Providence, RI According to Citizens Bank, its community development lending group has provided a $7.23 million construction loan to Cromwell Ventures LLC, whose sponsors are the principals of Knight & Swan, LLC.

The loan will provide construction and bridge financing for the substantial rehabilitation of a historic mill complex formerly known as the Mechanical Fabric Company at 55 Cromwell St. The development will result in 40 rental apartments and about 11,000 s/f of commercial space, including shared-office accommodation and a commercial kitchen for lease to local food entrepreneurs, the first of its kind in the city.

A vacant lot at 36 Cromwell St.– adjacent to the three-building complex – was purchased for parking. The project will be branded as the first ROOMS & WORKS in the country; a novel live-work concept tailored to young professionals and recent graduates.

“We enjoyed working with the Citizens Bank team on this project,” said Federico Manaigo, developer at Knight & Swan. “The Citizens team, in particular Mary Vales, Senior Vice President of Community Development Lending, understood the vision for the project from the onset and moved quickly to help get this complex transaction, which included a state and federal tax credit investor, closed. We’re thrilled to be bringing an innovative live-work experience to Providence and look forward to being a part of the West End neighborhood’s revival.”

“We were very pleased to work with Knight & Swan on this project and to help the development team achieve its strategic and financial goals,” said Marc Paulhus, president of Citizens Bank, Rhode Island.