POSTPONED: 110 Westminster Street

[Cotuit]

I like dogs.

[Garris]

I know you refuse to beleive that no one has the money, but we are out there.

[Cotuit]

Empty nesters seem to play into a lot of the plans for Providence, though I don't know how broad a group they are, but they are a growing segment of society.

[billypc99]

PhD's here in Providence outside of translational business venture folks who would ever have the income to consider the OTW tower...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Asolutely False! Im just finishing my PhD, have been interviewing and have offers on the table. Let me assure you my income will be well in excess of affordability. Dont be sckewed by the slave wages of academia. Positions I am conisdering afford me the ability to live almost anywhere in the northeast and some on the entire east coast due to traveling obligations being around 50%. Also, not all MD's go onto residencies...Its becoming more and more common for them not to match, esecially white males, even from prestigious med schools. Therefore, you will find some 26 + 27 MDs single with money

[Cotuit]

32-story condo tower would hold R.I.'s highest homes

BY GREGORY SMITH Journal Staff Writer | February 25, 2005

PROVIDENCE -- A joint venture of Providence and Boston developers plans to build a $90-million, luxury condominium tower on Westminster Street in the city's business center.

The 32-story tower would be the first skyscraper built in the Financial District in 20 years, since the Fleet Center opened across Westminster Street from the project site.

And it would help usher in what appears to be a new era for the Financial District as a sector devoted to residential and retail uses as well as offices.

Mayor David N. Cicilline, Providence developer brothers Evan and Lloyd Granoff and Boston real estate investor Eamon O'Marah announced the project yesterday at a news conference in the mayor's office.

At 360 feet, the tower would be Rhode Island's tallest residential structure, according to the developers. But it would not match other skyscrapers on Westminster Street. The Industrial National Bank Building is 420 feet tall, and One Financial Plaza (more widely known as the former Rhode Island Hospital Trust tower) reaches 408 feet.

"This is a very exciting day," Cicilline said.

"It's the first spark of a development boom that is transforming downtown Providence into one of the Northeast's premier centers for living, working and visiting."

O'Marah said the 130 new condos would sell for $500,000 to $2.5 million and would appeal to empty-nesters, young professionals, students, people associated with Brown University and RISD, and people from the Boston area. A similar, high-end residence would cost twice as much in Boston, he said.

The project would straddle the tapered end of a city block, behind the Turks Head Building, stretching from Westminster to Weybosset Street. It would feature a ground-floor grocery store and cafe on the Weybosset Street side, and the second through seventh floors would be parking levels, providing about 170 spaces.

OTHER PROJECTS already are contributing to the transformation of the Financial District. The Rhode Island School of Design is participating in the renovation of the 12-story Rhode Island Hospital Trust Building, circa 1919, at 15 Westminster St., for student apartments and the school library.

And another developer is renovating into luxury condos the former Peoples Savings Bank, a six-story building that dates to 1949 and also has frontage on Westminster Street.

Featuring a glassy, modern design, the tower announced yesterday would be connected to the nation's oldest indoor shopping center, the Arcade (which dates to 1828), providing a new stream of customers for the lightly patronized commercial building.

But it would doom a Colonial Revival building at 90 Westminster St., put up in 1929, that historians consider integral to the Downtown Providence National Historic District.

If the city gives permission, the developers would raze that building as well as another at 110 Westminster St. The building at 110 Westminster, which used to house a Buck-a-Book store, separates the parking lot from the Arcade.

The building at 90 Westminster was extended through to Weybosset Street in 1950, and at the city's request the developers would save the neoclassical frontage on Weybosset to a depth of about 20 feet. That would serve as the front of the 7,500-square-foot grocery store and cafe.

Cicilline and the developers said the project, to be called One Ten Westminster, would be financed privately and not require any public subsidies. O'Marah said the developers hope to break ground this year and to complete construction by late 2007.

The building would contain about 390,000 square feet, with the condos ranging in size from 900 square feet to 3,500-plus square feet for two-story units. Its seventh floor would be dedicated to an 11,000-square-foot, outdoor garden, a fitness center and a residents' lounge with a full kitchen.

"This will not be just another development, but a piece of notable architecture for Providence, a centerpiece the city can point to and be proud of," Lloyd Granoff said.

The Granoffs considered creating office space at the site, but opted for residential use because, Lloyd Granoff said, the market for first-class office space in Providence has been static for years.

Asked whether the changes planned for the Financial District represent its decline as an office center, Granoff said, "I wouldn't use the word decline. After 5 o'clock it is totally dead. I think now you're going to find a mixture [of uses] there. At night you're going to have people walking around. And that's a lot nicer thing."

