Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, left, along with developers Peter and James Leach, announce a deal to buy and develop the former Rocky Point Amusement Park.

The Providence Journal / Kathy Borchers

WARWICK — A Providence-based developer has signed a purchase-and-sale agreement to buy 83 acres of the former Rocky Point Amusement Park property, signaling what could be the end of the roller-coaster ride that has marked redevelopment efforts there.

Rocky Point Partners LLC — a consortium that includes James and Peter Leach of Leach Family Holdings — will pay $15.6 million for the property. James Leach said the company plans to build as many as 225 townhouse-type condominiums with price tags in excess of $500,000.

The agreement clears the way for the City of Warwick to move forward with its plan to pay $4.4 million for the remaining 41 acres at Rocky Point, snapping up a mile of coastline for open space, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced yesterday.

Leach says the residential development will closely resemble one that a Leach consortium is launching off the Wampanoag Trail in East Providence. On both projects, the Leach family is partnering with New Jersey-based developer Robert Dale.

The park’s purchase-and-sale agreement is not contingent on any approvals and is expected to close by a March 28 deadline.

“This is definitely a step in the right direction,” SBA Regional Administrator Mark S. Hayward said yesterday.

But failed prior attempts to redevelop the park property raise questions as to the certainty of this deal. At a news conference to announce the sale yesterday, state and local officials even joked that the event felt a bit like dÉjÀ vu.

Last winter, a consortium that included the national home builder Toll Brothers Inc., backed out when it failed to reach an agreement on the number of houses it would be allowed to build on the site. Last month, developer Nicholas Cambio walked away from a $19-million plan when he and the SBA, the park’s court-appointed receiver, reportedly couldn’t negotiate a payment schedule for the land.

Officials say they believe the third time is the charm. Unlike the other developers, Rocky Point Partners has already paid the SBA a $250,000 deposit and signed the purchase-and-sale agreement, which also compels them to pay the SBA an additional $750,000 by the end of this year. Complete payment of $15.6 million will be due by the closing in March.

“We’ve had all sorts of ideas thrown out there the last eight years … but Jim Leach has been the one who said I’m ready to move forward, let me sign the documents,” Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian said yesterday.

Also on hand for the announcement, Governor Carcieri had kind words for the Leaches, saying the partnership between the city and the private sector was an important one.

James Leach said his interest in Rocky Point peaked three years ago when talk of redevelopment first garnered attention. But the timing was never right and neither was the price, until last month.

Where Cambio had concerns about developing a parcel adjacent to a new city park, Leach said he’s confident about the partnership. A board member of Grow Smart RI, a public-interest group fighting sprawl, Leach said he understands the emphasis on preserving open space at the former park. The Leaches also worked with Warwick in the late 1990s to help redevelop the site of the former Warwick Musical Theatre.

Before either sale is complete, the SBA, as court-appointed receiver for the park, must seek approval for the sale from U.S. District Court. The SBA submitted those requests for the court’s review this weekend.

Before yesterday’s announcement, the SBA had long-refused to ask for the court’s blessing for the sale of the city’s portion of the property until it found a buyer for the remaining parcel, a decision which jeopardized the city’s plans to purchase the shoreline parcel using a combination of federal, state and city funds.

Yesterday, DEM Director W. Michael Sullivan praised the agreement. “We now have within our grasp a mile of shoreline … that the citizens of this city and the citizens of this state would have the opportunity to walk, to stroll, to view, to fish and to continue to enjoy the bounty of the Bay and the view of what was once Rocky Point Park but now will be an enduring asset to all of us,” Sullivan said.

But City Council President Joseph J. Solomon said it’s hard to get excited after more than a decade of fits and starts. (The park closed in 1995 after years of losses under its former owner, Moneta Capital. The SBA was brought in to serve as receiver for the property and sell it to repay creditors).

“I’d like to remain optimistic, but this is our third time around and it has been a roller-coaster ride,” the council president said. “I’ve learned that anything can happen between now and the closing date.”

cneedham@projo.com