IN PROGRESS: WaterPlace | Intercontinental

[Soren]

Anyone know what Parcel 12 is? I have seen reports that a contract has been signed between the Providence Redevelopment Authority and the Maguire Group for that parcel, but I am not sure where that spot is and whether it might have something to do with this supposed announcment...interesting...

This is seriously outta control  !

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According to this document:

http://www.providenceri.com/government/pla...g/RFP-CC-12.pdf

"Parcel 12 is a triangular parcel of land containing approximately 25,000 square feet created through the relocation of the Woonasquatucket and Moshassuck Rivers. Parcel 12 is bounded by Memorial Boulevard on the north, Exchange Street on the west and Steeple Street on the southeast."

Basically what I thought was Parcel 9 and currently used as an outdoor art exhibition space. Across Exhange St. from the RIRA/Brewed Awakenings parking lot.

[Cotuit]

So it's where that hotel was proposed and scrapped due to soil conditions.

Interesting...

[KRC]

So it's where that hotel was proposed and scrapped due to soil conditions.

Interesting...

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Wouldn't that be great though? That space needs something there badly. Even if it's not, the possibilities surrounding this tidbit are endless. Another area I'd like to see something developed on are the lots in front of Capriccio's (sp?). Imagine a couple of tall structures there. It'd define Memorial Blvd. and give our already nice (but small) high-rise cluster more depth.

[Soren]

Parcel 12 is an interesting space because it anchors one corner of Kennedy Plaza. In fact, the 2002 RFC specifically states that first and foremost, any building on the site must be designed to focus on Kennedy Plaza.

I think it needs to be tall (at least 7-10 stories), and needs to completely fill the small, odd-shaped lot. It is a strange site, being an anchor position, but between two comparatively large parks (Kennedy Plaza and the River).

[Cotuit]

This was proposed there. 8 floors.

[Frankie811]

This was proposed there. 8 floors.

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Does anyone remember back around 1997 when it was announced that Radisson Hotels had planned to build a 22 story hotel on either parcel 12 or in the Union Station complex( I forgot which lot). I believe the Carpianato Corp has the develoment rights to parcel 12 now, since Joe Paoplino failed to develop his project. Maybe the annoucement next week will be the Capitol Cove project, since we all now know that that project is close to a ground breaking. In the meantime I'm trying to figure out how to afford $ 1,200 - 2,200/mo rent these companies will be charging. Powerball dosen't look to promising.

[KRC]

This was proposed there. 8 floors.

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Hmm. I like it, but I think the space calls for something taller. Something along the lines of being a bookend to One Financial Plaza and compete with the Biltmore and Westin. It would alter the entire feel of that corner of Kennedy Plaza. Of course, I know that may be pie-in-the-sky.

[KRC]

Does anyone remember back around 1997 when it was announced that Radisson Hotels had planned to build a 22 story hotel on either parcel 12 or in the Union Station complex( I forgot which lot).  I believe the Carpianato Corp has the develoment rights to parcel 12 now, since Joe Paoplino failed to develop his project.  Maybe the annoucement next week will be the Capitol Cove project, since we all now know that that project is close to a ground breaking. In the meantime I'm trying to figure out how to afford $ 1,200 - 2,200/mo rent these companies will be charging. Powerball dosen't look to promising. 

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A little bit. That wasn't too long after I moved here. I think I recall Paolino's plan not being well received for some reason. Lordy, it's only Thursday and the report said "sometime" next week. That could mean next Friday.

I wonder if it's Citizens. With the banking industry tightening up in the Northeast, now would be the time to act.

[Soren]

This was proposed there. 8 floors.

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I agree with KRC that something taller is called for. Maybe not 20 stories, but definitely taller than 8. I'm surprised how squat an eight-story building looks considering how small the site is. Maybe the site only looks small because it is empty.

