New Residential, Retail Project Could Breathe Life Back Into Post Road

Why not Post Road? While developers look to more undeveloped sites such as and , one developer is looking to the nearly dormant Post Road Corridor for project of unprecedented size.

Located on the site of the old Reynolds Farm near the end of Camp Avenue, the development would span nearly 98 acres of land from Post Road westward and feature 11,000 sq. ft. of retail space and 574 residential units. The development is 24 acres less than the village center proposed at but would provide more than 15 times the amount of housing. (The current plans for Rolling Greens would construct 10 single-family homes and 36 duplexes.)

“It’s a significant amount of units,” said Town Planning Director Jon Reiner.

According to the pre-application from developer Pinnacle Partners LLC, the development would feature a “variety of housing types to meet the needs of a range of owners, incomes, and tastes.” Units would include senior rental apartments, one- and two-bedroom apartments, two-bedroom cottages, townhomes, live-work spaces (with commercial on the main level and housing on the upper level), single-family homes with rear carriages homes and stand-alone single-family homes. Additionally, 20 percent of these residences (115 units) would be affordable housing.

Though the project anticipates building 11,000 sq. ft. of retail – which would be several, smaller businesses near the entrance of the development – Reiner says the project’s ample housing would be the key to drawing more business and activity to Post Road.

“All these units are going to help feed and replenish the economic development on Post Road,” said Reiner “This will substantially help the revitalization of Post Road.”

The Town of North Kingstown and the planning department have taken measures to encourage more business and development along the Post Road Corridor, creating a new zoning district for the area. e.

The project has grown substantially since its inception in 2003. Initially, the development was gearing for 130 units. Following the approval of a sewer system for Post Road, developers opted to expand the project.

Such a project might also curtail future development in North Kingstown’s more rural areas, such as the Route 102 and Route 2 areas.

“The more development we have then, theoretically, the less we’ll have in green fields [such as Route 102],” said Reiner.

The land eyed for the project was formerly known as Reynolds Farm which dates back to 1771. Last month, the farmhouse (built in 1790) was torn down. According to local historian Tim Cranston, the house was one of the few surviving Federal period farmhouses in the state.

The Planning Commission is currently considering the project as it awaits further presentations from the developer.