Providence Projects v2.1

[Cotuit]

I was wondering through the forum, and thought I would recomment on this run-down that Garris did a while ago.

VERY solid and awaiting groundbreaking:

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333 Atwells Avenue (Rialto Site) Still waiting for groundbreaking, but they have a sales office and a website

Dunkin Donuts Center Renovations sale to the state has gone through, architect is chosen

One Ten Westminster keeps getting bigger and bigger

Providence Community Health Center

Waterford Residences (Westin 2nd Tower) ground is broken

SOMEWHAT solid and likely to groundbreak:

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Brown University {sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}} Sidney E. Frank Hall (this isn't happening for a while)

Charles Street hotel

Fox Point Bath House library proposal

Johnson & Wales Harborside Campus

Katherine Gibbs School Condos

Power Block {sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}} Hilton Hotel & Residences started, less the residences

RISD {sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}} Chase Center Word at RISD is this is definately happenning with work starting this spring, panic about losing the parking lot has already set in

Saki's Apartments something is going on on the upper floors

Up in the air:

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Conley Wharf Has the RIPTA ferry moved yet. Cosmetic work is underway.

Fogarty Building Hotel slightly less up in the air perhaps with Proc. Group's involvement

LaSalle Square Improvements

Olneyville Riverside

Power Block 55 Broadway (Paolino Site) on-hold

Power Block Atwells Parcel perhaps not the Atwells site, but a site closer to Westminster on the West Side

WBNA 1577 Westminster St. housing Started?

Who the hell knows:

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200 Dyer Street 190 Dyer??

AS220 Dreyfuss Hotel Building after main site renovations are done?

Greene St/Churchill Banks

Imperial Place

Heritage Harbor/Mixed Use tantalizingly closer to reality

Providence Fruit & Produce Warehouse ditto

Richmond Square mixed-use

I don't know enough about this:

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Williams-Woods Place {sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}} South Providence

Emmett Square Improvements

6/10 Interchange Project

Not in Garris' original run-down

Parcel 12

Old Public Safety Complex

Building next to the Majestic Garage

[AriPVD]

Ahem, Grants Block!

[Frankie811]

http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_B...-04/03-150.html

[Cotuit]

Ahem, Grants Block!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The listing Garris did was only on Proposed items from the Projects list, Grant's Block is marked In-Progress since demo has started, though the project did slow down for a while there this summer.

Maybe if someone could produce some renderings we'd have a better idea of Grant's Block's status.

[MikeycPVD]

Everybody needs to do the following:

Start from the west side of Kennedy Plaza and head up towards the mall on the eastern side of Emmett Sq. So now you are across the street from the Westin and the Westin II construction site, walking alongside the Courtyard,appreciating the renditions of the W-2. You get to the corner and literally get smacked in the face with the GTech building! It's really an pretty impressive sight because as you near it, it hides more and more discretely behind the Marriott. Then you turn that right, where you will then come upon the Waterplace condos. Do that walk as often as you can, then imagine what it will be like in 2 years!

[Frankie811]

Everybody needs to do the following:

Start from the west side of Kennedy Plaza and head up towards the mall on the eastern side of Emmett Sq.  So now you are across the street from the Westin and the Westin II construction site, walking alongside the Courtyard,appreciating the renditions of the W-2.  You get to the corner and literally get smacked in the face with the GTech building!  It's really an pretty impressive sight because as you near it, it hides more and more discretely behind the Marriott.  Then you turn that right, where you will then come upon the Waterplace condos.  Do that walk as often as you can, then imagine what it will be like in 2 years!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How's about a fly by shooting of all this

Don't think you'll be doing any flying this Saturday

[Cotuit]

You get to the corner and literally get smacked in the face with the GTech building!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

SMACK!

[Garris]

I was wondering through the forum, and thought I would recomment on this run-down that Garris did a while ago.

Wow, my guesses were pretty damn accurate!

RISD {sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}} Chase Center Word at RISD is this is definately happenning with work starting this spring, panic about losing the parking lot has already set in

Saki's Apartments something is going on on the upper floors

Hehe, that's funny... Maybe they can use some of the spots in the proposed Brown 600 lot garage for the athletic complex that the neighborhood will sacrifice their first born to stop...

