The Providence City Council Finance Committee on Nov. 4 approved moving to the full council a plan for the city to purchase the building at 475 Bezd Street and lease it to WaterFire Providence on a 20-year lease carrying an annual rent of $1.

City staff told the committee the proposed lease would leave all operations, routine maintenance and insurance responsibilities with WaterFire Providence while the city retains ownership of the asset. A staff presenter described the plan as a financial transaction that provides the nonprofit with an immediate capital infusion while giving the city a property that could appreciate over time.

The committee heard testimony from WaterFire board members and supporters who said the organization is a signature cultural asset for Providence. Bob Walsh, a returning board member, described a 30‑year partnership between WaterFire and the city and urged support of the transaction as a means to preserve both the river installations and an indoor arts center.

Kristen Adhamo, president and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, told the committee that WaterFire draws significant local and out-of-state visitors and cited internal analyses showing higher hotel occupancy and room rates on WaterFire weekends. Using 2025 figures and a 20‑year projection tied to the lease term, Adhamo presented an economic-impact estimate for the state and region based on observed hotel-tax and rate changes.

Mark Allen, WaterFire’s executive director, said the organization ran a roughly $900,000 loss in 2023, had depleted cash reserves and was operating against a roughly $650,000 line of credit. Allen described staff reductions, a formal financial-improvement plan and a new major-donor cultivation effort; he told the committee a recent multiyear pledge of $500,000 had been obtained and that the organization’s operating budget is about $3 million a year and the paid staff totals about 20.

In response to questions from committee members, staff provided bond and debt-service details the committee asked for: the portion of interest attributed to the WaterFire financing for the first half-year is about $103,000 and about $206,000 in the following full year, and staff reported a principal amount of roughly $4 million and total interest of about $2.67 million—figures staff said yield an aggregate of roughly $6.2 million for the financing tied to this purchase. Committee members were also told the city’s valuation/appraisal of the property was approximately $7.9 million.

Witnesses described the building’s history: it sits on a remediated brownfield site and its construction used a combination of grants, tax credits and other funding; testimony also noted transaction and remediation costs that do not flow back to the organization. Committee members asked about liens; witnesses said a line-of-credit lien had been placed on the property at one point.

Committee members pressed WaterFire leaders on operations and venue rentals. Staff and WaterFire representatives said rental costs for the arts center are quoted case-by-case and vary by season, event and nonprofit/for‑profit status; the organization said rental income and small-scale basin lightings are part of its strategy to stabilize revenue.

After the public testimony and committee questions—and after the committee voted to add multiple letters and exhibits to the record—the Finance Committee voted to approve the lease transaction and send the matter to the full council for consideration.

The committee record shows proponents framed the transaction as a strategic, long-term investment in a cultural and economic asset; opponents and some members pressed for transparent financial safeguards and emphasized that WaterFire must demonstrate sustained, post-transaction operating stability.

The matter now proceeds to the full Providence City Council for final approval.