After merging with Navigant in 2016, the Dexter Credit Union headquarters building was donated to the City of Central Falls. The former HQ had served as a full operating branch containing executive offices and as the training facility for its employees. This presented an opportunity to create a place that would not only help the city’s underserved community but assist in decreasing Rhode Island’s unemployment rate. Working with Rhode Island College (RIC), BTGA determined how best to go forward with converting the building to educational use in the most economical way possible.

BTGA performed a building study that included an evaluation of the existing conditions, a preliminary design, and a cost estimation. We discovered that significant work was needed to meet building code standards, but that the building itself already possessed a good infrastructure for a mix of classrooms, offices, and social spaces. The RIC staff were instrumental in assisting us with getting as many teaching spaces in the building as possible that would accommodate the end users’ unique circumstances, such as specific training, different schedules and modes of transportation, and dining and social services needs.

The former building was divided into a retail space up front and an employee entrance in the back that was difficult to access. We opened up the center so that the main desk connecting all the rooms was visible and approachable from every entry door and placed the elevator next to the front desk to make it easy to direct people. We located lounge spaces next to the guidance staff to make resources easily accessible and to establish good relationships between the staff and students. The idea was to make the RIC Open Workforce Development Hub self-sufficient. To meet this requirement, the new building has a large computer training lab and medical training lab, three large classrooms and four small ones, offices on the first and second floors, several small conference/group study rooms, one large conference room, a student lounge and café, a separate staff lounge, and vending machines in the kitchen.