The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has lined up a popular Providence-based clamshack and seafood wholesaler as the anchor tenant for the former Chase Marina beneath the Sakonnet River Bridge in Tiverton.
The State Properties Committee on Tuesday unanimously gave preliminary approval for a 10-year lease for Dune Brothers LLC to occupy the building at 169 Riverside Drive. A copy of the agreement was not immediately made available. The building is two stories on its west end and one story on the east end.
The DEM acquired the building from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation in 2021 in order to redevelop the property as part of a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to grow the state’s blue economy. The building previously served as a privately owned marina and kayak shop.
Established in 2017 by spouses Nicholas and Monica Gillespie, Dune Brothers originally operated seasonal clam shacks near downtown Providence and across the Seekonk River in East Providence. The business has since expanded to a sit down location and market in Providence’s Fox Point neighborhood, along with a wholesale market in Warwick.
The Gillespies did not immediately respond to request for comment Tuesday.
Dan Costa, DEM’s port manager, told the State Properties Committee the redeveloped marina site would be home to a new market and restaurant.
The 0.26-acre site on which the building sits includes an attached marina with room for up to 19 berths for commercial fishing vessels, Costa said. Docking space is still being engineered, he added.
“This land lease is going to be a complement to that marina facility,” Costa said. “I believe this is a wonderful opportunity for the DEM to preserve our working waterfront and further the state’s mission in supporting the commercial fishing community.”
In addition to Dune Brothers, the DEM would have a satellite office within the building for the agency’s divisions of Coastal Resources, Emerging Fisheries, and Law Enforcement.
“We have no presence in the East Bay to continue furthering our missions,” Costa said. “It’s going to be a great benefit.”
The state solicited bids from prospective tenants between April and July of 2025, DEM spokesperson Kim Keough said. Dune Brothers submitted one of only two responses.
Troy Langknecht, the chief of program development for DEM’s Natural Resources Bureau, told the committee that the proposed deal calls on Dune Brothers to pay $14.50 per square foot — totaling $82,230 per year.
But just when the business can start occupying the space is unclear. Langknecht told officials that the 5,671 square-foot former seafood processing facility still requires “significant improvements.”
As of Tuesday, a few desks, a filing cabinet, and a sign left over from the building’s time as a staging ground during the 2018 demolition of the old Sakonnet River Bridge were visible inside the one-story portion of the building fronting Riverside Drive.
“It is in pretty good shape, but definitely not ready for any kind of business,” Langknecht said.
The state will offer Dune Brothers a rent abatement of approximately $58,710 each year over the 10-year term, she said. The total of $587,096 is the estimated cost to correct deferred maintenance of the building. After the capital improvement deduction, the annual rental fee will be $23,520.
DEM officials hope to have a lease in place early 2026, Keough said in an email to Rhode Island Current.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
