The History of The Kinsley Building
![1913 - KINSLEY BUILDING - PROVIDENCE JOURNAL](https://cornishassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1913-KINSLEY-BUILDING-PROVIDENCE-JOURNAL-768x507.jpg)
The Kinsley Building is built by Martin & Hall Architects as an investment property for the heirs of Sarah B. Cranston, with offices on stories 2-5 and retail stores on the ground floor.
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The building is home to a wide variety of small businesses and offices, located directly adjacent to the Nickel Theater, soon to be replaced by the Albee Theater.
![1977 - KINSLEY BUILDING - PROVIDENCE JOURNAL](https://cornishassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1977-KINSLEY-BUILDING-PROVIDENCE-JOURNAL-768x946.jpg)
The building is bought by downtown developer Henry Kates, who leases the ground floor to the Army Armed Forces recruiting center.
![1978 - KINSLEY BUILDING - PROVIDENCE JOURNAL](https://cornishassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1978-KINSLEY-BUILDING-PROVIDENCE-JOURNAL-768x576.jpg)
Kates sells the building to a Dutch investment group represented locally by Didier Sartor. The Kinsley Building is their first investment in the United States. Kates stays on as manager of the property.
![1992 - KINSLEY BUILDING -](https://cornishassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1992-KINSLEY-BUILDING-.jpg)
The building sits at 85% vacancy with over 24,000 square feet of vacant class C office space.
![kinsley 1998](https://cornishassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/kinsley-1998-e1718999872841.jpg)
The building's upper stories remain vacant while a nightclub on the ground floor struggles to retain its licenses.
![2008 - KINSLEY BUILDING - PROVIDENCE JOURNAL](https://cornishassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2008-KINSLEY-BUILDING-PROVIDENCE-JOURNAL-768x624.jpg)
New owner, Johnson & Wales University, abandons the building, moving their offices to another of their campus properties with plans to sell the building. The Kinsley Building sits vacant for 5 years.
![2012 - KINSLEY BUILDING -](https://cornishassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2012-KINSLEY-BUILDING-.jpg)
Cornish Associates purchases the property from Johnson & Wales University with plans for a mixed use rehabilitation project.