PROVIDENCE, RI – Paolino Properties announced today that it will bring the historic St. Joseph’s Hospital property on Broad Street to market through a national effort by engaging with Cushman & Wakefield and their premiere real estate auction platform, Ten-X.
“After careful consideration, I believe that marketing this property through Ten-X is the optimal path forward,” said Joseph R. Paolino, Jr., Owner and Managing Partner of Paolino Properties. “With its rich legacy of serving Providence and prime location with direct RIPTA bus access, the St. Joseph’s Hospital site is uniquely positioned to serve the community through transformation into a residential development.”
Originally opened in 1892 under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, St. Joseph’s Hospital was the eighth hospital in the United States operated by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. The approximately 250,000-square-foot property was acquired by Paolino Properties in 2017.
In 2020, Paolino Properties proposed donating portions of the property to the City of Providence for development into a Pre-K through 8th grade public school. The proposed donation included the East Building, and the chapel, with plans for outdoor recreation space. The project would have represented an estimated $75 million investment in the Broad Street corridor and included provisions for minority- and women-owned business participation in construction. Despite productive talks with Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green and Mayor Jorge Elorza, the City determined converting the hospital into an educational facility would be cost-prohibitive at that time.
“Since acquiring this property, I have consistently sought ways for it to best serve the community,” Paolino added. “From healthcare to education to housing, my goal has always been to ensure this historic site continues to benefit the residents of the area. After evaluating various options, I believe residential development represents the highest and best use for this property. With Providence’s significant housing challenges and Mayor Smiley’s vision in mind, I believe that this process will help to attract premier developers who share our vision of creating quality housing while preserving an important piece of our city’s history. The right development partner will have both the experience to execute a complex adaptive reuse project and a genuine commitment to addressing the community’s housing needs.”
The listing will go live tomorrow morning.
For more information about the auction, please contact Cushman & Wakefield at
Boston-Multi-Family@cushwake.com.