A native Rhode Islander might remember in the ’80s walking through the Arcade in Providence during Christmas. Quite a spectacle! Well, it happens to be the oldest arcade in the US. And the history of the many real estate changes in this beautiful piece of architecture is quite interesting.
“The Westminster Arcade is a historic shopping center at 130 Westminster Street and 65 Weybosset Street. It is located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island built in 1828. Notably, it is the first enclosed shopping mall in the United States. And has been lauded as a fine example of commercial Greek Revival architecture”
According to an article written in 2012, rumors were swirling about the Arcade since, well probably since 1828 when it was built. But certainly since 2008 when Granoff kicked out all the retailers and closed it. At that time, many tenants questioned the necessity in kicking out the retailers and closing for 4 years in order to build apartments on the upper floors.
The Northeast Collaborative Architects converted the top two floors of stores into micro-apartments, ranging from 225 to 775 square feet. The apartments priced from $800 to $1,800 a month. Most measure 300 square feet or less. For comparison, a standard one-car garage is about 200 square feet. To see what these apartments looked like you can click this link. Moreover, this video is a great example of the type of city lifestyle people lived there.
Arcade Goes Condo in January of 2020, developer Evan Granoff exclusively confirmed to GoLocal that The Arcade in downtown Providence would be going condo.
As shown in the above video, these condominiums offer small attractive living. With limited cooking using only the microwave. As well as the built-in seating, bed frame, and storage. The asking price range from $135,000 to $145,000.
We checked to see the availability of the condominiums currently. Unfortunately, there are not any condos available currently for sale. But here is a link to show you the latest listing sold on 07/02/21.
Condos for Sale in Historic Providence
Providence’s renaissance is now evident throughout the metro area. From the carefully restored urban landscape of downtown to the hip coffee shops and thriving community gardens of the trendy West End.
Click this continuously updated link on our website to find condos for sale in Providence.