A downtown Newport development project is in doubt following fraud allegations against the project developers. State and local officials met this week to talk more about the project's future but few answers were found.
Newport Mayor Paul Monette says the only thing that is clear after the meeting is that the state will be there to support the city.
“I think that’s a good positive,” he says. “They have the contacts for state and federal money and grants and I think that’s key.”
The Renaissance redevelopment project is connected to federal fraud charges against two Northeast Kingdom developers.
According to property tax and land records, the owner of the lot is GSI of Dade County Inc. of Florida — one of Ariel Quiros' companies named in the lawsuit. It is still unclear whether the Newport parcel is an asset frozen by the legal action.
Other developers have reached out to the city of Newport with preliminary inquiries about purchasing the space.
Representative Michael Marcotte, whose district includes Newport, says there is some good news.
“Things are ready to be developed,” he says optimistically. “Property on Main Street has been demolished and all of the issues with lead and asbestos have been mitigated.”
What the meeting didn't yield is a timeline: whether this will be cleared up in months or years.