Has anyone at RISD (or Brown for that matter) ever discussed how awesome an enormous "Universities Parking Structure" in East Providence would be connected by the train tunnel under the East Side? I mean, there really is no good place to put parking structures of the enormities required on the East Side, and the neighborhoods will fight them down to their last highway lining tree (Ah, I wish I knew who that woman at the Prov 2020 meeting was so I could thank her for that). The neighborhoods want off-site parking somewhere else (thus, by definition, NIMBY), but employees don't. This arrangement might be cool enough to satisfy everyone...

Updates on two projects:

- Katherine Gibbs Condos: My neighbors told me this went before the zoning board, which apparently doesn't love the fourth floor. Apparently someone suggested to them that they might want to wait the year or two until the zoning code is anticipated to change in their favor, but they want to start this faster. The board hasn't ruled on it yet, and it's up in air right now...

- Fox Point Bath House: A recent article (I think in East Side Monthly) said this work is anticipated to start this Autumn.

- Garris

Edited September 17, 2005 by Garris

[Cotuit]

Has anyone at RISD (or Brown for that matter) ever discussed how awesome an enormous "Universities Parking Structure" in East Providence would be connected by the train tunnel under the East Side?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Brown was kind of keen on using the East Side Tunnel as a way to store cars and students in EP when noise about re-opening the tunnel first surfaced last year (the year before?). But Brown quickly stepped away from that when people in EP started freaking out, call them Far-East Side NIMBYs if you will

Brown asked RISD a while back to go in with them on a parking structure on North Main in the strip mall wasteland. They would have run shuttles to College Hill. RISD balked. J&W approached RISD about a satellite lot somewhere on the edge of the Jewelry District near the highway, RISD said no.

Basically, RISD wants nothing to do with any parking improvements anywhere.

As for the East Siders... I wish, for one week, we could magically remove Brown and RISD from the East Side, poof, they're gone as if they never existed, see how much they like the College Hill we would have had the schools never been born.

They aren't even NIMBYs they are total BANANAs. I almost burst a blood vessel reading East Side Monthly the other day, never again.

[Garris]

They aren't even NIMBYs they are total BANANAs. I almost burst a blood vessel reading East Side Monthly the other day, never again.

Yeah, did you read that College Hill update? I have no clue what the College Hill folks want the institutions to do about parking. Their desired solution (as much as it was or wasn't one) made absolutely no sense to me...

Basically, RISD wants nothing to do with any parking improvements anywhere.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hehe, so they're in "head in the sand" mode then?

- Garris

[Frankie811]

Brown was kind of keen on using the East Side Tunnel as a way to store cars and students in EP when noise about re-opening the tunnel first surfaced last year (the year before?). But Brown quickly stepped away from that when people in EP started freaking out, call them Far-East Side NIMBYs if you will

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Brown should have jumped all over parcel 6 years ago. They could have used the land for office buildings, housing, parking, sports........etc

It would have been a perfect location for them. And still may be if Mr Roth changes his mind. He's nickeling and dimeing this project to death which is why it's taking so long.

[Baines]

Ahem, Grants Block!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And the Waterplace (international) Condos twin towers...ground broken

[Kari]

Ina Anderson from WBNA writes:

The WBNA does have a development planned for 1577 Westminster Street. However it does not include 65 townhouse stlye units. It is a mixed-use affordable housing and retail building that incorporates green features in its design and adheres to the West Side Overlay Zone. It will include four affordable condos and two affordable retail/commercial spaces. Everyone is welcome to stop by the WBNA at 1560 Westminster Street to have a look at the designs and give us your comments.

[Kari]

Add to the list of proposed developments the new Armory Revival project at West Fountain and Cargill Streets on the West Side. This development would require demolition of buildings on the ICBD list, and is one of the largest scale developments in the area since the Public Safety Building. The proposal is for over 80 units of loft-style condos and ground floor retail. It includes 8 units of affordable housing (60-80% median income). Variances are required for demolition and height. The project must go before the Historic District Commission, the CPC and the zoning board for approval.

[Liamlunchtray]

Ina Anderson from WBNA writes:

The WBNA does have a development planned for 1577 Westminster Street. However it does not include 65 townhouse stlye units. It is a mixed-use affordable housing and retail building that incorporates green features in its design and adheres to the West Side Overlay Zone. It will include four affordable condos and two affordable retail/commercial spaces.  Everyone is welcome to stop by the WBNA at 1560 Westminster Street to have a look at the designs and give us your comments.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Kari - Do you have a picture of the designs you could post? I never get a chance to get over to WBNA but I would love to see them.

