IN PROGRESS: Meeting Street School

[Lone Ranger]

You guys do understand that schools are a little different beast than condos or something right?

To me a school should be designed to facilitate learning way way WAY above the satisfying the aesthetes of Urban Planet and their vagaries of taste. I'm not sure if this design accomplishes that, but that would be my concern. Not the fact that it is a 1.5 story building in a sea of other 1-2 story buildings.

Honestly I am aghast at this criticism on this one. You folks need to understand sometimes that at least some buildings in this city need to be functionally efficient, not just architechtural wonders.

I really mean no offense, but sometimes I do think that people forget that buildings have a purpose beyond filling the skyline.

[/rant]

Maybe I missed something, but I don't think anybody complained about the height of the building. Nobody's asking for a skyscraper on this site. That has absolutely nothing to do with the problem here.

[Cotuit]

Honestly I am aghast at this criticism on this one.

I am too.

[eltron]

PS2: Jen, is the John Kelly (Meeting Street CEO) pictured on their website one of the members of the zoning board? If not, the resemblance is uncanny...

One and the same...and he is the chair of the zoning board.

[Jerry2]

This is a school for people with disabilities. Agreed. That doesn't mean they absloutely need a 7 acre campus with surface parking ....esp. with the handicap accessibility requirements that ALL buildings have to pass. This school could have been built with this style in a number of locations within the city limits ( RIC campus, Manton Ave.( next to Stop & Shop),etc.) as not to hinder development in the central corridor. This entire area on both sides of the highway has all the infrastructure in place to make it an area ripe for development.

1.) Highway access to one of the biggest interstates in the country- CHECK

2.) Water and port access-CHECK

3.) Large street grid for potential future mass transit-CHECK

4.) Vast amount of unused land-CHECK

When new sprawling developments like this one and the new medical center on Allens pop up around the sea of industrial and adult video whorehouses, it becomes almost unsalvageable. This area has become the cesspool for all things that nobody wants in their backyard in Providence. Maybe the current zoning permits that but I think it's terrible......There has got to be a solid comprehensive plan that doesn't allow a hodgepodge of development hinder broad term visions for the area.

I'm not sure where the majority of the people are from that attend the CPC and the zoning meetings....but I would bet that they are from a few selet Pvd neighborhoods. Now that doesn't say that there are people that don't legitimately care abot the future of the city, but how many responses are driven from their "investment"? If the Meeting Street School was proposed on the East Side or Westminster in the Armory, would it have easily passed without scrutiny? I don't think so. Now I know that one of the primary goals of Pvd Tomorrow is to come up with a comprehensive plan for the whole city, but how many people can honestly see a vision past their own neighborhood?

This city has an identity crisis. The boom that we've experienced over the last few years has revolved around a red hot housing market and the historic tax credits that were implemented to catapult that growth. Although the EB @ Broadway and G-Tech is a step in the right direction, we still need to expand our tax base significantly....which is why I think it's pertinent that with what little commercial/industrial space we do have....we execute a vision flawlessly. It's also why I think that the 195 relo is the biggest challenge that the city faces in the years ahead and why I think that we are wasting land south of the city that has prime commercial real estate value.

[jencoleslaw]

i'm now not sure what your point is. that we should "hoard" land that you think is valuable for purposes other than schools and hospitals? That we shouldn't have any surface parking anywhere? Or that this project never would have flown in any other neighborhood than this one?

How is it possible that you know what a school for disabled children "needs?" or doesn't need? and tell me again how THIS project hinders development in that area?

btw, you should have introduced yourself at the Providence Tomorrow event. Many of us were there and would have liked to have met you.

One and the same...and he is the chair of the zoning board.

i'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't think John was the chair of ZBR when the Meeting Street School came before the CPC.

[basachs]

the Meeting Street School was proposed on the East Side or Westminster in the Armory, would it have easily passed without scrutiny? I don't think so. Now I know that one of the primary goals of Pvd Tomorrow is to come up with a comprehensive plan for the whole city, but how many people can honestly see a vision past their own neighborhood?

If the project was proposed in the Armory as it stands today, would it have passed? No it would not have. It does have way too much surface parking for the neighborhood.

However, building the Meeting Street school in the Armory area as a concept would probably pass with no problem. There is room for it on Wesminster Street in the Armory. You'd have to play Sim City, but there is room for it. The problem would be that the land in the Armory and East side that is available is also probably way too expensive for Meeting Street.

So that is where I have a problem with your statement. South PVD is not some trash barge where we want to dump all the undesirable facilities and services and float it out of our collective consciousness. But South PVD is cheaper for land. I would think cost would be a driving factor rather than some concerted effort by PVD residents to push the Meeting Street School and similar projects to the outskirts of the city and our minds.

[brick]

The simple fact is that the land the school was built on was an industrial wasteland. I don't know about you guys but looking at that parcel was like watching The Omega Man or The Road Warrior. Post-apocalyptic. Burned out cars, overgrown weeds, and the half shells of abandoned buildings. That means that noone else really wanted it and it meant it was likely cheap. I would much rather a school spend its money on the educational facilities than on real estate. Therefore, I have a really hard time finding a problem with this.

[dgreco]

The simple fact is that the land the school was built on was an industrial wasteland. I don't know about you guys but looking at that parcel was like watching The Omega Man or The Road Warrior. Post-apocalyptic. Burned out cars, overgrown weeds, and the half shells of abandoned buildings. That means that noone else really wanted it and it meant it was likely cheap. I would much rather a school spend its money on the educational facilities than on real estate. Therefore, I have a really hard time finding a problem with this.