O'Marah is a partner in BlueChip Properties, which describes itself as an investor and developer of medium- to large-scale, mixed-use urban developments. It has investments in residential, retail and hotel projects.

THE GRANOFFS own Granoff Associates, a Providence holding company that owns and manages real-estate and operating businesses. They own 700,000 to 750,000 square feet of commercial and industrial property, including the Turks Head Building, the Arcade, the Union Trust Building on Dorrance Street, where the Federal Reserve banquet hall is located, and the Heritage Building, an office building at 321 South Main St.

Lloyd Granoff, of Providence, is chairman of the Providence Public Buildings Authority. Evan Granoff, of Bristol, is chairman of the Downtown Providence District Management Authority. The authority is a new public agency that will oversee a special safety patrol and cleaning crew in Downcity and parts of the Financial and Jewelry districts.

Cicilline made clear that he supports the project and hailed the potential tax revenue that it represents. But it still has to pass muster with a little-known city board called the Downcity District Design Review Committee. Any building demolition in that district requires the approval of the committee, which also regulates other aspects of development.

Cicilline appoints the committee, which is to be reconstituted under a revamped special zoning ordinance for Downcity. The predecessor ordinance was ruled invalid in Superior Court, but the city appealed to the state Supreme Court and rushed through a new ordinance as a stopgap.

CONTENDING that the demolition protections contained in the predecessor ordinance were void, the Granoffs last year filed for permits to demolish 110 Westminster and 90 Westminster. When the city failed to issue the permits, they sued.

Both cases are pending, and Lloyd Granoff said the tower project would proceed regardless.

Evan Granoff presented the demolitions as a necessary tradeoff for economic development and said that although the proposed tower would have a modern design, it would be made compatible with the Arcade and the Turks Head Building.

The potential loss of 90 Westminster is cause for concern to William McKenzie Woodward, an architectural historian for the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission.

The building has been officially determined a contributing structure to the architectural and historical significance of the downtown historic district, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building at 90 Westminster arguably would be eligible for National Register listing on its own, he said.

It is significant, Woodward said, because of its quality as an example of a Georgian Revival commercial building of the early 20th century, and the fact that it was built to be the headquarters of Rhode Island's oldest bank.

Listing a building or a district on the National Register confers no protection from demolition or alteration unless federal financing or historical-rehabilitation tax credits are involved. In this case, they apparently are not.

Digital Extra: See projected skyline images, descriptions of services, information about the developers and more about the proposed luxury residences, at: http://onetenprov.com

From The Providence Journal

[Cotuit]

The project would straddle the tapered end of a city block, behind the Turks Head Building, stretching from Westminster to Weybosset Street. It would feature a ground-floor grocery store and cafe on the Weybosset Street side,

Featuring a glassy, modern design, the tower announced yesterday would be connected to the nation's oldest indoor shopping center, the Arcade (which dates to 1828), providing a new stream of customers for the lightly patronized commercial building.

I hadn't fully grasped this part of this project yesterday. This is also something that I thought was key for a project here, expanding the Arcade. I picture this 'grocery store' being quite high end and probably feature prepared food and salads that area office workers can buy for lunch. Expanding the Arcade I think is key to reinvigorating it.

Apparently there are to be 650 outdoor cafe seats on the Weybosset side (I'm not sure where). I actually enjoy having lunch on the second level balcony at the Atrium and would like to see them extend that second level balcony across the Westminster facade of the new tower. The second floor of the tower will be a part of the parking garage, so this public balcony would not impose on tower residents.

I actually would have liked to have seen some sort of retail store in the arcade, a Barnes & Noble or something that would be a good anchor tenant and draw traffic outside of meal time. But I can see this grocery store serving that purpose to an extent as well.

[Garris]

This sounds soooo good. An expanded and reconfigured Arcade would work really well as a type of grocery/cafe bazaar setup, and with all those employees and residents nearby as customers? Great!

- Garris

[Cotuit]

Also visitors. The Arcade is marketed as an attraction but currently I could see a visitor saying, "oh, that's it then?" This expansion could really open it up and make it a real attraction. That many more people visiting daily can also help the upper level retailers survive as well. We compare ourselves to Boston a lot, Wayland Square = Brookline, Westminster = Newbury, the Arcade could be our Quincy Market.

[Garris]

I was looking at the Providence skyline driving into work this morning and thinking that with OTW going up, Providence will have one skyscraper from almost every "era" of U.S. skyscraper design. We'll have late Merchantile, art deco, 60's/70's modernist, 80's/90's modernist, post-modern (the Westin), and now '00 modernist. And all this without a predominance of any one type.

