The owner of the Longplex Family & Sports Center  has turned the page on what he said has been a sometimes combative relationship with the Town of Tiverton, and now wants to begin negotiations that, if successful, would result in the purchase of 37 acres of town-owned land for several major commercial projects that would dramatically transform the sparsely developed Tiverton Business Park, where the Longplex has operated since 2018.

Owner Jim Long and his attorney, Daniel Reilly, met in late September with Town Administrator Chris Cotta and the town’s attorneys to present a proposal to build an ice hockey complex, a tradesman center, and a new hotel on three separate parcels of land at the business park.    

Included in the proposal, Long said, is completion of infrastructure work at no cost to the town to accommodate future municipal projects now on the drawing board.

Cotta said the town council considered the proposal in executive session, and he could not yet publicly discuss the town’s response.

Long and Reilly say it is time to make the proposal public.

“No one else is looking at this land right now,” said Reilly. “There is really nothing secret about it. It is town-owned land, and we feel the town’s citizens should know about it.”

According to Long, he and the town agreed several years ago that Longplex would purchase a 16-acre parcel of land to build an ice hockey complex adjacent to its existing building at the business park. The plan, he said, was upended in 2022 by two events. The town agreed to sell 100 acres of land to NorthPoint Development Corp., and that deal meant a new location was needed for the town’s temporary recycling center. It now sits on land originally intended for Long’s project.

The NorthPoint agreement eventually fell through, but the temporary recycling center opened late last year. Long said he can move ahead with his original plans, as long as a permanent recycling center is eventually located elsewhere.

The ice hockey complex will include two ice rinks, a restaurant, locker rooms, a pro shop, bleachers, and indoor pickleball and tennis courts. Also included would be at least 450 additional parking spaces — a plus, Long said, since town officials have often grumbled about what they view as insufficient parking for Longplex events.

Long and other investors are part of a partnership planning two additional commercial projects unrelated to the Longplex. The first requires the purchase of a 13-acre parcel of town-owned land for anticipated construction of a high-end tradesman center, to be used for storage of vehicles, boats, and RVs. Long said for this project, installation of a road and related infrastructure work, with an estimated cost of up to $300,000, would be completed at no cost to the town and would accommodate municipal projects on adjacent parcels of land.

The same investment group wants to purchase just under eight acres of town-owned land at the intersection of Industrial Way and Progress Road for construction of a hotel. The project, said Long, is not “pie in the sky,” since demand for lodging is already strong, as shown by the number of people attending Longplex events who book rooms at out-of-town hotels. A thriving ice hockey complex, he added, would likely be a draw for any hotel considering the business park as a future home.

What’s in it for Tiverton?

Long believes the proposed projects would result in significant long-term benefits to the community. 

“All of this property would end up on the tax rolls. Right now, the town is the owner, so they are getting nothing for it. Longplex pays $16,000 a month in property taxes. This would be far in excess of that. Aside from that, there would be hotel and meal taxes, and new jobs. We are not putting any kids in the schools, and we are paying for infrastructure. It is certainly a net positive for the town.

Referencing concerns voiced by some locals about large housing developments and commercial projects being considered for the north end of town, Long said his proposals are “the opposite of what people in town complain about every day on Facebook.”

Reilly said the goal now is to take the first step in working collaboratively with the town.

“We are not trying to put the town in a precarious position. What the administrator is asking the council for is permission to negotiate with us. That’s all it is. At the end of the day, the council will have to ratify any agreement.”

Acknowledging prior battles with town officials over a wide range of issues, including parking and confrontations over zoning regulations and special events, Long believes it is time to begin again with a clean slate.

He said most parking issues have been resolved, and a court decision is expected soon in connection with a long simmering dispute between the town and Longplex over whether some special events at the facility violate zoning regulations.

“In my world, if it’s broken, let’s fix it, and then let’s move on, said Long. “This has been going on way too long.”