Fuss & O’Neill provided civil engineering and environmental services for this urban redevelopment/adaptive reuse project. The c.1910 building was the former home of Sealtest Ice Cream Factory and now provides transitional apartment-style housing. The renovated three-story brick building also is home to OpenDoors’ offices and support programs.

Fuss & O’Neill provided assessment and in-place closure services of a 5,000-gallon heating oil underground storage tank (UST) and 500-gallon gasoline UST funded by a petroleum assessment grant awarded to RIDEM by the USEPA Brownfield Program. The site design resulted in a substantial increase in groundwater recharge and reduction of runoff to the over-taxed combined sewer system using rain gardens, bioretention, a subsurface infiltration system, and a 20% reduction of impervious surfaces. Raised vegetable and flower gardens on the site provide an enjoyable opportunity for residents to live sustainably and healthfully. The site improvements were designed to achieve an efficient and aesthetic grading scheme while complying with the soil cap requirements of the project’s Remedial Action Work Plan and minimizing project costs for offsite soil disposal.