Dan

Behind the 7 Eleven on Atwells, across the street from the old GE plant, where the aluminum shelter with the graffiti American Flag on the side used to be. What is going on there?

Judging by the mob that showed up at CCRI for Michelle last week, if the man himself is coming to RIC tomorrow I should probably be able to hear the chanting from my front porch.

Seelbinder ...said plans also include a rehabilitation of the train depot's facade. Seelbinder said the old depot building is considered so decrepit that it wouldn't be worth renovating. However, he said the agreement states the building should stay up for at least the next five years. Moreau said the train depot has been abandoned for 47 years and is an eyesore. ... [and indicated that] plans for a commuter rail stop north of the depot will bring even more commerce to the area. So the fix is in? How far along in the planning stages is the Central Falls stop to the north? What is the City of Pawtucket's position on this?

I'll be there one way or the other... plenty of special events this summer. The Tall Ships Festival in June is supposed to be the greatest one yet! Which month were you planning on Cotuit?

Anyone else entertaining desperate offers of overtime from your boss right about now? Gotta find some way to get evening classes officially cancelled in Providence. Who's got pull at CCRI?!

If its obviously abuse, Cotuit is right that you definitely need a woman to intervene, unless you are good friends with the girl downstairs. I obviously can't imagine what a bad feeling it must be like to be a girl in that kind of tough spot with seemingly no way out. Sometimes you just have to let it blow over or better yet - get the hell out of that place as fast as you can! Some folks are loud. Some folks drink too much... on days ending in "y." My cousin can tell you what happens when you try to make a difference... You call the cops, they come and ask the girl upstairs (or downstairs in your case) what happened and she looks directly at the ground and explains how she slipped, fell and ended up with seven or eight upper-body bruises and a black eye. She doesn't want to implicate Jimmy because he works hard to pay the rent and he has a right to drink a few beers, besides he's about to go to bed anyways. So the cops leave and don't come back for awhile. Three Guiness later, Jimmy decides he wants to come on down for a little discussion. You let him in through the door and a few minutes later he leaves in a rush through your 28" kitchen window (which you happened to like in one piece). The folks whose backyard just became a landing strip call the cops back in and you get to take a ride with the piss-drunk beotch and spend the rest of the night locked up with him because the cops think its a big joke. Just something to consider.

If the structure is severely blighted and not properly maintained up to code, then the city should violate the owner. If its supposedly a $10M property then it should at least be kept safe and secure. Your first remark appears to be right on the money. Our new tower at 110 Westminster St. in Providence was originally planned to be residential upscale condominiums. Its since been redesigned to include a W Hotel with residential on the upper floors. Think about that. If the residential units you mentioned aren't moving, I wouldn't expect announcements about any new condo towers. If there is indeed an inventory shortage, then a boutique hotel by the new convention center sounds like a winner to me. The bridge could be demolished and the existing hotel structure rehabilitated for this use, I assume. Is $10M really that ridiculous of an asking price? Are there any tax credits available to investors? We should be very careful when deciding on ED. In my opinion it should be used as a last resort - enough is enough. The government doesn't need to take the land to build a bridge, its just an old building with a stubborn owner (who probably gets a wink and a nod from Perez in passing).

Hello UP Hartford board members! I am from Providence and I work in the hospitality industry here in Rhode Island. I was visiting relatives in the area over the holiday and I read the Hartford Courant article on the front page Christmas morning concerning the former Clarion Hotel property. The facts in the article were pretty stunning to me, considering the building's prime location close to the waterfront and great highway access. So what should become of this place? Do you folks believe that the City of Hartford should (take a chance and) take the land and the building by Eminent Domain and then finance demolision, cleanup, and marketing for redevelopment? Could the property be creatively rehabilitated instead? The author suggests that there is no real hope of redevelopment because the numbers simply can't work. I think that if the Hartford waterfront revitalization is real, this building would prove to be a great investment over the next decade. Is there an unspoken reason (political force or issues with the neighborhood) or otherwise significant underlying problem which is impeding redevelopment here? You guys live in the city, so I'd like to know what you think. This is interesting to me and I'm looking forward to your responses. Season's Greetings!

