The building is loaded with the asbestos.”

Dave Butera, Sr.

They missed the cut

A number of design options were shared with members of the 25 Watson Avenue Ad Hoc Committee and the public during a recent meeting. The design options included:

• Density ‘Lower Limit (R-40)’: Create nine R-40 residential lots on the property

• Density ‘Lower Limit (R-25)’: Create 15 R-25 residential lots on the property

• Density ‘Middle Density (R-10)’: Create 30 R-10 residential lots on the property

• Open space: Demolish existing building and create 6.75 acres of open space as well as 47 parking spaces

• Density public/private: Build new multi-family structure; create public parking for use of accompanying open space

• Density “Site Specific” Cottage Courts: Build 42 cottages on the property

• New building and cottages and public park: Reuse existing monastery building, construct new cottages, and create open space park for the public

It is not yet clear what will happen to the former Carmelite Monastery property in Barrington.

But Dave Butera, Sr. believes the former monastery building, which had been home to Carmelite nuns for more than 50 years, needs to be part of the plan.

Butera is an abutter to the property and a member of the 25 Watson Avenue Ad Hoc Committee, which has been tasked with offering a recommendation to the town council for the future use of the land. Butera said any future development of the former monastery property needs to include the re-use of the building which overlooks Barrington Beach and Narragansett Bay.

“I think we should keep the building and put a little addition on it,” Butera said during a recent interview. “That’s the least impact on the land.”

Members of the 25 Watson Avenue Ad Hoc Committee have been meeting for months and discussing the issue. The group has worked closely with a team of consultants, and most recently, selected three design option finalists. 

One of the designs calls for the renovation of the existing monastery and construction of additional cottage court units; the second option calls for the renovation of the existing building and the construction of an addition; and the third calls for the removal of the existing monastery and construction of a new building.

The demolition of the existing building will require a special vote at the upcoming financial town meeting, as the initial resolution to purchase the property specified that the monastery structure be preserved.

“Preserve the monastery, that’s in the language,” Butera said. 

The Barrington resident said he is very concerned about demolishing the monastery — he said the concrete used in the structure includes asbestos. 

“They would mix asbestos into the concrete, because the asbestos would bind with the concrete so there wouldn’t be cracking… The building is loaded with the asbestos,” he said. 

Butera said remediation of the asbestos is going to cost a developer hundreds of thousands of dollars, even before they begin construction of a new building. 

He said the asbestos will also likely make its way into the soil. 

Butera, who lives just north of the monastery property, said the asbestos is a health concern for nearby property owners. He said he told other committee members that he was going to have a barbecue at his house on the day they demolish building and planned to invite each of the members who vote yes on razing the structure. 

This is a health concern, Butera said, adding that two other members of the 25 Watson Avenue Ad Hoc Committee “attacked him” for voicing his concerns about the asbestos.

Barrington Town Council member Annelise Conway serves as liaison to the ad hoc committee. She also lives in the neighborhood that sits east of the monastery property. In an interview on Monday, Conway said asbestos remediation has made advances in the last 20 years. 

Conway also said Butera had earlier made a motion calling for the property to be returned to R-40 zoning, which would also require the existing structure to be demolished. The motion failed, Conway said.

Dot poll

At a recent meeting of the 25 Watson Avenue Ad Hoc Committee, officials conducted a dot poll — committee members and residents were offered nearly a dozen design options and asked to select the ones they liked best. 

The top pick: Reuse the existing building.

Butera said the poll results were a clear indication of how most people want the monastery building to be preserved.

“The ad-hoc committee voted to save the building. The taxpayers voted overwhelmingly to save the building,” he said. “It was off the charts.”

Teresa Crean, the town’s director of planning, building and resiliency, said the poll was conducted both in person and online. Crean, who serves as a facilitator for the committee’s work, cautioned that the dot poll was not a formal vote.

Crean said the dot poll also yielded support for allowing the property to return to normal R-40 zoning, as well as keeping the seven acres as open space. 

Crean said committee members will eventually vote on a final recommendation, which they will share with the town council. The council will then have the final say about what to do with the property.

“The community will also have option to go to town council and speak openly about the (property),” Crean said. 

Conway said the dot polling served as a very small sample of the community. She said the polling should not viewed as representative of how everyone in town feels about the future of the property. Conway said the committee has worked hard on the issue and continues to gather more information as it prepares to offer a recommendation to the town council. She said it is important for residents to attend the financial town meeting later this month and vote on the resolution which would give officials the option for removing the monastery building. Ms. Conway said she does not have an opinion about what she would like to see happen with the property. However, she did say that she did not like the idea of returning the property to R-40 zoned lots.

Conway also said she could consider using the land for open space, although she would prefer to see the financial impact of that move before making a decision.