The long time awaited the vote of the City Council on whether the city should sell the Armory on Thames Street to the National Sailing Hall of Fame has been scheduled and it will finally take place on 25^th of July 2018, according to Winthrop.

“I believe this is a great opportunity for the city as it will have a second hall of fame located here. The city already has International Tennis Hall of Fame present here,” Winthrop said.

He added “This is the best use of the property and this will also give us the economic value that we have been looking for since long as the city took it over in 2010”.

“The property has been subsidized by us to the tune of about $100,000 a year.”

On the April 11, the City Council voted 4-3 to move forward with the sale of the Armory, after hearing from  supporters and opponents about the deal in a packed City Hall council chamber.

At the time, a three-page “letter of interest” outlined the sale conditions to be negotiated and finalized. According to that, the city would sell the first floor and the second floors of the property to the hall of fame for $1.685 million.

The letter said the city planned to divide the building into two parts, the Sailing Hall of Fame will remain in the main assembly hall that is on the first floor and the second floor will have the Tennis Hall of Fame.

At the basement level, the city will have the clear ownership of the Newport Maritime Center, which fronts the beach and harbor shoreline. On the other hand, the Ann Street Pier at the Armory as well as the Ann Street right of way would remain under city ownership.