Developers of the former American Tourister factory site are investigating whether the Palmer River could fuel that complex.

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WARREN - In addition to 351 residential units, 50,000 square feet of commercial space, and a restaurant on Water Street, Massachusetts developer John Rosenthal hopes to include a tidal- energy study as part of the American Tourister condominium project.

"It's a little bit like 'back to the future' for the Rhode Island state," said the Meredith Management president, who recently received a $20,000 grant from the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources for a feasibility study to determine wether the Palmer River is a reliable energy source.

Rosenthal said the concept of converting tidal energy into electrical energy is far from new, and that Rhode Island mills and factories used water power for centuries. Nevertheless, Rosenthal's project, if approved, would be the first of its kind in the state.

For the project, revolving turbines housing electrical converters and mounted to the floor of the Palmer River would be connected to a generator on land. The invisible, slow-moving turbines could power a significant portion of the lighting for the 600,000-square-foot building, and educational materials detailing the project would be displayed in a nearby park, Rosenthal said.

"It's very open to the public and it's very educational," he said.

It would be one of many components to the American Tourister project, which will bring 351 residential units, 22 artists' studio spaces, and a public gallery to the historic mill building on Main Street that formerly housed a luggage company.

Preliminary plans for the project, which were filed with the Planning Board on Thursday, include a fishing dock, a public boardwalk, and 1,400 linear feet of waterfront open to the public. The company is also exploring the feasibility of a marina, Rosenthal said.

Town Planner Michelle Maher said two applications for the project were filed to the Planning Board, one requesting a waterfront overlay district design review and another for a major land- development review. The plans will be reviewed by PAR Engineering, the town's engineering firm, before moving to the town's Technical Review Board and then to the Planning Board, where it will undergo public informational hearings.

"It's a big, long process," she said.

Carol Wasserman, an engineer with ESS Group Inc., which is conducting the tidal energy feasibility study, said the amount of energy harnessed depends on how the turbines are positioned, the water flow, the migration of striper in the river, and other ways the Palmer River is used. But the fast-moving river, with speeds of 5.5 knots, is a strong candidate for a tidal-energy project, which officials say requires speeds from 4 to 6 knots to be viable.

Rosenthal said the river's speed gave him the idea that it could be a reliable energy source. When he first began thinking of development ideas for the waterfront property, he was told that the river was too strong for kayaking.

"I said, 'Well if the tide's that extreme then maybe we can generate power,'" Rosenthal said.