NAP- Neighborhood Alliance of Pawtucket

Joe Palmer shared info that Roger Williams Hotel was on the corner of Roosevelt Ave and the Modern Shoe Store and Peerless were opposite WT Grant on Main St, but prior was the Music Hall.

The Admas Drug may have been a prior Whalens Drug Store bit had another at Goff and Exchange at Broad St area adjacent to Capitol Wallpaper...

Check out the History of the Blackstone Valley at http://www.footstepsinhistory.com/ with events galore in October and more.

History changes with a night club coming to Main and Commerce St- 461 Main Street

Update: Zoning Board approves Kellaway Center proposal

PAWTUCKET - The Zoning Board of Review voted unanimously Tuesday evening, Oct. 13, to grant approval to developer Ken Kellaway and Kellaway Realty Corporation for a nightclub, events center, and parking relief at the Kellaway Center on the corner of Main and Commerce streets.

According to a representative for the city’s zoning office, the board voted 5-0 to allow an events center that will likely accommodate everything from boxing matches to cheerleading events, a night club and concert venue, and to grant parking relief, all as part of a major business and recreation rehabilitation project at the former manufacturing facility.

Kellaway Realty Corporation was requesting a use variance “for an events center not in compliance with the regulations” of the Commercial General Zone and “MBRD” mill building re-use overlay. Also granted was a special use permit for the nightclub.

Kellaway and his representatives went before the zoning board for public hearing on Sept. 28. That meeting was continued to last Monday, Oct. 5, where it was put off again to Tuesday, Oct. 13, for lack of a proper quorum.

PAWTUCKET - Drive by and you might not even notice that something big is happening inside 461 Main St.

Floors are being laid and resurfaced, walls erected, and the intricate details of a building that dates back to the height of industrial Pawtucket are fleshed out as part of one of this city's most ambitious redevelopment projects ever.

The Kellaway Center project, when complete, will be the pride of the downtown area, promises one of its developers, a business and recreation component that will complement an area of the city currently loaded with residential redevelopment initiatives.

A representative for owner Ken Kellaway told The Valley Breeze that this project, in 130,000 square feet of old manufacturing space, is coming along at "a perfect time" in Pawtucket's history, with residential units springing up all around.

"This is an opportune time, with all the new housing here, to make the Kellaway Center into a place where people can come to relax," said Ron Wierks, project manager at the Kellaway Center and the developer of the city's successful Hope Artiste Village.

A project city officials are calling another important piece in the downcity puzzle, complete with old-style restaurants, boutiques, artist studios, a fitness center/gym, light manufacturing, and office space, was under consideration to take another step forward on Tuesday of this week.

Kellaway was seeking approval from the Zoning Board of Review allowing an events center to accommodate everything from boxing matches to cheerleading events, a nightclub and concert venue, and parking relief, all as part of a project that will end up costing between $4-$5 million when finished, according to Wierks.

Kellaway Realty Corporation was requesting a use variance "for an events center not in compliance with the regulations" of the Commercial General Zone and "MBRD" mill building re-use overlay. Also being sought was a special use permit for the nightclub at a building where nuts and bolts once made their way down the conveyor belt.

"As you can see it's a perfect space for a nightclub," said Wierks, who serves on the board of directors for the Pawtucket Foundation and is a key figure in several local urban smart growth redevelopment projects, during a tour of the facility last Friday, Oct. 9.

Kellaway and his representatives went before the Zoning Board for public hearing on Sept. 28. That meeting was continued to last Monday, Oct. 5, where it was continued again to Tuesday, Oct. 13 for lack of a proper quorum, according to a representative from the zoning office.

Wierks says he, Kellaway, and other developers have big plans for the unfinished sections of a Kellaway Center designed by local architect David Presby. A five-ton-capacity crane in the nightclub space could even be used to hold a moving Plexiglas box for musicians, one that would be at eye level for those on the balcony of the nightclub and would soar above the heads of those on the ground floor.

An outdoor courtyard just outside the nightclub space may be used for summer outdoor concerts, weddings, and other events, according to Wierks, who said he is hoping to attract a "diversified" clientele to the amenities offered at the Kellaway Center, a community of restored working space on the corner of Commerce and Main streets. Located just 50 feet from the Leon Mathieu Senior Center, the Kellaway Center could host a bingo night one day and a concert for youths the next, said Wierks.

Along with some office professionals, developers have reached agreements with several other businesses, including some boutique stores, art/photography studios, and sports groups.

The William Haskell Manufacturing Company was the oldest continually operating bolt and cold-punched nut plant in the United States, developed from a small shop started by Stephen Jenks at Pawtucket Falls around 1820. In 1835, Tinkham, Haskell and Company bought the business and sold it to William Haskell, who moved it to 461 Main St. in 1860.

In the mid-1980s, Haskell Manufacturing Company was purchased by Kellaway Realty Corporation and operated by Kellaway Warehouse Corporation and Roadlink USA as a public warehouse until recently.

Kellaway's project has proponents of redevelopment of the downtown area excited about the area's continued prospects for revitalization. The ongoing rehabilitation of both the Grant Building and McDevitt building, among other projects nearby, are slowly making the once prominent downtown a destination once again, say officials.

"This is an important one because it is the redevelopment of more than 100,000 square feet of vacant mill space," said Michael Cassidy, director of planning and redevelopment in Pawtucket.

Mill housing projects like the Slater Cotton Mill apartments, Bayley Lofts, and the Union Wadding Lofts surround the Kellaway Center, a location its developers say they hope will make it a business, dining, and recreation destination for decades to come.

Available for new businesses and established companies are office units as big as 20,000 square feet, according to an advertisement for the Kellaway Center, and as small as 130 square feet. For just $180 a month, an aspiring entrepreneur could lease 130 square feet of work space, with free utilities, and the use of a conference room, kitchen, bathrooms, and waiting room lounge included in the price.

"You can't beat that deal," said Wierks, especially for a location just two blocks from the Downtown Pawtucket Business District and a five-minute drive from Providence.

To inquire about bringing business to Pawtucket's Kellaway Center, call Wierks at 724-6970, e-mail kellawaycenter@gmail.com, or visit www.kellawaycenter.com.

- Visit valleybreeze.com in the afternoon on Wednesday for an update on whether the Zoning Board approved Kellaway's application.