EAST PROVIDENCE — Ten years on the enthusiasm for the task at hand still oozes from the voice of Michael Hennessey, the Chief Operating Officer of Village on the Waterfront LLC.

His company, working in conjunction with Chevron Land and Development Company Inc., continues to forge ahead with the "Village on the Waterfront" mixed-use project off Veterans Memorial Parkway on the city's shoreline. Stalled mostly because of the real estate crash coinciding with "The Great Recession" of 2008, VOTW is finally back on track and according to Mr. Hennessey pretty much on schedule and well worth the wait.

"For a developer, this property is a dream come true," Mr. Hennessey said during a recent interview, encapsulating the breathe and scope of the project.

Residents and motorists have seen the transformation of the 26-acre property across the parkway from Metacomet Country Club really take shape in recent months as the thick brush that hid the land from the naked eye was removed, exposing views of Providence and the upper Narragansett Bay unseen to locals for the better part of a century. To date, Chevron, which maintains ownership of the property through the remediation process, has spent approximately $30 million cleaning up the former tank field site.

"The city created its plan from 1999-2004, working with Chevron. In 2005, we came on board. In 2008, the market collapses. While that's going on, we're still working all along. In 2010, we come up with our plan. Then around 2012, we see there's a huge need for housing in the state and we adjust accordingly. And finally in 2014, our plan was approved, so we're really only a year, year-and-a-half behind if we're behind at all," Mr. Hennessey said while providing a timeline of the VOTW project.

In total, Village on the Waterfront LLC plans to invest some $200 million over the course of the development, which is expected to formally begin in the third quarter of 2017. That's when shovels will be put to ground for Phase 1, a four-building, 199-apartment grouping. The "luxury" flats will include amenities like granite countertops. All of buildings will have underground parking. Three of them will have retail space on the first floor encompassing 25,000 square feet. The complex will include a centralized town square, a clubhouse and a pool. If all goes accordingly, Phase 1 will be completed in early 2019.

"The underground parking is a great amenity in terms of safety and weather. The apartments will be mostly one and two bedroom. There will be some studios involved," Mr. Hennessey explained. "People throw the word 'luxury' around, which I don't like to do. But let's put it this way, there will be some very nice upgrades in each of the units like the granite. It costs more, but it helps with maintenance and it helps maintain the value. We're willing to spend a little more now with the long term in mind.

"We're expecting the retail to include coffee shops, restaurants, fitness, businesses like that. There could be a UPS Store, things like that. A lot of it is really geared towards things the residents will use, while having some foot traffic included as well. That's what going to make it work as a valuable asset."

Plans remain for the construction of an additional 400 condominiums in three more phases. As is the case with Phase 1, 10 percent of the condos and apartments will be considered "affordable housing." In the future as well, a boat mooring field in bay could be offered as an enticement for residents of the complex.

"We're going to see what the market says," Mr. Hennessey said of the ultimate completion of VOTW. "If the apartments fly off the shelves, then maybe we turn Phase 2 into more apartments. But the market will dictate how we move forward."

For the general public, a walking promenade will be constructed. The East Bay Bike Path will be extended. Plans also include a kayak rental hut, a fishing pier, site-seeing perches and a boat launch.

"This is not a gated community as some have said. There is 100 percent public access. We're really opening up the waterfront for residents, the people of the city and people in the area," Mr. Hennessey continued. "Waterfront Drive along the Providence River is being extended 1,800 linear feet to our site, then we're extended it south another 3,000 linear feet, so we're building a mile of road. There's going to be street level parking on both sides. And it's going to be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible from the Parkway, which is big. There are going to be multiple access points. What we're really doing is opening up the waterfront which has been closed to the city for over 100 years."

Acting chairman of East Providence's Waterfront Commission Bill Fazioli concurred, saying Village on the Waterfront will "lend itself more" to residents of the city than other developments.

"It's going to have public venues, coffee shops, restaurants. I don't know if it will be a tourist attraction, but it will certainly be a place where people in the area can come to and take advantage of," he said. "This property has been sealed off from the city for generations. You just didn't have access to. So now we get to reclaim this. The ability of people to get out of their car and walk down a path from Squantum Woods to the bike path and to the water, people haven't been able to do that legally for quite some time. And now it's going to be something that is actively encouraged."

Mr. Hennessey was quick to credit East Providence officials and administrators for playing a significant role in the process, being a proponent of the plan and promoting the virtues of the city. From input into permitting, to assistance working with the numerous state and federal oversight agencies, he said East Providence has been an invaluable partner.

"If the City of East Providence wasn't behind this we wouldn't be this far. The city laid out a comprehensive vision, which was really nice. You don't always get that when you're working with states or municipalities. And it was a vision everyone agreed with," Mr. Hennessey added. "And without the TIF (Tax Increment Finance) program this development could not have happened. It provided the public access, updated all of the utilities. It's a great tool. It's beneficial to the developer and the city."

There are benefits to being dogged and optimistic, traits Mr. Hennessey and his peers at VOTW LLC have shared during the lengthy chase from conceptualization to implementation. Their belief in the project seldom if ever wavered, and now it's becoming a reality.

"After 10 years, I'm still very excited about this," Mr. Hennessey added. "Nothing about the project has really changed. Everything is on cue. Even as we endured one really big real estate crisis, we kept going. Now things are starting to happen, and we're very excited about it."