Jump to content

SPECULATION: Old Public Safety Complex


Recommended Posts

Will his fifth try be a charm? Another LaSalle Square idea pitched

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

BY GREGORY SMITH

Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Once again there would be heads in beds at the old police-fire headquarters at LaSalle Square if a new plan to reuse the building becomes a reality.

But rather than dozing firefighters or prisoners asleep in the police cellblock, those heads would belong to guests in a hotel, or residents of apartments or condominiums.

Developer Vincent J. Mesolella Jr. yesterday presented his fifth proposal for the site to the Providence Redevelopment Agency: a $25-million to $30-million conversion of the building to residential use or possibly a combined boutique hotel/residential use.

Either concept would entail the demolition of a large part of the building that faces Greene Street, rehabilitation of the rest, and construction of a 10-story tower on the parking lot on the Broadway side of the building.

After peppering Mesolella with questions about his likely financing sources and other issues, the Redevelopment Agency board of directors unenthusiastically approved his concept.

Redevelopment Agency Chairman Henry E. Kates asked other directors if anyone objected to Mesolella's ideas, and when nobody responded, he told Mesolella, "You have tacit approval to move forward."

But Thomas E. Deller, the Redevelopment Agency executive director, quickly interjected that Mesolella should "sit tight for a couple of weeks" while the directors consider the legal aspects of Mesolella's working relationship with the agency.

"This has been [unresolved] so long, we need to do this right," Deller said. He added, "I think this is heading in the right direction."

The unspoken subtext is whether Mesolella still has an enforceable development agreement for the city-owned site. Mesolella insists that he does, and last year he alleged that the Redevelopment Agency had violated its agreement with him.

He indirectly threatened to sue the Redevelopment Agency if it does not convey the property to him.

This year the Redevelopment Agency hired the law firm Partridge Snow & Hahn to give advise whether the agency is still bound to do business with Mesolella or is now free to advertise for competing development proposals.

Mesolella's designs on the site date to the 1990s, when he and partners struck a complicated package deal with former Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. to build a public-safety complex nearby and an all-suite hotel on the site of the police-fire headquarters.

The Redevelopment Agency entered into a formal development agreement with Mesolella's partnership for both projects.

The public-safety complex was built, but then Mesolella persuaded Cianci to let him pursue a hotel project at the site of the Fogarty Building on Sabin Street and do something else with the police-fire headquarters. Cianci held sway over the Redevelopment Agency, which acquiesced to the switch.

As the hotel at the Fogarty Building site became a political cause c

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

  • Replies 16
  • Created
  • Last Reply

This thread about the last proposal at the Old Public Safety Complex is just over a year old. With the announcement that Proc. Group has purchased the rights to develop the property, I went today and took some pictures of it. I guess until Proc. Group makes an official announcement, we can speculate on what we'd like to see. We've heard that we may see two towers with an office component here ranging from 150-210 feet.

UP-2005-0826-PubSafe001.jpg

UP-2005-0826-PubSafe002.jpg

UP-2005-0826-PubSafe003.jpg

UP-2005-0826-PubSafe004.jpg

UP-2005-0826-PubSafe005.jpg

UP-2005-0826-PubSafe006.jpg

UP-2005-0826-PubSafe007.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So are we talking demolition here, or refurbishing?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Only time will tell.

I remember when it was being sold as a potential movie studio or something. That place, and the armory. I wonder what the NIMBY's would have said about that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So are we talking demolition here, or refurbishing?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The initial TPG thought was demolishing and building new. I hope the plans evolve from any 2 tower approach to a single tower of twice the height...you know, 250-330 feet. Again, with any significant skyline impact, the larger the Downcity becomes...and that is a good thing for increased activity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Only time will tell.

I remember when it was being sold as a potential movie studio or something. That place, and the armory. I wonder what the NIMBY's would have said about that.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Cianci wanted to sell it to a movie co so that they could blow it up, like they tried to do with the old Jamestown Bridge. But there were no bites.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This rumor about the twin towers, is it credible? I'm thinking that Blue Cross may be interested because they have already met with the mayor concerning their desire to stay in the city if they can locate all their offices into one location. They previously made public comments concerning their interest to possibly move out of the city.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 3 months later...

Did anyone else read in East Side Monthly that there is rumor that the Old Public Safety complex will be demolished in a movie? Not sure if this was April Fools or not, but it appeared in a section with other presumably factual items.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did anyone else read in East Side Monthly that there is rumor that the Old Public Safety complex will be demolished in a movie? Not sure if this was April Fools or not, but it appeared in a section with other presumably factual items.

If memory serves me correctly, didn't the city and Cianci try to sell the rights to blow up the building to Hollywood, with no takers?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.