You should never have a hard tim ewith the building on a school, I think it is pretty ridiculous that we could argue over htem actually building a school

[Garris]

I haven't been onsite yet to see how this turned out, but I'm sure it will be worlds better than WalMart's treeless sea of surface parking.

Um...? Well....? Hum....

You guys do understand that schools are a little different beast than condos or something right?

To me a school should be designed to facilitate learning way way WAY above the satisfying the aesthetes of Urban Planet and their vagaries of taste.

Honestly I am aghast at this criticism on this one. You folks need to understand sometimes that at least some buildings in this city need to be functionally efficient, not just architechtural wonders.

I'm not surprised at all. I don't think it's criticism so much as it is people looking for and, perhaps finding, a hint of a double standard.

While I find the building mildly appealing on a purely aesthetic level (I fear it won't age well) and, of all people (I have a developmentally disabled sister and know all the issues involved here) have an appreciation for the function of such an institution and structure, I do agree that just because it's a school, and a school serving a good purpose, it shouldn't get a free pass on basic urbanist principles.

I look at it this way... An entire Eddy St of Meeting Street Schools would look essentially like any of the nameless, faceless, suburban office park streets that dot everything from Warwick to Westchester County, NY.

That school, attractive as it is, could have been built like the high school in my hometown. Turn it 90 degrees to front the street, and keep an equal amount of parking space in the back. Special vehicle access could be constructed along the side or back of the building.

If the Meeting Street School was built that way, it could have absolutely transformed the look of that entire section of Eddy Street, rather than just having the appearance of sprucing up and clearing out a "Post-apocalyptic, burned out" segment with a large surface lot, which is honestly its impact now...

One can applaud the Meeting Street School and nevertheless wish for the above. I see nothing wrong or "aghast" about that at all...

One and the same...and he is the chair of the zoning board.

Ah, I thought so. While I'd need to attend more meetings to fully know, I got the sense at the few I've been to that he's one of those people who, at some level, really "gets it" but feels frustrated with the rules...

- Garris

[mod134]

I don't see the point of attacking a school here. There's far worse things than a school to put on a former industrial wasteland.

As a former atendee at the Meeting Street School, I can vouch for their great work in helping someone such as myself who had relatively minor issues w/ balance and motorskills. A lot of the children that they they help deal with far worse issues that I've ever faced.

The location sounds good, although I haven't been down there in person. In addition, I think the building looks great from a design perspective, considering it doesn't look like your conventional school. But considering the special nature of the Meeting Street School and its unique goals and work I think that suits it just fine.

[Frankie811]

I can't find a link online anywhere, but according to Ch 10, this new school has opened. .

[Frankie811]

I can't find a link online anywhere, but according to Ch 10, this new school has opened. .

[smcbride11]

This entire area on both sides of the highway has all the infrastructure in place to make it an area ripe for development.

When new sprawling developments like this one and the new medical center on Allens pop up around the sea of industrial and adult video whorehouses, it becomes almost unsalvageable. This area has become the cesspool for all things that nobody wants in their backyard in Providence. Maybe the current zoning permits that but I think it's terrible......There has got to be a solid comprehensive plan that doesn't allow a hodgepodge of development hinder broad term visions for the area.

[Jerry2]

Welcome to the forum. I couldn't help but notice after driving up Eddy Street yesterday that the hospital must have bought the lot at the corner of Public Street now too. It was paved over to become another surface lot. I understand your point, but I think that this area has a lot more potential...whether people are knocking on the door today is irrelevant....we need to think about tomorrow. With the scarcity of land in the city, the large swath of developable land in this area with tremendous highway access, an intact rail line buried under asphalt on Allens, and an airport about 6 miles away make this area very attractive. Pfizer was once going to build their headquarters in this same area. Imagine how different it would look today if they had. If people continue to feel that any development is good development, we will end up losing what little land we have left for purposes other than growing the tax base. I find it frustrating that South Pvd continues to be dumped on with new schools and social services...regardless of their mission.

[brick]

Welcome to the forum. I couldn't help but notice after driving up Eddy Street yesterday that the hospital must have bought the lot at the corner of Public Street now too. It was paved over to become another surface lot. I understand your point, but I think that this area has a lot more potential...whether people are knocking on the door today is irrelevant....we need to think about tomorrow. With the scarcity of land in the city, the large swath of developable land in this area with tremendous highway access, an intact rail line buried under asphalt on Allens, and an airport about 6 miles away make this area very attractive. Pfizer was once going to build their headquarters in this same area. Imagine how different it would look today if they had. If people continue to feel that any development is good development, we will end up losing what little land we have left for purposes other than growing the tax base. I find it frustrating that South Pvd continues to be dumped on with new schools and social services...regardless of their mission.

[Lone Ranger]

While I disagree with Jerry inasmuch as he's upset about this particular project, I agree (strongly!) that the urban potential for Eddy, Allens, and Narragansett Blvd is tremendous. That's my preferred line-of-entry into the city, actually, living in eastern Cranston as I do: I have to dodge a few potholes, but there's rarely any traffic that way. Every time I drive one of those roads, I rue the extent to which we've underutilized that area of the city.

On a related note, the hospital surface lots are immense. Take a gander at them in GoogleMaps fer chrissakes.

[jencoleslaw]

Welcome to the forum. I couldn't help but notice after driving up Eddy Street yesterday that the hospital must have bought the lot at the corner of Public Street now too. It was paved over to become another surface lot.

[Jerry2]

i do not think that is RI hospital's doing. We just saw their institutional master plan i do not think that it included any new surface parking. if it is the hospital, i suspect they are wildly out of compliance with their IZone Plan.

[Garris]

I sorta feel like we're at the position where we have to take what we can get...