Charles H. Perkins Building

Location: Providence, RI

This old Rau Fasteners industrial building was originally built in the early 1900’s as a storage facility for the factories next door. Unlike the masonry building across the street, which became the Westfield Lofts, this building was wood framed with large timbers later sistered with structural steel. The crumbling field stone foundation required the raising of the entire building for new concrete. Additionally, the layers of lead paint required Lead Safe sandblasting through out so that the original beams and decking could remain. Also, the contaminates originally used on the site required the entire lot to be sealed and capped (Brownfield). The building, completed in 2010, now has 16,000 s/f of apartments along with over 5,000 s/f of office space.