DEAD: Belmonte Castello (Knight Street)

[Dan]

http://www.projo.com/metro/content/projo_2...2.12df4947.html

[DaveRPI]

wow, 60 residents

I'm so overwhelmed by public opinion

LOLOLOL

no backbone

[Baines]

wow, 60 residents

I'm so overwhelmed by public opinion

LOLOLOL

no backbone

What does this mean for this project? Will it still be heard based on the design submitted?

[Cotuit]

What does this mean for this project? Will it still be heard based on the design submitted?

It was alreaady designed and approved by variance, so changing tact on trying to approve the new zoning code doesn't really change anything for this project. However, they are looking to make some changes, so they will need to run the gauntlet again.

[Baines]

It was alreaady designed and approved by variance, so changing tact on trying to approve the new zoning code doesn't really change anything for this project. However, they are looking to make some changes, so they will need to run the gauntlet again.

I certainly hope that the height is not changed (consistant with the Rt 95 corridor concept) but the facade design is.

You know Providence better then me (and have a closer perspective) but I always am struck by this very oh, limiting/conservative/small town reaction to structures in a large dense urban city by an element that I suspect is part of a larger culture...RIlanders are very self depreciating. How different we see Providence and it's potential.

Without going into long discussion, it just seems like the city needs to do much more work creating community support for developments and zoning that are very appropriate for a big city, that Providence is one, and that making good "big city" decisions can benefit all residents.

[lauram]

One (relatively major) correction for this thread:

this project IS NOT between Dean and Westminster. And it is NOT close at all to Rt 95. It is at the other end of Atwells, adjacent to the large church. Directly behind this project are NO autobody places, its ALL triple deckers and two families.

When considering the height against neighboring buildings, I think that it is imperitive that we are accurate when we discuss location. This is a very different feel around this area than in the 95>Dean area.

[Cotuit]

maybe this should be moved to the zoning thread?

Yes, I'm going to do some moving.

ps. i don't know anyone personally who fights projects out of spite. not even me, and i can be incredibly spiteful!

Not even a Paolino Property?

[Cotuit]

One (relatively major) correction for this thread:

The topic drifted, as they tend to...

Please follow the zoning discussion to the Zoning Thread.

[Lone Ranger]

Check this out. From UP's Buildings, Architecture, and Construction forum:

That look familiar to anybody?

That building is going to be in Pittsburgh. Sadly, I think our version is better.

[Dan]

Maybe so, but the surrounding buildings are all over 10 stories tall so it "fits."

Belmonte Castello as its been proposed is very ugly and much too tall for the neighborhood.

[Jerry2]

I drove down Atwells and noticed there were cars parked on the lot. Is there any chance that this will become a surface lot now that many people have come out against this project? This is my fear of things backfiring.

[jencoleslaw]

I drove down Atwells and noticed there were cars parked on the lot. Is there any chance that this will become a surface lot now that many people have come out against this project? This is my fear of things backfiring.

this project has everything it needs to go forward. Just because the neighborhoods and the planning department came out against it doesn't mean it didn't get the record number of variances it needed to make the project happen. A month or so ago, The developer asked for an increased variance on a variance and when it didn't look like zoning was going to give it to him without some concessions (an affordable component), he asked that the matter be tabled indefinately rather than have it rejected. So, they can still build their original building, just couldn't increase density by another 50%.

[oak]

The Zoning Board did not approve the increased density variance at the hearing last Tuesday night.

[jencoleslaw]

The Zoning Board did not approve the increased density variance at the hearing last Tuesday night.

Wow! it went back already? I hadn't even heard it was there! Were you there? What was the tenor?

[oak]

I was at the meeting. The hearing for the variance had been continued from the previous meeting when it was clear the variance was going to be denied. The applicant made no changes to the request for increased density. The applicant's attorney and members of the development team showed up near the end of the hearing last Tuesday to ask the ZBR to vote on the variance as it was presented at the previous meeting. No additional testimony was heard. The Board voted 3-2 (3 for and 2 against). In RI, you need a super-majority for a variance so it has to be 5-0 or 4-1 to pass.

The applicant is not able to request a similar variance for one year after the denial. The applicant can build 43 units and 9 stories, but has testified and submitted a feasibility report that concluded that the project as presently conceived is not financially feasible. I think this project will be redesigned.

[jencoleslaw]

i am surprised, though, that it wasn't on the agenda. Or least i've heard it wasn't on the agenda. At CPC meetings, when hearings are continued, if we're going to hear it at the next meeting, it is most certainly on the agenda.

I might have supported the extra density if it had meant the developer would cough up some affordability component but it was clear he wouldn't.

thanks for the info on the meeting. Do you know who voted in favor of it? i'm going to guess that Andrea and Scott voted against it...am i right?

[oak]

Continued hearings are usually on the agenda, but not always. There is always a note at the bottom of the legal ad and the agenda that broadly includes continued cases. But...the agenda that was distributed to ZBR members in board packets in advance of the meeting did not include this case and the agenda that was distributed the night of the meeting did include it.

Dan and Andrea voted against the variance.

[damus]

Anything going on with this? Last time I was in Providence I went by the site and the buildings were knocked down.

[jencoleslaw]

it is being used as parking and there is a big hole in the ground where cars are not.

[damus]

it is being used as parking and there is a big hole in the ground where cars are not.

Is the project dead? How about the hotel across from the Dominica Manor and the Rialto condos?

[jencoleslaw]

Is the project dead? How about the hotel across from the Dominica Manor and the Rialto condos?

i don't know what the deal is with belmonte condellos; i've heard nothing since they were denied their variance variance about two months ago. 333 Atwells (rialto) is still moving forward, but it has been reconfigured and will be smaller, unfortunately. I don't know about the hotel (Napoli? That one?) at the head of atwells.

[damus]

Yay... all Providence needs is another hole in the ground. Though I don't feel this is the most attractive building that could go up there, I don't think it's too hideous, either. I was really getting excited at the prospect of my old stompin grounds, federal hill, becoming a more urban neighborhood...

[Jerry2]

Yay... all Providence needs is another hole in the ground. Though I don't feel this is the most attractive building that could go up there, I don't think it's too hideous, either. I was really getting excited at the prospect of my old stompin grounds, federal hill, becoming a more urban neighborhood...

I think it's better than constructing a whole bunch of buildings only to be empty or later serve as low-income units. We won't mention any names.

[Pseudo_Work]

Current Site, seen from opposite direction.

I think we're getting way ahead of ourselves with Federal Hill - before we even THINK about even beginning any new construction there, more historic preservation needs to come first. Atwells is nice, Broadway is getting there, and the Armory is just beginning to blossom, but everything in between is still questionable, to say the least. Plus, this is an ugly building, and my native Federal Hill Italian grandparents would be appalled, were they still alive.

[Cotuit]

Condo project on Atwells Avenue gets green light. But a second one in the heart of Federal Hill was rejected by the city's zoning board. [ProJo.com]