Dynamo House a 'possibility' for Brown University

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Brown University is interested in potentially moving "academic programs" into the historic Dynamo House, a long vacant century-old landmark that was once set to house the Heritage Harbor Museum, Target 12 has confirmed.

The museum plan stalled during the economic downturn and last month Patrick Conley, president of the Heritage Harbor Museum board of directors, told Target 12: " There will not be a museum."

But Conley also said "a new developer and a university" were working on a plan to acquire the Providence property and develop it.

It appears Brown University could be the university mentioned by Conley.

”We are considering a range of ways that Brown might accommodate the needs of its academic programs and the Dynamo project is one such possibility,” Darlene Trew Crist, Brown's director of news and communications, told Target 12.

Another source told Target 12 Brown is looking to move its School of Engineering into the structure. Crist offered no details about a potential purchase or how Brown might use the 55,000-square-foot building, which is currently a gutted shell that needs millions of dollars in renovations.

”We are currently going through a strategic planning process that will help us identify our academic priorities, which will inform decisions about space,” Crist said.

According to Conley, the Heritage Harbor Museum controls an easement on the property that he estimated is worth millions of dollars. He added that the developer who acquires the property would qualify for about $9 million in historic-preservation tax credits from the state.

Conley predicted the new project will be more than worth the credits.

“It will have a mammoth impact,” Conley said. “Hundreds of millions of dollars with what’s envisioned."

Bold predictions were also made about the Heritage Harbor Museum back in 2002, when Rhode Island voters approved the sale of $5 million in bonds for the museum, which was projected to eventually cost more than $100 million. According to a state budget auditor, a portion of the bond money was dispersed and, with principal and interest, taxpayers will be on the hook for about $1.1 million when the bonds mature.

The Heritage Harbor Museum would not be obligated to pay back that money, according to both Conley and the state auditor.

Conley blamed the downturn in the economy for sinking the museum, but he also believes changes in the historic tax credit program helped kill the project. Conley said the original developer - Struever Bros., Eccles & Rouse of Baltimore - started renovations inside the building.

A $313,000 defaulted loan to the Heritage Harbor Museum from the Providence Economic Development Partnership will be paid back, according to Conley. The loan is one of several bad loans made by the PEDP.

“That loan was vital to qualify for the tax credits,” Conley said.

No one involved is offering a time frame for when a deal for Brown to take over Dynamo House might be finalized, but Conley said the tax credits expire in May.

Send your news tips to Walt Buteau at wbuteau@wpri.com and f ollow Walt on Twitter: @wbuteau