Pawtucket (R.I.) Mayor Don Grebien said that a new study makes it clear the downtown site on the property of Apex Companies is "'the best location' for a new Triple-A ballpark" for the PawSox, according to a front-page piece by Kate Bramson of the PROVIDENCE JOURNAL. Development around it would generate 35% more tax revenue than would be possible at an "alternative site a short distance down the Seekonk River known as 'Tidewater.'" Grebien also said that a private investor has "added to the momentum of the project." He said that Providence Equity Partners Senior Managing Dir Paul Salem is "committed to personally investing in development" surrounding a ballpark at the Apex site. Consultants from national firm Brailsford & Dunlavey conducted a study that said the Apex location has the "potential for a hotel, 200 apartments and 50,000 square feet of retail space" at a total construction cost of $110.3M, while the Tidewater site would only allow for $14.1M "worth of development." The study also said that either new ballpark would cost $76M to build, and construction would begin in '18. The PawSox and city commissioned the $25,000 study to "examine the Apex and Tidewater sites after a January study examined the future prospects of the 75-year-old McCoy Stadium, where the team now plays." That study estimated $68M in renovation costs to "bring McCoy in line with other Triple-A facilities" -- or, in the alternative, $78M to build new at the McCoy site. Grebien said that now, negotiations include "talk about building a hotel, apartments and retail space around a new ballpark" -- commitments the PawSox team’s newly formed real-estate development firm, Prospect Development Group, are "willing to make" (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 5/11).