Welcome to UP Providence eman_revelc!

So I'm sitting there watching the Patriots game today with the live pictures of downtown Boston - 27 miles away from the stadium - and I'm thinking: "Why don't they send a guy with a camera down to Providence for a change?!" I know for a fact that the whole road crew uses PVD airport and RI hotels and other establishments when they do a game in Foxboro. How about some recognition?!

How is it not a complete outrage that Central Falls made the decision to tear down part of a structure which sits for the most part on land which they have no jurisdiction over without communicating at all with Pawtucket or the passenger rail line operator. Big safety violation by the contractor, and whoever executed the demolision permit. Interesting that the issue hasn't really been in the news. The station proposal has been in all the papers this last year, of course Central Falls City Hall knew what was going on. It was time to set the plan in motion or nobody was gonna see any of that money.

Absolutely right! I'm all for eminent domain in this particular case. This property is a historical landmark in a very vibrant urban area, and would serve the community as a much-needed transportation resource. I used to live in Pawtucket, and I believe this is a critical project for future economic development and the ongoing downtown revitalization. It is worth saving!

I think its over now though. Have the Mets even figured out who will start Game 7?! I want Detroit to win it all too. Those fans have suffered through some bad teams for many years. I like the Tigers against NY or StL because Detroit's got the pitching. Anyone try any of the pumpkin beers this fall? I had the one from Blue Moon which you can get anywhere and it was kinda not bad. I've heard there are better pumpkin brews out there - anyone have a favorite?

Congratulations!

Here come the cans! I thought I read somewhere that Mt. Pleasant was supposed to get 'em next year, maybe.

Beautiful full moon tonight for you 3rd shift heads. Gazing at the sky reflecting... the sight of the puffy clouds amidst the full moon just melted all the BS away. Garris - we need a southerly shot before it disappears!

Yea I've noticed the Valley St. "scene" is heating up again with the warm weather.

I think the only point Dev was making was that if you want to buy in Providence, there are nice homes and condos at affordable prices in Elmhurst and Upper Mt. Pleasant with a quality of life that rivals the East Side. Lower Mount Pleasant is much more urban in nature, with a good mix of 2 and 3 deckers and singles. My house sits 3 feet back from the street and 4 feet from the house next door, which is urban to me. I also have a garage and a small deck and back yard, which sets my place apart from a single family home in say, Federal Hill or Smith Hill, where you're lucky to have your own off-street parking space. My friends from Warwick affectionately refer to my block as "the hood" but the relative quiet at night makes it feel less like the city. [That, and the neighborhood they live in has 3 or 4 different styles of homes and no trees.] And as I've mentioned before, you can have all this for less than 150k. Having said that, I think I would enjoy living in the Armory or maybe Smith Hill a few years down the road, just to be within walking distance to Downcity. But right now, everything I need I can get within a 10 minute walk, and I like the neighborhood for what it is. The tree-lined streets, the athletic facilities at the high school, the access to public transportation, the quality private schools... all good reasons to check it out. I think the better way to figure out what you want is to research and tour each neighborhood for yourself... not to ask a realtor to show you a few places where someone like you would "fit in." So don't be a menace to Mt. Pleasant while spitting your rants on UP-Providence!

no no no. the one with the annoying song! Tarbox is just another Rhode Islanda sellin caas... I can tune him right out no problem.

Just make sure you get one with its own drop basket. I had (probably a cheap) one that you had to fish in with a grease spoon, which is messy. Donuts is just the beginning! And this current Toyota commercial is driving me absolutely insane.

TasteRI - Nick's whoa, sounds good!

5:00 am start time is not fabulous if you ask me!

Where's the station? Does the train stop in the middle of the parking garage?

I wonder how much of this will be a presentation of Providence Tomorrow's objective and mission and how much of an opportunity residents will have to speak. I hope I can be there on Saturday...

"Providence building boom" (with a nice pic) is featured on the home page of urbanplanet.org along with the new look. Could this be the reason for 1,000 posts in under 2 weeks?