Condo project moves ahead

NORTH PROVIDENCE — The owners of the former Cher’s restaurant and lounge at 83 Waterman Ave. have won permission from the Zoning Board of Review to demolish the nightspot and build a 12-unit condominium project. Cheryl and Tom Gauthier said they decided to move in another direction after it became apparent that they were losing patrons to Twin River in Lincoln and they realized that the existing building needed many repairs. The River’s Edge Condominiums are to have two-bedroom units, including three townhouses and nine flats, on land bordering the Woonasquatucket River. Gene Mancino of Mancino Associates, East Providence, the Gauthiers’ architect, said the condos would be built in the style of a traditional New England village building with pitched roofs. He said the building would occupy only 18 percent of the land. The project calls for one more unit than what is permitted under the town’s revised zoning regulations without a variance from the Zoning Board. The board approved a special-use permit and a variance on a 4-1 vote.

Pyle drivers find new home

JOHNSTON — The truckers of A. Duie Pyle came to town in their private cars, pickups and SUVs, parking outside their new shipping terminal near the state’s Central Landfill. They boarded transports and headed to their terminal in Webster, Mass. There, they climbed into their pre-loaded trucks — Mack tractor-trailers with bright-orange rigs. After spending a full day hauling deliveries and picking up shipments, they drove the big rigs to their new home. “We started the day in Webster,” Pyle’s chairman, Peter A. Latta, said. “We ended it in Johnston.” Pyle has chosen to shift its Webster-based work force between Johnston and another terminal in Northborough, Mass., he said. Staffed with 60 to 65 employees and equipped with 35 to 40 trucks, the Johnston trucking operation was in full swing by the end of the week, Latta said.

Condo units get green light

CUMBERLAND — The Town Council has unanimously approved a zone change that paves the way for CVS/Caremark Corp. to expand its footprint at Highland Corporate Park, lets developer Highland Hills LLC construct 100 new condominium units in the land abutting the park and has the town acquiring 50 acres of open space. An agreement among the Economic Development Foundation of Rhode Island (the industrial park’s owners), Highland Hills and the town breaks up about 99 acres bounded by Mendon Road on the south, Highland Corporate Drive to the west and Old West Wrentham Road and West Wrentham Road to the east. Residents along West Wrentham Road who have waged a long court battle with the developers against the developers’ old plans for the property supported the zone change, according to their attorney, Michael Horan. They have agreed to drop their lawsuits against Highland Hills. But other residents, near the corporate park, are not so pleased. About nine residents, represented by Adam Slesinger, of Grand Avenue, complained at last week’s meeting that the town was ignoring its responsibility to address a foul-smelling odor coming from the local sewers, which run from the corporate park.

Water restrictions in place

PORTSMOUTH — Peak demand for water to quench parched lawns and gardens in the recent heat wave has strained the pumping capacity of the Portsmouth Water and Fire District so much that the district imposed mandatory water restrictions. So far, Portsmouth is the only community on Aquidneck Island where water conservation measures have been put into effect. In neighboring Massachusetts, Swansea instituted its annual mandatory water restrictions on July 1, and Seekonk has voluntary limits. On Aquidneck Island, the problem is not the amount of available water but the ability of the Portsmouth Water and Fire District to pump enough water to its 6,400 customers and still maintain an adequate amount of water under pressure in case of a fire emergency, according to general manager William J. McGlinn.

Restaurant parking setback for Gilbane

NARRAGANSETT — Less than two weeks after they agreed to a temporary parking plan with Gilbane Development Co., Town Council members voted 3-2 to reject that plan, with some members returning to their argument that Gilbane should not be reserving spaces for a new high-end restaurant. The vote, opposed by members T. Brian Handrigan and Krista J. Garrett, followed a 30-minute discussion about the proposed temporary plan and parking in the Pier area — a hot issue since the 275-seat Trio restaurant opened on Kingstown Road in May. The temporary plan was supposed to resolve, for this summer, the conflict between Gilbane erecting Trio-only parking signs that reserved more than 70 spaces and other businesses and entities, such as the town library, also needing spaces. Following a workshop on July 10, Gilbane had agreed to remove the signs affecting spaces near the town library, freeing them for public use. But council members again raised concerns. Councilman Christopher Wilkens pointed to an informal town review of parking levels which suggested that there is enough parking for all the businesses in the area, meaning the Trio-only signs are not necessary. The issue may have to be resolved in court.