The newly configured nine-hole golf course that covers about half of the former Metacomet Country Club has proved popular among golfers since it opened six months ago, but local residents are still taking a wait-and-see attitude toward what the developer has planned for the rest of the 138-acre property.
The public golf course known as Met Links opened in June with seven of the holes overlooking Watchemoket Cove
preserved from the East Providence country club that closed in 2020. The course, which also features two new holes, is the first phase of a mixed-use development project that is expected to include shops, a grocery store and hundreds of apartments.
The loss of the country club, which for a century had lush fairways sloping down to the cove along the scenic Veterans Memorial Parkway, drew the ire of nearby residents after developer Marshall Properties Inc. purchased the property for $7.6 million four years ago.
The mixed-use proposal for the remaining undeveloped land along the parkway has been progressing slowly, monitored closely by both activist group Keep Metacomet Green and city officials. On Nov. 14, a design review subcommittee of the East Providence Waterfront Commission recommended that the full commission approve Marshall’s plans.
A commission meeting has been scheduled for Dec. 19.
As they stand now, the plans call for a second phase that will include about 163,000 square feet of commercial space, which could include a supermarket, coffee shop, child care center, bank and restaurant.
A third phase would create 890 rental housing units in duplexes, townhouses and senior residential buildings, with 10% designated as affordable housing. Other features include an amphitheater and an internal roundabout for motor vehicles to access the retail spaces and apartments. The project could take up to 10 years to complete.
So far, the developer says, Met Links has been well-received in its first season of operation.
“Tee times were fully booked right out of the gate,” said Lianne Marshall, co-owner of Marshall Properties. “Early feedback from golfers has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly regarding the course’s design, playability and overall experience. The course has not only met but exceeded our expectations and still accepts golfers, thanks to the exceptional weather.”
The course – which preserved the sweeping vista of fairways along the cove that are visible from the parkway – has even earned praise from members of Keep Metacomet Green.
“From all accounts, Met Links is an outstanding nine-hole course, compact yet challenging,” said group founder Candace Seel. “[The group] takes pleasure in knowing that golfers have an opportunity to enjoy this beautiful site.”
Keep Metacomet Green’s vision for the site always included a park and golf course, Seel says.
The City Council voted to rezone the property from open space to mixed-use development at the request of Marshall Properties in July 2021. This prompted Keep Metacomet Green to sue the city and the developer. Superior Court documents show the lawsuits were withdrawn in February 2022. Seel previously told Providence Business News the group dropped the lawsuit because it couldn’t afford the legal fees.
Now the group’s focus is on pushing for walking trails to the course and along the waterfront in off-hours and the off-season, Seel says.
Marshall Properties has agreed to discuss these walking trails with the group, according to Seel.
Keep Metacomet Green is also opposing proposed changes to Veterans Memorial Parkway, a historic roadway more than a century old. Marshall Properties has pitched widening the road to accommodate a roundabout at the development’s main entrance.
Renderings were released in January and have been refined based on feedback from city officials and residents, Lianne Marshall says. Key changes were made to the interior roadway design, landscaping throughout the site and the adding of a renewable energy component for all residential buildings. Renderings show developers added a path so pedestrians can cross Lyon Avenue to Pierce Memorial Field.
Meanwhile, Seel says the designs have not changed much.
“Little tweaks here and there,” Seel said. “But little tweaks on a 60-plus-acre project with 890 residences and 153,000 square feet of retail and commercial units don’t mean much.”
Developers certainly have some work to do.
The design review subcommittee’s recommendation came with conditions for Marshall Properties to meet: conducting more impact studies for noise, traffic and public safety after Phase 2 is complete and before Phase 3 begins; forming a construction management plan before starting construction of Phase 2; and holding an informational meeting of that plan. The committee also recommended the proposed roundabout on Veterans Memorial Parkway be designed to offer walkers and cyclists easier access to the East Bay Bike Path across the roadway.
In addition to the Waterfront Commission, the developer still needs to earn approvals from the city’s Planning Board and the R.I. Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission, which is conducting archaeological studies on the site.
Three variances Marshall Properties is requesting include placing a nonconforming sign on Veterans Memorial Parkway at the development’s entrance; providing fewer windows and exterior openings on structures than required; and offering fewer than the required amount of parking spaces.
Renderings show the developer is proposing to put 869 parking spaces in the mixed-use and retail areas where 565 are required. But it is also proposing to place 2,290 parking spaces in the residential areas where 2,345 are required.