When the Airport Sheraton opened on Post Road in 1987, it was riding a wave of new hotels in Warwick. Today there are 16 Warwick hotels offering a total of 2,139 rooms. And the city has granted approvals for two more hotels: a 122-room Wind Springs Suites and a 124-room Echo Hotel on post Road south of Chelo’s Restaurant.

But the former Sheraton is no longer a hotel.

Now the building that has undergone extensive renovations, it is seen to be in the vanguard of workforce housing and an additional catalyst to the long dreamed-of development of City Centre.

Mayor Frank Picozzi welcomed the Sheraton transition to the 190 unit Presley Apartments last Thursday – although, he noted, it took longer than planned. The Presley, a GoodHomes Communities property, was proposed and gained city approvals about five years ago. It then sat untouched with minimal progress to the frustration of the city administration. But as GoodHomes representative David Mitchell explained following the ribbon cutting ceremony, work on the project was bogged down by legal issues.

But now that the development costing more than $20 million is completed, it is going gangbusters. Fifty percent of the one- and two-bedroom units have been leased. Leases range from $1,350 for a 350-square-foot studio apartment to $1,625 for a one-bedroom unit. An additional $250 a month covers the cost of utilities and internet. And for $300 a year, tenants get use of the indoor swimming pool, game room, fitness room and other amenities. Tenants are permitted to have pets – dogs up to 50 pounds – or cats for a monthly charge of $35.

“The City of Warwick is a can-do city,” Mitchell said in a ceremony including remarks from Sen. Jack Reed, Rep. Seth Magaziner, Gov. Dan McKee, Deborah Goddard of the Office of Housing, Carol Ventura, CEO and executive director of RI Housing, and local elected officials, Speaker of the House K. Joseph Shekarchi and state Sen. Matthew LaMountain.

Mitchell elaborated in an email, “from the beginning they put the full weight of the city Planning, Development, Police and Fire departments to make a very complex lot-size constraint work, everything from innovative parking solutions to crime prevention while the site was in pre-closing, to formidable wisdom in creating solutions in our building plan in order to meet various life safety standards. In addition, they are responsible for calling to our attention to the state programs that we could qualify for.”

Picozzi pointed to recently the completed 214 unit Alta Altitude apartments on Post Road at the Airport Connector, Jan Companies’ plan for two buildings with 212 apartment units on the 5-acre parcel adjoining Presley and ongoing housing construction in the Gateway District for a total of about 1,000 housing units.

The mayor lauded the overall appearance of the district, including the redevelopment of the former Ann & Hope property and the repaving of Post Road. “I’m glad,” he said. “This is a great job.”

There’s more to come at the Presley.

A Pat’s Italian Warwick, with seating for 184, is scheduled to open within the next two months. Although it will be in the building there won’t be internal access between the restaurant and apartments.

According to the program distributed at Thursday’s ribbon cutting, $2.295 million in funding came from the Rhode Island Housing through an earmark grant from U.S. Sen. Jack Reed; almost $11.5 million from a third-party senior lender and $7.9 million from general partner capital. Mitchell said the federal funds helped the affordability of the project.

The program further states that the units are considered middle-income housing, “meaning rents are ranged to match residents making between 80% and 120% of the Area Median Income, which is between $64,050 and $96,120 for a single-person household.”

By the end of the year, Mitchell said, GoodHomes Communities will have created 3,000 units  across the country in projects similar to Presley Apartments.

And the Presley name?

“We name each community after a legendary musician to give it depth and familiarity,” Mitchell said.