What does a town do with a library building it moved out of in January 2024, can't sell without a referendum, and has already failed to lease once?
At 35 Kingstown Road, Narragansett is trying a lease with more than one tenant. At a work session on Tuesday, Oct. 27, the Town Council heard from two finalists for a lease. One group would bring back Cool Beans Cafe alongside a restorative therapy and yoga studio. The other is a theater education company that wants an arts center. The council took no vote. As UpriseRI reported, members spent much of the session asking the two groups to talk about sharing the space. That approach matches everything the town has learned about this building over nearly three years. It needs tenants willing to take on an old building, and so far it hasn't had many to choose from.
A Sale Would Need Voters, So the Town Is Leasing
The building has been empty since the library moved to its new home at 25 Pier Marketplace. The Boston Globe described why the old building had to be replaced. It didn't comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. And when the lights failed, which the Globe said happened fairly often, someone had to lift a panel in the children's room floor and climb down into an earthen cellar to work on the electrical system.
A February 2024 council memo on the vacant building explained why it hasn't simply been put up for sale. A 2020 charter change requires a voter referendum before the town can sell property. The memo listed town use, a request for proposals leading to a lease, and affordable housing as possible paths. So any group taking over the old library will be a tenant of the town, on whatever terms the council negotiates.
Two Tries Before This One
The current finalists are the town's third attempt to find someone for the building:
- January 2025. The town published a request for proposals seeking investors or developers to repurpose or replace the former library. It closed Feb. 24 with one proposal, from GBC LLC/Venture. The council rejected it on July 21, 2025.
- October 2025. A council agenda item proposed hiring brokers or marketing firms to promote the property and draw in creative reuse ideas, with a proposed cost cap of $3,000.
- November 2025 to February 2026. That broker solicitation ran from Nov. 13 to Dec. 18 and drew one respondent. On Feb. 2, 2026, the council awarded the contract to secure a long-term lease at 35 Kingstown Road.
Each of the first two efforts drew a single response. By the Oct. 27 session, according to UpriseRI, the council had heard three other proposals in executive session and narrowed the field to the two that presented publicly. After one-bidder rounds, the town finally has a choice between proposals. The council's next move suggests it would rather not have to make that choice.
What Each Finalist Proposed
Neither organization was named in the coverage of the session, so they're described here by what they want to build. Details below come from UpriseRI's account of the work session.
| Cafe and studio group | Arts center group | |
|---|---|---|
| What would open | Cool Beans Cafe, a restorative therapy and yoga studio, and a smaller retail space of about 1,500 square feet in the former children's library | A theater space, dance studio, music school and art studio |
| Lease terms | 10 years, with an option to extend to 99 years | Pay at least 50% of rent, taking up to 50% back as a credit for improvements |
| Ask of the town | An 18-month abatement, with the town paying taxes and insurance during build-out | The town keeps its general liability insurance; a consultant said the town would have no financial obligation at the start |
| Paying for work | A cited estimate of $41,000 for exterior and other renovation work | Donations, grants or a loan |
| Named partners | Kevin Fox, a Narragansett resident who owns a landscaping company | Valerie Pringle's dance academy, as a potential partner |
| Building use | A minimum of 6,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space | The company would manage the whole building |
A few details would matter most to people who use this stretch of Kingstown Road day to day. The cafe group's landscaping plans keep the public restrooms open to the public. The cafe owner said Cool Beans was previously open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and would probably keep those hours or stay open until 7 p.m. A presenter said the group was open to applying for a beer and wine license again but didn't need one. Cool Beans has a history on this road. A 2010 Patch report covered its grand opening on Kingstown Road that August.
The arts center's founder said she grew up in Narragansett. Her company was founded in 2024, the same year the library moved out.
The Council Asked Them to Talk to Each Other
The two plans sit at different scales. The cafe group's plan fills the ground floor with businesses and still leaves a modest retail room. The arts group wants to run the entire building. Council Member Jason Colonies said a coffee shop, a theater and the studio could all work together in the building. He also said 1,500 square feet wasn't big enough for a theater. Council Member Donna Vignali called both proposals wonderful and said a joint arrangement "would make our lives a lot easier," UpriseRI reported.
The council stopped short of requiring a partnership. The council member who led the session said that if the groups couldn't reach a deal, the council would consider each proposal separately. No decision date was set. The council said it would follow up after hearing back from both groups. A council member said a Zoning Board appointment would probably come at the council's Monday, Nov. 2 meeting. The coverage didn't tie the lease to that meeting, and the next step depends on what the two groups work out between them.
What Has Already Been Agreed for the Corner
Whatever form the deal takes, some of the building's surroundings were settled in the same session. Council President Pro Tem James Durkin raised several requests, and the cafe and studio group agreed to each one:
- Keep the two maple trees on the property.
- Keep four parking spaces for firefighters.
- Leave room for a possible gathering spot at Caswell Street if a bike path reaches that corner.
These are small commitments, and they suggest how the council sees the site: a corner that already serves the neighborhood in several ways, which a new tenant should fit into.
Meanwhile, at 25 Pier Marketplace
The building that replaced the old library is busy. The Maury Loontjens Memorial Library opened in January 2024 in the former Belmont grocery building. It was a $9 million project after a fight over the site that went back more than a decade and included ballot votes in 2016 and 2020, according to the Boston Globe. The Independent reported that the new location more than doubled the old library's space and added a maker's space, study rooms, more computers and meeting areas.
That added room shows up on the November calendar. A few dates that are still ahead:
- Sunday, Nov. 8: Holiday Decoration Swap, 1 to 3 p.m.
- Fridays: Makerspace Open Hours, 3 to 5:30 p.m., with machines first come, first served.
- Thursday, Nov. 19: Cookbook Club, 6 to 8 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 20: Fix it Friday Repair Faire, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 22: A Rocky Point Park history talk, 1 to 2 p.m., and Sunday Scrabble, 1 to 3:30 p.m.
- Monday, Nov. 30: Cozy Holiday Story Time with local author Jill Austin, 6 to 6:45 p.m.
Plan around the closures. According to the library's hours page, the building is closed Nov. 10 for staff development, Nov. 11 for Veterans Day and Nov. 26 for Thanksgiving, and closes at 3 p.m. on Nov. 25. Regular hours are 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. on the second and fourth Sundays. The Friends of the Library are running a membership drive this fall.
If you live near Narragansett Pier and want to talk through how projects like the Kingstown Road lease could shape the blocks around your home, Brian Turano follows these council decisions closely and is happy to share what he's seeing. Let's Connect.
