Developers of the Tourister Mill will ask the Warren Zoning Board of Review later this month to allow them to re-zone vacant commercial space within the development as residential, allowing them to put in an additional 22 residential units.

Tourister Mill LLC officials need to modify the special use permit granted to them six years ago to re-classify those commercial spaces as residential. Currently, residential units in the development are sold out, and there has been a waiting list for open spaces dating back to last year. The zoning board will consider the application on Wednesday, June 17.

Michael Giuttari, a commercial realtor with MG Commercial, is working with Tourister Mill LLC to find commercial tenants for the property. He said the decision to re-classify space has been in the works for several months and is in keeping with the developers’ past practice at other mills it has redeveloped in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

“It really came down to a business decision,” he said. “Some of the commercial space was moving slowly (but) the residential is very active and full.”

Part of the issue with commercial spaces, he said, is that some are quite large and are laid out in such a way as to make it difficult to divide into smaller spaces. Given that some of those spaces are in the most attractive part of the property, with good water views, opening them to residential tenants made more sense.

Mr. Giuttari said six commercial tenants are currently renting at the mill. Coming down the pike are several new tenants that still need to finalize their plans but would likely be moving in soon, he said.

The Tourister mill's first phase of construction, which includes 190 apartments and dozens of commercial spaces in the north side of the property, opened in early 2018. In the first few months, residential rentals were slow and developers dropped some prices and offered incentives to prospective residents. Following the price drop, rent was set at $1,325 for loft units and up to $3,550 for five-bed- room units. Since then, demand has been strong with waiting lists months long in some cases.

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