A North Main Street building that has sold everything from department store goods to aquarium fish to prescriptions has taken on a new job: housing.
The former Green Line Apothecary pharmacy and soda fountain at 905 North Main St. in Providence has been transformed into seven apartments, NBC 10 WJAR reported Oct. 1. The units, on Providence's East Side, are now open for leasing.
From storefront to apartments
The building's history runs through several generations of local retail. It housed a Benny's department store and a family-owned aquarium and pet center before Green Line Apothecary moved in in 2019, according to WJAR.
The owners told the station monthly rents range from $1,600 to $2,700. The building's leasing website lists a mix of one studio, four one-bedroom units and two two-bedroom units, ranging from a 310-square-foot studio to a 1,010-square-foot two-bedroom. Each unit has one bathroom. Leasing is handled by The Blackstone Team at Compass, according to the site, and more information, floor plans and tour details are available there.
The owners worked original details from the building into the new apartments, along with reclaimed pieces from previous occupants and from Green Line Apothecary's own history, giving each unit a distinct look, WJAR reported.
"We've really tried to balance the historic character of this building with modern amenities and even, dare I say, maybe some luxuries that I think the modern resident has come to expect," said Ken Procaccianti, co-founder of Green Line Apothecary.
According to WJAR, the apartments include gourmet kitchens with high-end appliances, dishwashers, air conditioning, keyless entry, in-unit laundry and off-street parking. The leasing site adds individually controlled, energy-efficient heating and air conditioning, assigned off-street parking for every resident, dedicated basement storage lockers and pre-wiring for high-speed internet.
The leasing site describes the building as having "a rich commercial legacy in Rhode Island, thoughtfully restored into character-filled residential units while preserving its historic roots." It traces the building's path "from its origins as a department store to a beloved local pet shop and the Green Line Apothecary outpost."
Ice cream is coming back
The ground floor isn't being left out. The company plans to reopen an ice cream parlor downstairs, bringing back the spirit of the soda fountain that was part of Green Line's pharmacy experience, WJAR reported.
"We've tried to apply that same sensibility of community and a gathering place here in a residential format," Procaccianti said.
That mix, homes upstairs and a neighborhood business at street level, is a familiar pattern on older commercial corridors, and it lets the building keep a public face on North Main Street while adding housing above.
Why it matters for Contractors
Projects like 905 North Main St. are small, but they are the kind of work that keeps renovation contractors busy in older cities. Turning a former retail building into seven apartments touches nearly every trade: demolition, framing new unit layouts, fire separation between units, new plumbing for kitchens, baths and in-unit laundry, electrical service for each apartment, individual heating and cooling, storage lockers in the basement, parking, low-voltage wiring for internet and keyless entry, and finishes.
This job adds another layer. The owners salvaged and reused original details and pieces from earlier tenants, so carpenters and finish crews had to work around and restore old materials rather than simply tearing them out. That kind of careful, detail-driven work tends to reward contractors who can price and schedule around surprises in an old building, and who have finish carpenters able to fit reclaimed material into new rooms. Mixing salvaged pieces with high-end appliances and modern systems also takes coordination between trades, since the old and new have to meet cleanly.
The mix of uses matters too. A ground-floor ice cream parlor with apartments above means a separate commercial fit-out, with its own code, ventilation and equipment needs, sharing a building with residents.
Seven units won't move Providence's housing numbers much on their own. But small conversions of underused commercial buildings are one way older neighborhoods add homes without new land, and contractors who are comfortable with mixed-use renovation work can find a steady niche in them. No contractor for the 905 North Main St. conversion was named in the coverage.