block after another,” she said during a recent interview. “I’m comfortable that the priorities that the Conimicut Village Association had are all taken care of.  I, and the Conimicut Village Association, really appreciate the persistence that Bill [Facente] has displayed in not giving up on this project despite the many road blocks we encountered along the way.”

Barham is hopeful that a refurbished Conimicut Village could be beneficial to small businesses that exist or are looking to set up shop. She teased an event coming up in October sponsored by the Conimicut Village Association that would help give small businesses a boost and hook up prospective business owners with area landlords.

“We’re really trying very hard to bring business back into Conimicut,” she said. “Anything we can do to liven up the village, especially the center part of the village, will be a plus.”

On Monday night, after a short round of questioning by Ward 5 Councilman and finance committee chairman Ed Ladouceur towards William Facente, who oversees the dispersal of Community Block Grant Funds, the fact that the project would address safety issues in the village at no extra cost to the taxpayers was all Ladouceur needed to hear.

“We need to get this done anyway, but now we can get this done with a $69,000 grant? I’m done,” he said.

Comments

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  • Cat2222

    Parking would help. I have actually driven on to other places after searching for available parking. People have actually parked in the Shiners parking lot to go eat at Felini's!

    Thursday, September 19, 2019 Report this

  • warwick10

    ...planned for Conimicut Village not Pawtuxet Village. :) But I agree, improvements need to be made at Pawtuxet Village, too!

    Thursday, September 19, 2019 Report this

  • FASTFREDWARD4

    PARKING BESIDE POLICE SUB STAUION GO RIGHT INTO LOT JUST HAVE TO LOOK . ABOUT 40CARS . NOBODY LOOKS

    Friday, September 20, 2019 Report this

  • LivinbytheBay

    I'm glad this is happening for our small village. It's a great start toward revitalization. My husband and I have lived in Conimicut for nearly three years and feel it has so much potential. We moved from Iowa 10 years ago where I worked for a Chamber of Commerce. I've seen and been a part of revitalization and believe that if the people of a community wants it, it can happen.

    Go get'em Conimicut!

    Friday, September 20, 2019 Report this

  • Cat2222

    Thank you warwick10. I don't spend much time in Conimicut but I hope the money gets put to good use.

    Friday, September 20, 2019 Report this

  • Justanidiot

    best youse would be to renta bull dozer

    Friday, September 20, 2019 Report this

  • NewEnglandShidokan

    As a small business in the heart of Conimicut I am very excited about this face lift.

    Like others, I would love to see an increase in available parking though. As my karate classes grow I have 10-15 families showing up at the same time for karate classes and many are struggling to find parking.

    Some have suggested the lot next to the community police station but this is reserved for the volunteers and families that are using "Friends Way" and parking on Monday-Thurs from 5-8 is strictly for Friends Way.

    Saturday, September 21, 2019 Report this

  • Apollo

    Why does cell phone service suck in that area. It's okay over there but a lot of low income. Still better than Providence though and not as bad as Oakland Beach which is real poverty.

    Saturday, September 28, 2019 Report this