Bald Hill Garden Center & Florist

About this Property

#Reason for Demolition

Bald Hill Garden Center opened in 1986 in what we assume were new buildings at the time. Their business registration expired in 2010¹ and they closed a year earlier.

The 9.5 acre property was purchased in 2009 for $550,000. Starting in 2014, a development master plan was proposed called Gateway Roundabout. It was for over 72,000 square feet of retail space in three buildings. No specific types of retail were listed in the plan and no architectural designs were included,² since this was only an early master plan.

The development never moved forward, and we were unable to discern what happened. News reports in 2014, though, detailed how the North Kingstown Planning Commission was not in favor of the proposal but they did not have the mechanisms to prevent it. They instead wanted “compact village development” in the area, and rezoned the property earlier in 2012 to allow such development. The zoning had to be rescinded, however, as the meetings to put the zoning in place did not meet state open meeting laws.³

In the meantime, the property went back to the wild, which is fitting for a suburban garden center. The buildings were vandalized and windows were broken all while vegetation slowly crept in and almost consumed the structures.

The development rights for the property lapsed after an extension requested was withdrawn in June of 2022.⁴ Very soon after, in December of 2022, preliminary plans for a new development were proposed. And this was more similar to one the commission wanted. It was a major land development project for 88 apartment units. The agenda noted that the property was now “zoned Compact Village Development (CVD)” as well as its location in the Groundwater Protection Overlay District.⁵ It seems that either the zoning had been changed while the previous development stalled or the development stalled because the zoning changed.

The plan calls for 22 four-unit apartment buildings, each with two bedrooms. 66 units would be market rate and 22 would meet affordable standards. Assuming one person per bedroom but a few bedrooms with as many as 2 children, the total possible residents could be almost 100 people. Because of this, North Kingstown residents are concerned that there will not be enough groundwater to support the health and safety of residents.⁶

We have not been able to find out much more about the project and how the developers propose to meet requirements for drinking water. There are documents submitted to the Planning Commission detailing on-site wastewater treatment, so perhaps those address the requirements for a Groundwater Protection Overlay District. We are not experts on such matters.

#Current Events

In mid-September of 2024 the buildings were flattened and what looks to be preparatory ground work.