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PROPOSED: Vista Della Torre

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runawayjim Metropolis

runawayjim

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It does ahve that look...as does Dominica Manor, and I share the concens regarding the footprint of the building and lack of connection with the street.

But:

1) The Bradford Street claoing can be mitagated I

2) It will add vitality to Federal Hill; especially eastern Broadway

2) It will complement and add to the value of Dominica Manor

3) It will establish a logicial structural (tall) connection between Federal Hill and Downcity

My one concern is that no action regarding the closing of Bradford Street be taken by the city until the developer starts vertical constuction. No more empty lots or holes in the ground!

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Cotuit Megalopolis

Cotuit

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I fired this off:

Honorable David Cicilline, Mayor of Providence

John Lombardi, Providence City Council, Ward 13

Thomas Deller, Director of Planning and Development

Linda Painter, Deputy Director of Planning and Development

Steve Durkee, Chair, Providence City Plan Commission

Christopher Ise, Providence City Plan Commission

I am writing in reference to Providence City Council Referral 3283 - Abandonment of a Portion of Bradford Street being heard at the City Plan Commission meeting this evening.

GC:PVD opposes the abandonment of any portion of Bradford Street. Bradford Street serves as a vital north-south connector in a neighborhood with high traffic and few north-south arteries. Bradford provides a connection from Downtown via West Exchange Street to Atwells Avenue and Broadway. The street is also one with great potential for dense development in this area so close to Downtown. Closing the street provides roadblocks to future development along the street. The traffic plan proposed by Garafallo & Associates for the Vista Della Torre on Federal Street does not serve the residents of the neighborhood, or the city at large.

The abandonment of Bradford Street will displace traffic to other areas such as Dean Street, which already sees a very high level of traffic and presents a hazard to pedestrians in the area. From talking with the representatives from Garafallo & Associates, I get the impression that they are not taking this issue into account. These issues need to be addressed before permission is given to abandon a public street.

While GC:PVD does not reject the concept of the project planned for this location outright, a lot of unanswered questions remain, and the current design of the building and the site leaves a lot to be desired. That coupled with the fact that Bradford Street should remain whole also leads us to urge the City Plan Commission to also not approve Referral 3282 - Creation of 'Air Rights' Easement over Federal Street. Until the developer comes back with a plan that keeps Bradford Street open, the air rights should not be transfered.

Sincerely,

Jef Nickerson

--

Jef Nickerson, President

Greater City: Providence

PO Box 802

Providence, RI 02901-0802

http://www.gcpvd.org

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Liamlunchtray Burg

Liamlunchtray

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I have a serious concern that any fight/s over the egg (Bradford Street or the exterior look)) does not kill the goose (a 330' tower that adds density, height, more residents, and connection with Downcity).

I hope that CG:PVD stays strongly supportive of the project while offering constructive ideas relative to the street level design.

Picking the battles to fight (footprint, glass vs brick, streetscape, etc) so as to win the war (more density, more height, filling in the lots, connecting the neighborhoods to Downcity) is a great skill set.

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Cotuit Megalopolis

Cotuit

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I have a serious concern that any fight/s over the egg (Bradford Street or the exterior look)) does not kill the goose (a 330' tower that adds density, height, more residents, and connection with Downcity).

I hope that GC:PVD stays strongly supportive of the project while offering constructive ideas relative to the street level design.

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runawayjim Metropolis

runawayjim

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i came up with my own vision for the project. though it's a bit rough and obviously subject to criticism (and my first try at anything like this). if you click on each of the blocks i made, you can see what they are and what they should contain. this will allow for a better used park, more street interaction, and an overall better urban development. the 2 buildings would be approximately half the height of the original, though probably a little bit taller than half (probably similar in height to dominica manor).

http://tinyurl.com/277obn

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AriPVD Hamlet

AriPVD

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The only problem with Jim's scheme (which is better urbanism) is that it ignores the fact that building two towers is much more expensive than building one. Twice the stairs, elevators, facade surface area, mechanical systems, etc etc etc.

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