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Warwick Renaissance


Cotuit

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  • 1 month later...

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Ok, as I was mentioning in the RIPTA thread, I was in West Warwick's Arctic Village/Center area yesterday to drop off my car for body work and had some time to look/walk around. Very interesting place. It reminded a lot of Pawtucket's downtown. It's obviously depressed, the center of activity is the DMV, and it has some great architecture (especially the imaculately kept Centrepoint bank building) and seems preserved in amber waiting to come back.

It has some great assets as a downtown:

- At least two nice parks (one "adopted" by Centrepoint Bank) and bike path

- A supermarket right in town

- A pharmacy right in town

- The DMV to draw people

- Bus service

- Healthcare (Thundermist Clinic)

- At least one or two funky eateries (I had lunch at the New York System there)...

I don't know this place at all, though. What is its history? Why is it so depressed? Does it have a brighter future?

Can a West Bay'er give me some perspective?

- Garris

PS1: On my bus ride back, I went past the Chapel Hill (or whatever it's called) development next to Garden City. While denser than the average suburban development (but far from the New Urbanist ideal they claim) it nevertheless seems to be moving along nicely, with some well done stone detailing.

PS2: The Royal Mills conversion work ongoing there looks absolutely fantastic. If Arctic Village/Center became a more desirable downtown, with Royal Mills in walking distance to its supermarkets, pharmacy, etc, that's a project I'd consider living in. It looks that unique.

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Ok, as I was mentioning in the RIPTA thread, I was in West Warwick's Arctic Village/Center area yesterday to drop off my car for body work and had some time to look/walk around. Very interesting place. It reminded a lot of Pawtucket's downtown. It's obviously depressed, the center of activity is the DMV, and it has some great architecture (especially the imaculately kept Centrepoint bank building) and seems preserved in amber waiting to come back.

It has some great assets as a downtown:

- At least two nice parks (one "adopted" by Centrepoint Bank) and bike path

- A supermarket right in town

- A pharmacy right in town

- The DMV to draw people

- Bus service

- Healthcare (Thundermist Clinic)

- At least one or two funky eateries (I had lunch at the New York System there)...

I don't know this place at all, though. What is its history? Why is it so depressed? Does it have a brighter future?

Can a West Bay'er give me some perspective?

- Garris

PS1: On my bus ride back, I went past the Chapel Hill (or whatever it's called) development next to Garden City. While denser than the average suburban development (but far from the New Urbanist ideal they claim) it nevertheless seems to be moving along nicely, with some well done stone detailing.

PS2: The Royal Mills conversion work ongoing there looks absolutely fantastic. If Arctic Village/Center became a more desirable downtown, with Royal Mills in walking distance to its supermarkets, pharmacy, etc, that's a project I'd consider living in. It looks that unique.

That problem with Arctic, is just type of living over there, it is really a depressed area, and honestly not a good area... It is probably worse than some of the project areas. It is sad to say, but you have a lot of horrible stuff in that area. It is too bad though cause 2 minutes down the road you have rt. 2 and everything else around there, a nice golf course too.

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OK, while pretty 'bad' it's not that bad. I grew up in WW and my parents still live thier. The History is simple. Huge mill town and the shopping center of RI (behind Providence) until the malls and route 2 development came. The demise of the manufacturing and the draw of the malls killed the area - that simple IMHO. There is hope for limited rejuvenation based on the few things Garris pointed out as well as the new US Post Office they built just down the road and the clearing of some vacant/burnt buildings and lots. Centreville Bank is HQ'd in WW/Arctic as well. The Mastro Electric supply building like many other downtown buildings are quite old and offer some charm in terms of architecture. Having said all that, WW will never be close to what it was and has a long way to get going...

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

"Located near the airport and Providence Convention Center, business travelers will choose this hotel for convenience and stay for the amenities. Leisure guests and families are just minutes from area attractions including Block Island, Williams Park Zoo, Providence Performing Arts Center, Lincoln Greyhound Park and Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. Guests will enjoy shopping and dining downtown and at Providence Mall just a short distance from the property."

:blink:

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  • 8 months later...
  • 1 year later...

Anyone know anything about this project? Sounds like a typical urban renewal mistake to me. Tear down a potentially reusable building in the name of traffic engineering. But maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, it's called the Apponaug Circular Project. I've attached a RIDOT document and news story.

RIDOT Document - Apponaug Circular Project

Traffic detours for building demolition

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Anyone know anything about this project? Sounds like a typical urban renewal mistake to me. Tear down a potentially reusable building in the name of traffic engineering. But maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, it's called the Apponaug Circular Project. I've attached a RIDOT document and news story.
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