Washington Trust Provides $16 Million in Rehab Financing for One Empire Plaza in Providence, RI

January 27, 2016

Roger Williams University and Social Security Administration to occupy building once home to 38 Studios

Westerly, RI – Washington Trust’s Commercial Real Estate Group recently provided $16.147 million to Empire Lasalle, LLC, an affiliate of Berkeley Investments, for the rehab financing of One Empire Plaza, a 104,343 square-foot Class A office building in Providence, RI.

One Empire Plaza makes up approximately 20% of the total square footage in Providence’s Empire District. Located immediately off of Interstate 95 in downtown Providence, the building is being rehabbed to accommodate two new tenants; the Social Security Administration and Roger Williams University. The Social Security Administration will occupy the building’s entire sixth floor, while Roger Williams University will occupy the first through fifth floors, nearly doubling the size of the University’s presence is downtown Providence. The building has sat vacant since previous tenant, 38 Studios, filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

“We are excited to work on this transaction with Berkeley and are pleased to see One Empire Plaza, which is a fantastic building, being occupied with such strong tenants,” said Julia Anne M. Slom, Senior Vice President & Team Leader of Washington Trust’s Commercial Real Estate Group. “Berkeley has demonstrated its commitment to the building and to the city of Providence with this visible, transformative project.”

Washington Trust's Commercial Real Estate Group provides commercial real estate mortgages for the construction, refinancing, or purchasing of investment real estate projects. Financing ranges in size from several hundred thousand dollars up to multi-million dollar projects. For more information, contact Laurel L. Bowerman, vice president, Commercial Real Estate Group, at 401-654-4847 or 800-475-2265 ext. 8247.

ABOUT WASHINGTON TRUST®
Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is the oldest community bank in the nation and one of the Northeast’s premier financial services companies. Washington Trust offers a full range of financial services, including commercial banking, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth management and trust services through its offices located in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Washington Trust Company is a subsidiary of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc., (NASDAQ OMX®: WASH). Additional information on Washington Trust and its subsidiaries can be found at www.washtrust.com.