Council approves 5-year tax stabilization for Post Road apartment project, with 20% affordable housing

The Warwick City Council approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a five-year tax stabilization agreement with Renaissance Development Corporation for a residential project at 1880 Post Road, Assessor's Plat 322, Lot 336. The authorization passed on a recorded affirmative vote during the council meeting following a public hearing and extended discussion about the deal’s terms and community impacts.

Attorney Kate Joseph Shikachi, representing Renaissance Development, described a mixed-market residential project the applicant said would replace a long-vacant parcel near T.F. Green-area businesses. Shikachi said the developer is not seeking zoning relief and proposed a five-year phased tax treatment that the developer and city negotiated as a way to make the project economically feasible amid high construction costs. “This project meets or exceeds every single zoning ordinance,” Shikachi told the council. She said the developer originally sought a ten-year break but agreed to five in return for committing to an affordability component.

Under the arrangement described to the council, the tax-stabilization period will begin when the first building receives a certificate of occupancy. The agreement also includes a 20% affordable set-aside: the city and attorney described that as splitting the 20% into two tiers (one tier at 80% AMI and another tier up to 100% AMI), and a 15-year affordability restriction will cover the affordable units. Shikachi told the council the tax phase-in will escalate the annual payment by 20% each year during the five-year term rather than starting at the full assessed value immediately.

Council members pressed the developer and city staff on the mechanics. Neil Dupuis, Director of Assessing, confirmed the tax-stabilization period is intended to start at the issuance of the first certificate of occupancy for a completed building, not when the resolution is signed or when construction begins. Members also asked for quarterly tax payment mechanics rather than the semiannual schedule initially shown in the draft; the developer and administration agreed to account for the city’s standard tax-payment cadence in the final paperwork.

Opponents and skeptical council members asked whether the project truly needs the tax incentive and whether the agreement would create a precedent for other developers. Councilman Ricks said the council has a duty to “trust but verify” and asked for clear numbers explaining how the phased-in payments compare with standard taxation. Attorney Shikachi and the mayor’s representatives argued the parcel has been vacant for decades and that without a short-term incentive the airport corporation had an unsolicited purchase offer — which the developer rejected — and the site could remain undeveloped or be acquired off the tax rolls. That sale offer to the airport corporation was cited in the hearing as a reason the city would gain more by supporting private development now.

Public comment at the hearing included both support and questions. Supporters said the project would redevelop a long-time eyesore and add residents and customers for local businesses; critics urged caution, asked for stronger protections against condominium conversion, and requested more time for council and community review. The council adopted several last-minute clarifications at the request of council members, including confirming the start-of-stabilization trigger (certificate of occupancy) and an agreement to make tax payments on the same schedule the city normally uses.

Outcome: the council voted to approve the resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into the tax-stabilization agreement. The motion passed with an affirmative majority. The council asked the administration to finalize the contract language to reflect the clarifications discussed in the hearing (quarterly payments consistent with municipal practice, the certificate-of-occupancy start point, and the 15-year affordability covenant).