[Frankie811]

I agree with KRC that something taller is called for.  Maybe not 20 stories, but definitely taller than 8. I'm surprised how squat an eight-story building looks considering how small the site is.  Maybe the site only looks small because it is empty.

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When I mention the 22 story Radison Hotel I wasen't refering to Joe Paoplino's 10 story condo/hotel project. These were two seperate projects. I believe I still have the article somewhere. Actually I think I have all development atricles since 1997.

[Soren]

When I mention the 22 story Radison Hotel I wasen't refering to Joe Paoplino's 10 story condo/hotel project. These were two seperate projects. I believe I still have the article somewhere. Actually I think I have all development atricles since 1997. 

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Frankie, I didn't mean to say you were suggesting that. I threw out "20 stories" because there are a lot of things (like Parcel 2) going up now that are that tall or higher, and I don't think we have to have, or necessarily want, that height for Parcel 12.

[Cotuit]

I saw a backhoe driving down into Parcel 2 this morning!

Hmm.

[Frankie811]

I saw a backhow driving down into Parcel 2 this morning! 

I don't know that I think it has to be tall. I'd like to see something respect the federal buildings that are already there, I'm partial to modern, but would rather see something that fits the federal buildings' style. With the Citizens Building behind (as viewed from Kennedy Plaza) and the hopes that something tall might fill the space near the gondola landing, a 7 or 8 story building at this site could act as a step toward the larger buildings behind it.

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Why Cotiut, are you staking out capital center with your camera!!!!???? hehehehehe Forget about parking around there for a while. I found that article I mentioned about the proposed Radisson Hotel. It was to be on parcel 12 and was being developed by Radisson with local developer Procaccianti. Soft soil was the problem, along with the height. This was in Jan, 1998. Paolino couldn't obtain financing and now I believe Carpianato has an option to develop the land. I say build an office building to service the federal government. They've grown out of the federal building @ 380 Westminster St, and several federal law enforcement agencies lease space from private building throught the downtown area.

[Cotuit]

Why Cotiut, are you staking out capital center with your camera!!!!????

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Na, I was just riding by in the trolley this morning.

They've grown out of the federal building @ 380 Westminster St, and several federal law enforcement agencies lease space from private building throught the downtown area.

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If the feds need more space in the city, I say they should have at that parcel. Although, like anything else there, they'll need/want parking.

[provid]

I walked over to take a picture but it was gone.

[Cotuit]

I walked over to take a picture but it was gone.

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I don't know what they were doing. There was a backhoe and two pick up trucks, they drove down the little ramp from Exchange onto the site. Did you see any sign of digging when you were there.

The ProJo article pushed the groudbreaking back from Mid-March to Mid-April.

[provid]

No digging of anykind. Just a bunch of tire makes in the mud.

[Cotuit]

I'm gonna buy me a shovel. I'm heading over to Parcel 2, then to Parcel 6.

[provid]

Ha, Let me know I'll take a picture of the ground breaking. We'll send it to the projo.

[pdxstreetcar]

Anyone know what section of the newspaper this was in? I am ordering a back issue of it from the projo (since I have all the other recent providence development articles and somehow missed this one).

Towering changes in the air

A $100-million project featuring a pair of luxury condominium buildings -- one 19 stories, the other 17 -- would soar above nearby Providence landmarks.

BY GREGORY SMITH Journal Staff Writer | March 9, 2005

PROVIDENCE -- In mid-April a Boston developer backed by pension funds expects to begin construction of two residential towers that will challenge the State House for preeminence on the skyline.

The $100-million project at Waterplace Park, launched by a subsidiary of Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., will feature 193 luxury condominiums, restaurants and pubs along the Riverwalk and a three-level parking garage.

Although the State House sits atop Smith Hill, the 19-story and 17-story towers will block some views of the architecturally renowned building from the south and the east.

At 235 feet and 213 feet, respectively, the towers will reach higher than anything in the area, including Providence Place mall, One Citizens Plaza and the GTECH headquarters now under construction across the pond at Waterplace.

