WOONSOCKET – Advocates for the city’s downtown are celebrating the sale of the Longley Building, saying they’re optimistic about its future.
Mandy Loux and Jesse Andrews, of Gold Door Commercial, made the announcement on Wednesday.
“(The) Longley Building is finally sold,” posted Loux. “If anyone has or wants to buy mills, schools, churches, any large buildings or lots of land, please reach out to me.”
Loux confirmed to The Local Insider that the sale of the building at 194 Main St. was contingent on the July 27 Planning Board approval of a redevelopment project.
Members of the Downtown Woonsocket Collaborative congratulated the new owners of 194 Main Street, a 4-story, 35,000-square-foot building. They said they’re excited to see the vision for it come to live as they “renovate this historic gem in the heart of our downtown. More apartments and more businesses are exactly what we need, and wish you much success with this project.”
Members of the Downtown Woonsocket Collaborative have hailed the revival of Main Street as evidenced by a declining vacancy rate, but say projects such as these are important to bring more residents and businesses to the area and encourage greater density of infill development.
Responding to a question about a lack of parking with potential for five new stores on the ground level, Garrett Mancieri of the DWC noted that there are dedicated spaces for planned apartments and there are several Main Street parking lots owned by the city.
Local historian David Lawlor has noted the Longley Building’s resilience, including surviving a fire in the early 1900s.
“This historic landmark has endured it all—fires, flooding, and years of urban decay,” he posted last year. “But now, it’s making a comeback. With a new roof, a restored façade, and renovations underway, the Longley Building is slowly being brought back to life, and I couldn’t be more excited.”
Nothing in the city pulls him in quite like the Longley, he said, crediting longtime owner John Eno with breathing new life into the building.
The Longley has a long history of projects that never quite got off the ground.
According to a preliminary plan adaptive reuse package approved by the Planning Board on July 27, the plan is for a mix of residential and commercial spaces. The applicant was the GRP Group LLC and RPA Services LLC and the owner was listed as ENO Realty LLC, which has owned the building since 2002.
Gary Manning is listed as the registered agent with the GRP Group.
The applicant sought and received dimensional variances for parking requirements, space required per unit, or 30 total required where 18 exist and are proposed, as well as relief for 12 off-street parking spaces.
The adaptive reuse project converts the existing commercial use building into mixed commercial and residential space and merges multiple lots.
