Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I., plans to build a new residence hall for 205 students by fall 2026. Meanwhile, repairs are underway at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence, including roof, chimney, and window renovations worth $2.1 million. President Armstrong and Monsignor Bastia are overseeing the projects.
Rendering courtesy of Salve Regina University
The new residence hall is part of Salve’s strategic plan to provide more student housing on campus to help build a vibrant university culture and extend the Salve experience to more students while relieving some of the housing shortage in downtown Newport.
Next spring, along with the robins and daffodils, a new residence hall will begin to emerge on the oceanside campus of Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I. Located on the corner of Shepard and Lawrence avenues, the facility is designed to accommodate more students on campus.
Salve Regina is a private coeducational Roman Catholic college with an annual enrollment of more than 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students.
The university has finalized an agreement that will provide housing for 205 students during the school year, as well as for Salve alumni, benefactors, employees and those with institutional connections over the summers, Salve Regina Today, the campus news service, noted Dec. 9.
As part of the agreement, the college will add sidewalks to Shepard Avenue to promote pedestrian safety. It also has earmarked a second property on Victoria Avenue for potential redevelopment as a natural-grass athletic field.
"We are grateful to our neighbors and the city of Newport for this agreement and believe that the new residence hall will be a wonderful addition to our campus and to the local community to which we're so closely connected," commented Kelli J. Armstrong, the university's president.
The new residence facility is part of Salve Regina's strategic plan to provide more student housing on campus to help build a vibrant university culture and extend the university experience to more students while relieving some of the housing shortage in downtown Newport.
Construction of the new building is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2025, with a plan to welcome students for the fall 2026 semester.
Renovations Under Way at Catholic Cathedral in Providence
The first phase of an exterior renovation of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul residence and convent on Fenner Street in Providence is now under way, with an anticipated completion, weather permitting, around late March or early April 2025.
Rhode Island Catholic, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence's news publication, reported Dec.12 that after several weeks of erecting staging around the residence, which was built in 1900, Bentley
Companies in Warwick, R.I., began work in November on repairing the roof, the sheathing underneath and the chimneys.
Additionally, renovations have started on the fourth-floor exterior, including the dentil work and soffit trim. The windows on that floor are also being replaced in this phase of work, which is currently budgeted at $2.1 million.
Gary Ferguson, director of facilities and construction for the Diocese of Providence, noted that work on the residence was critically needed.
"There's already wood trim that has rotted and fallen off the building — it's all in the gutters, it's on the ground, and [some of] it's beyond repair," he said.
The first phase is confined to repairs of the roof and fourth floor of the cathedral residence, along with the adjacent convent. Additional fixes will be made to the lower floors of the approximately 11,500-sq.-ft. red brick building, and 4,000-sq.-ft. convent as funding is identified for subsequent phases.
"There's no visible leakage up in the attics of the buildings, which is a good thing, but there's visible damage from the outside, from where the drone footage was taken," Ferguson explained. "Once it's leaking, it's too late."
Monsignor Raymond B. Bastia, the former vicar of finance for the Diocese of Providence, who resides in the cathedral residence, is volunteering his services as a consultant on the project.
He told Rhode Island Catholic that a great deal of review was done last spring on the proposed project before it was approved, and work began this fall. Bastia noted that there have been some delays and permitting was sometimes slow, but those issues are normal for such a large project.
"It's a fine old building and Archbishop Richard G. Henning consulted with several groups before making the decision to move ahead with the project, including the diocesan Finance Council, the Council of Priests, and other consultative bodies," Bastia said.
According to Ferguson, the chimney rebuilds are about 85 percent complete, while the roof repairs are approximately 35 percent finished.
He added that the new windows for the fourth floor are due to arrive soon, and the wood trim and painting has not yet begun. Meanwhile, the slate roof will be spot repaired, rather than replaced, and, eventually, when all phases are completed, the building's approximately 100 windows will all be replaced.
"We're trying to protect the envelope of the building. Nothing cosmetic is being done here on the inside," Bastia explained. "This isn't gilding the lily; it's protecting the envelope of the building.
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