Carey School Project Faces First Hurdle

NEWPORT -- Zoning Board members are poised to take up for the first time a proposal by a Massachusetts developer to convert the former Carey School into a 13-unit condominium project.

In an application appearing on the Zoning Board of Review's Monday, May 28 docket, Boston-based Arch Street Development will be asking permission to convert the former elementary school building to residential use.

The project, which received the conceptual approval of City Council members back in December, calls for a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom units that will retain many of the building's original features.

According to paperwork on file with the city, the proposal is "Designed specifically to incorporate as many existing classroom demising walls as possible."

Unit sizes will range from 951-square feet for the building's lone one-bedroom unit, about 1,200-square feet for the 11 two-bedroom units, and 2,400-square feet for the largest unit in the building, a three-bedroom penthouse in what today is attic space.

The application also promises residents the use of a shared terrace that will feature an enclosed glass seating area and "dramatic views of the City, Newport Harbor, and Newport Bridge."

Vacant for over three years, the Carey School occupies a prominent lot at 32 Carey St., with frontage also on Narragansett Avenue.

The city acquired the building from the school department after it was deemed obsolete, and soon began preparing the property for sale.

In December, councilors signed off on a $735,000 purchase and sale agreement with Arch Street Development to redevelop the building, which if approved, would bring the property on the tax rolls, generating both property taxes and water and sewer fees for the city.

The project is also due to be taken up during this month's Planning Board meeting.