Mall site may be used by nonprofits, for now

With the downtown mall now merely a pile of rubble, city leaders are looking ahead at what do with the 17-acre site now that it’s nearly cleared.
Mayor Art Ward said he anticipates that it will be available to nonprofit groups to use for festivals, car shows, farmers’ markets and the like.
“It makes sense,” the mayor said.
Groups that are interested in using the paved site should submit requests to the city’s Real Estate Committee, Ward said, which will review them and make recommendations to the City Council.
The former mall site, now tagged “Depot Square” in the wake a library naming competition, is the focus of revitalization efforts that officials hope will lead to new stores, offices, housing and perhaps more.
The Bristol Downtown Development Corp., the nonprofit created by the city to oversee the effort, has asked potential developers to submit proposals for the site by the end of May. A preferred developer will likely be picked in mid-summer to begin preparing detailed plans, officials said.
“There’s a potential for something positive to go up there,” Ward said.
The City Council cleared the way to eliminate one potential roadblock recently when it backed a new lease with Discount Food Outlet, the grocery store that rents space from the city.
The store had a lease in place that matched the one held by Ocean State Job Lot, officials said.
But the city and the store’s owners were able to agree recently on a new lease that provides that the store will get at least 90 days notice when the city wants it to move out.
City leaders have said they’re in no hurry to oust the grocer because it serves the central area of town effectively and has been cooperative with city efforts all along.
The new lease, however, removes any doubt that the store could remain for long once the city tells it to get out.
Another city-owned structure on the 17 acres, the former movie theater that most recently housed a Sherwin-Williams paint store, is going to be demolished soon. Officials are putting the final touches on a contract to have it torn down.
Ward said that he became interested in the use of the property during the interim period before a developer steps in to do anything after Pumpkin Festival organizers asked him about using the mall area this fall.
He said he couldn’t see a reason to say no as long as the group had the proper insurance and other routine measures the city requires.

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Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com