The Providence skyline will almost be able to service as textbook example of schools of skyscraper design!

- Garris

[glassandsteel]

You have an excellent point. At first, I was terrified by the precedent that this tower would set (not that I think it's ugly but look at alot of modern-looking cities and tell me that "something" isn't missing) but have been calmed by the fact that the Westin's second tower will also be "post-modern" and possibly greater in height. I also found calm in the fact that Citizen's did a wonderful job with the design of their first building, so I'm assuming that a second, probably larger, tower would probably be of equal quality and taste. What scares me though, is the thought of losing that balance of variety. Providence has an amazing past, and was never anything like any other city. It's no coincidence that Poe frequented our city or that Lovecraft lived here, anyone that has had the misfortune of visiting Rhode Island's woods at night can testify that there is reason for all the paranoid ghost stories. Nothing but blackness (not even sound) looms behind Rhode Island trees at night. I know this might be odd to bring up but it's part of local character, and should be reflected architecturally. Why do we praise the Cranston Street Armory more highly than Regency Plaza? Wouldn't we love to see something of that style tower over our city as a statement of our character? Would people from the past wandering into Providence today or tomorrow still recognize it as home? That's what I'm worried about losing. So despite the fact that I rambled off a little bit (which I tried to keep contained to little space) about my fears of a modern-dominated Providence, I really do think that OTW will be a wonderful fit into that area. Garris, you're right. Downtown is turning into a visual story about architectural evolution. I'm just hoping that we can bypass getting stuck in the moment and evolve beyond what other cities have been doing. Providence is the ghost of a dead city reborn, not a brand-new city rehashed. It should fit the description.

[Cotuit]

Would people from the past wandering into Providence today or tomorrow still recognize it as home?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sit at the Roger Williams Memorial Park, or better yet, at Prospect Park and ponder what Roger Williams would think if we could go back in time and bring him here to show him what Providence has become. Overall, (after getting over the fear of all the horseless carriages) I think he'd be impressed.

[raypacia]

I agree. I can think of many Borders and Barnes and Nobles that have thrived in downtown areas. I'm sure this wouldn't be good for the Symposium Bookstore, but I am honestly not sure how terrible I'd feel about that. The one time I went in there, I found their reading selection far too cerebral to attract a wide base. They're probably a better fit on the East Side.

[Garris]

Wouldn't we love to see something of that style tower over our city as a statement of our character?  Would people from the past wandering into Providence today or tomorrow still recognize it as home?  That's what I'm worried about losing.  So despite the fact that I rambled off a little bit (which I tried to keep contained to little space) about my fears of a modern-dominated Providence, I really do think that OTW will be a wonderful fit into that area. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

G&S, terrific post. The fear you vocalize is a valid one and the same as David Brussat's (a columnist for the ProJo) often mentioned fear of Providence becoming a "sandbox for the modernists." I see this in a couple of ways, both good and bad:

1) In a way, this is destined to happen, since unless there is a massive shift in the world of architecture, almost everything designed from now to eternity will be "modern" to someone, just as the Turk's Head building was probably viewed in its time, for example. I doubt we'll ever return to traditional architecture as the commerical or residential "norm," if for no other reason than the market wouldn't support it.

2) Providence, on the upside, is already plenty diverse architecturally and, as you say, the coming buildings will be quite diverse:

- OTW: International-style, glassy tower, and it'll be keeping the classical facade of the current building there as its entrance! And despite the renderings of how it'll look on the skyline, remember, it's actually in a very different part of Downcity than the buildings currently lining Washington in the financial district. The renderings are kind of deceptive.

- Possible Citizen's: Presumably in context to the current tower

- Westin Addition: Almost certainly post-modern with traditional detailing.

- Hilton: Also looking international style.

- Parcel 2: Modern style, but very different from anything else in Providence now. I've been calling it Miami style, for lack of a better term.

- Federal Hill Condo Towers: Looks/sounds like lots of traditional, contextual detailing.

- Wayland Sq Condos: Also lots of traditional detailing there.

- Eventual RISD Chase Center: Almost minimalist, but lots of traditional contextual nods like the use of brick, etc.

3) Except, perhaps, for the eventual direction of development of Capital Center, no area of Providence, even with a massive building boom 3X what is proposed now, would even have its character changed notably. What is essentially now the core of current Providence will likely always endure. The bad old days from the 50's - 70's where whole enormous swaths of traditional city neighborhoods were razed and redeveloped in the modern idiom in the name of "urban renewal" are thankfully long past and the lesions have been learned.

