Opinion ID: 2308226
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Did the PRA have a Redevelopment Purpose?

Text: The resolution of the City Council, passed on June 17, 2005, declares: 1. Having reviewed and considered    the current uses of the Property, the revenue from the lease of the Property, and the potential importance of the Property to the City for public uses and public purposes including, without limitation, the economic development potential benefiting the City from future use and development of the Property   .    4. The City is also authorized to designate the Providence Redevelopment Agency as Agent of the City to acquire the Property directly and to hold, own, and manage such Property for the interest of the City and the Providence Redevelopment Agency and, pursuant to Section 45-32-5(c) of the R.I. General Laws, the Agency is authorized to hold, own and manage the property for twenty (20) years or until any financing arrangements for the acquisition have been paid in full. (Emphases added.) The purpose of the PRA's acquisition, according to the city resolution that authorized it, was to hold, own, and manage the property. Because the purchase is encumbered by the lease to Promet, the PRA's present role would be reduced to collecting rent and perhaps anticipating some future profit that potentially could be made. While that may be a laudable goal, it is not consistent with the agency's statutory mandate to prevent and eliminate blighted areas within the City of Providence. The record is devoid of any document reflecting a finding that the property is blighted or substandard. Indeed, there is no dispute that Promet operates a profitable business at that location.