...

IN THE PAST couple of years, developers including Intercontinental have built, begun building or publicly proposed at least 1,700 apartments and condominiums -- mostly high-end -- in downtown and within a block or two of downtown.

There is nothing like the Intercontinental project in the Providence metropolitan area: high-rise condominiums. Although Intercontinental had been inclined to build apartments, in recent weeks it settled on condominiums for economic and market reasons.

Units averaging 1,150 to 1,200 square feet, but with some as large as 2,000-plus square feet, will be offered at prices ranging from $300,000 to more than $1 million. Residents will have fitness and business centers and community rooms, but no swimming pool.

Intercontinental and other developers are riding a demographic wave in which baby-boomers whose children have grown up and left home are downsizing by selling their houses and, in some cases, moving to cities to enjoy the amenities.

...

Gardner said she senses a pent-up demand for expensive condominiums, having been a banker for 25 years catering to high-net-worth individuals. Recently retired, she said friends and former clients have told her, "We're really at a crossroads. We want to change where we're living but we really don't have a lot of options."

...

"Capital Center is now confident enough to build modern buildings. The architecture of the 21st century has begun to make itself felt," said Derek Bradford, a member of the commission's design review panel.

Wilfrid L. Gates Jr., panel chairman, calls it "a refreshing turn toward contemporary architecture."

The exterior will consist of a glass curtain wall framed by precast concrete and covered in part with synthetic limestone panels called Arriscraft that would be used in varying shades of buff, cream and gray and in rock-like or smooth textures.

The buildings will have a whitish cast, picking up the color of the State House and of the bridge and stairway abutments in Waterplace.

...

During the hiatus between phases one and two, much of the garage roof will remain exposed, leaving an unattractive sight for some condo buyers and anyone on higher ground.

The exposed ground-level roof will be designed to be temporary and will be covered by a rubber membrane of an undetermined color, according to Deborah Melino-Wender, commission executive director. An opaque fence will screen it from passersby.

As a temporary roof, she said, it won't be able to bear the weight of soil and grass.

FOR THE SAKE of public safety during construction, a 250-foot section of the Riverwalk and part of the amphitheater at Waterplace will be closed off with a 6-foot-high fence for 2 1/2 years, interfering with visitors' enjoyment of WaterFire and similar events. The project is scheduled to be completed in August 2007.

Continue reading at: ProJo.

[Cotuit]

Anyone know what section of the newspaper this was in?  I am ordering a back issue of it from the projo (since I have all the other recent providence development articles and somehow missed this one).

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I rarely look at the print version, so I'm not sure where it was exactly. It was in the Metro Section online, but may have been in the A section of the print edition, anyone else know?

If there's any renderings in the print editions that haven't been posted here, it would be great if you could scan them and post them. There's a crappy rendering of the Hilton proposal in the online ProJo, if there is a better one in print, I'd love to see it.

[pdxstreetcar]

I always like to get the print edition when they have a story I am interested in so that I can clip it and save it and also for the graphics and photos.

I'll see if I can find a scanner, if not I might be able to take a photograph of it and post that.

[Frankie811]

I always like to get the print edition when they have a story I am interested in so that I can clip it and save it and also for the graphics and photos.

I'll see if I can find a scanner, if not I might be able to take a photograph of it and post that.

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This story was on the front page

[Mij]

I walked over to take a picture but it was gone.

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I went buy the morning the projo had published the article about the parcel 2 or 6 witch ever is not g tech. I spoke with the guys doing the digging and asked them what was up. They told me they were just doing some digging so they could make a bid for the job. I showed them the picture in the paper and they were stunned that it was there. A happy stunned... they were so happy about all the work they are getting... i dont know who they worked for but they were really proud to be part of the rising city.....

[Cotuit]

i dont know who they worked for but they were really proud to be part of the rising city.....

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mikepl confirmed for us a little earlier in this thread that Gilbane got the job.