[Cotuit]

Check out the new Providence Development map on the UrbanPlanet hompage.

[brick]

Check out the new Providence Development map on the UrbanPlanet hompage.

Nice work.

Too little green on that map, IMO.

I love google maps and the easy plug-in stuff.

Edited November 14, 2005 by brick

[Garris]

Amazing map... The absolute best way to view the projects. Thanks for the efforts!

- Garris

[Cotuit]

Too little green on that map, IMO.

I stopped adding parks, I had to get the thing done eventually. Next time I edit it, I'll add the city's parks to it.

[brick]

I stopped adding parks, I had to get the thing done eventually. Next time I edit it, I'll add the city's parks to it.

I meant that more in terms of hoping the city is cognizant of maintaining green space, not that your work was incomplete. Didn't mean to criticize your excellent work.

[Captain Obvious]

Fantastic work Cotuit!! I actually threw together the development map for Jacksonville, but it's not nearly as comprehensive as the one you've done for Prov!

Two comments and a question ....

- How did you insert the images into the tabs like that?

- Brown just annouced that they are going to build a new fitness center on hope street - in front of the current gym, where the surface parking lot is. I think it will be a 3 story glass structure called the J. Nelson fitness center. I hadn't noticed that mentioned in the forums, but it might be a good addition to the map.

- The providence map's default zoom level is really far out when it displays on UP. You can automatically make it display a "city" level shot by manually zooming the map to where you want it, and clicking the "save center, zoom" button.

[Cotuit]

- How did you insert the images into the tabs like that?

There's a button to press to insert an image, it needs to be hosted online though. I hosted mine on Photobucket. I edited them to be between 100 and 150 pixels wide. I don't know why everything is centered in the tabs though. I didn't format it like that.

- Brown just annouced that they are going to build a new fitness center on hope street - in front of the current gym, where the surface parking lot is. I think it will be a 3 story glass structure called the J. Nelson fitness center. I hadn't noticed that mentioned in the forums, but it might be a good addition to the map.

We don't talk much about what Brown is doing here for some reason. I guess people aren't terribly interested in what goes on on the East Side since the East Side is a pretty well functioning area. It's the neighbourhoods that have been neglected for the last 50 years that tend to get the most discussion.

- The providence map's default zoom level is really far out when it displays on UP. You can automatically make it display a "city" level shot by manually zooming the map to where you want it, and clicking the "save center, zoom" button.

I've been meaning to mention that to Neo, I think the map will need to be re-uploaded to fix that. It's also centered on Rhode Island, not Providence, so when you zoom in you end up being somewhere in West Warwick I think.

[Garris]

We don't talk much about what Brown is doing here for some reason. I guess people aren't terribly interested in what goes on on the East Side since the East Side is a pretty well functioning area.

Well, some of us are interested on what's happening on the East Side ...

That said, I think there isn't a ton of interest in Brown projects in particular for a couple of reasons...

1) The stuff Brown has built in the last 50 years isn't actually all that attractive or intesting...

2) The gym in particular is tied to a plan to also put a huge parking garage on that site as well, and the College Hill neighborhood association will fight down to the last tea and crumpet (with some good reason, in this case) to prevent that project from ever happening...

3) Most of what Brown has thus far announced (the buildings on the new "Walk" through where the gas station and some homes are currently located, the gym, etc) are all, to a degree, dream projects right now that, like any university, are contingent on years to come of fundraising and analysis of needs and wants. Even when projects are quite far along in design and planning, actual groundbreaking can be delayed for quite some time and be quite far off (look at RISD's Chase Center as a perfect example...).

4) Most of the urban issues we care above (parking, the layout of Thayer Street, the composition of retail in the area, rents on the East Side, the East Side transit tunnel, etc) Brown seems to have been deliberately avoiding dealing with in the last several years, much to the frustration of many...

I think we'll all focus more on Brown when these dream projects become more "real."

- Garris

[Frankie811]

What is Brown doing with the site of the old gym on Elmgrove Ave.?

[Garris]

What is Brown doing with the site of the old gym on Elmgrove Ave.?

I believe it was demolished some time ago, before I arrived. I believe 2002... This is from the Arts in Ruins site:

http://www.artinruins.com/arch/rip/marvelgym/

- Garris