I'm also heartened that of all of our proposed buildings (from the multitude of condos to Parcel 2 to OTW) none of them, in my opinion, is *bad* architecture or something that looks exploitive. I can think of lots of recent high profile building and proposals in other cities (NY, Chicago, London, etc) that are really unattractive. In Providence, I don't think that's the case. Which one of our recent proposals have you looked at and gone, "Yuck, that's terrible!" The only one of any of the developments I'm worried about is the G-Tech building, which I think has problems, especially considering where it is, but I'm even holding my opinions on that until it's done. The rest of them I think are quite good. I'm sure the Westin addition will be nice, OTW looks sleek and balanced, I love the Chase Center design, the Hilton tower looks nice and is 100X better than the current Holiday Inn, Parcel 2 is really growing on me, I like the proposed Federal Hill Tower, and the reborn Masonic Temple and VMA will be a gem. We have redone historic mills all over the place and many of the condos popping up in the neighborhoods, from Federal Hill to the Pratt condos to Wayland Sq, are all respectful of what's already there and are quite nice.

I too think Roger Williams would look down from Prospect Park and be quite proud.

- Garris

[Cotuit]

Today's Brussat column. The guy is such a baby. Sometimes I want to tear down everything and rebuild the city in all glass just to piss him off.

[Garris]

Today's Brussat column. The guy is such a baby. Sometimes I want to tear down everything and rebuild the city in all glass just to piss him off.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hehe... I actually just read the column from your link and I have to say, that's the most optimistic I've ever heard him be. The article is also a useful compendium of the recent tower annoucements...

BTW: He mentions that the Westin addition will be 28 stories (the lucky guy has apparently gotten an early look at the design... and it is good ). Did we know this about the height before? If 28 stories is right, so much for a new Providence tallest (especially in that depression it is in). Also, he seems to be treating some of those other projects (like the LaSalle Sq) as being solid. I thought that some of those were "hopeful" developments of the Power Block, correct?

- Garris

[Cotuit]

BTW: He mentions that the Westin addition will be 28 stories (the lucky guy has apparently gotten an early look at the design...  and it is good  ).  Did we know this about the height before?  If 28 stories is right, so much for a new Providence tallest (especially in that depression it is in).  Also, he seems to be treating some of those other projects (like the LaSalle Sq) as being solid.  I thought that some of those were "hopeful" developments of the Power Block, correct?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That was the first I had heard any solid numbers on anything for the second Westin Tower (I wonder what hotel it will become with Starwood losing out on the bid process?). The current Westin is 25 floors, so we won't be seeing a literal twin, happily. One Financial Plaza (the white tower) is 28 floors with a flat roof, but those are office floors which are usually taller than hotel/residential floors. The new Westin tower will likely have roof detailing similar to the current tower, so it will be taller than 28 floors implies. It still could nab second place. The depression it sits in will minimize it's impact on the skyline though. The current Westin really doesn't do anything for the skyline from most angles currently. It will be interesting to see it as a two tower complex. The whole Power Block may have some sort of second skyline effect. It's going to be interesting.

He was speaking quite "this is what is happening" about the rest of the Power Block. The Hilton project seems pretty solid to me, but I'm very much waiting and seeing on the other 2 condo towers. I'm sure he saw these quite some time ago.

I wish the Journal would have the other side of the traditional/modernist debate more often. There's someone from RISD who writes very occassionally.

[Garris]

The current Westin really doesn't do anything for the skyline from most angles currently. It will be interesting to see it as a two tower complex. The whole Power Block may have some sort of second skyline effect. It's going to be interesting.

Agreed, it will be interesting. The Westin, while really not a factor in the skyline from the N/S/E sides of Providence, is actually quite dominant from areas of the West side. If I could find a good photographic area (which I actually haven't been able to as yet) from the West of the skyline, I'll show everyone. The Westin dwarfts everything else from that perspective, and is actually quite well integrated.

I wish the Journal would have the other side of the traditional/modernist debate more often. There's someone from RISD who writes very occassionally.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

True, but the RISD guy is seemingly just as opinionated (if not more so) in the pro-Modernist camp as D. Brussat is against it.

- Garris

[Soren]

The whole Power Block may have some sort of second skyline effect. It's going to be interesting.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

One thing I like about OTW and the other development projects in the works is that Providence will lose the one-dimensionality of the current skyline. It sometimes looks like a stage set, with the three tall buildings in a row, and not much else.

[Cotuit]

Agreed, it will be interesting.  The Westin, while really not a factor in the skyline from the N/S/E sides of Providence, is actually quite dominant from areas of the West side.  If I could find a good photographic area (which I actually haven't been able to as yet) from the West of the skyline, I'll show everyone.  The Westin dwarfts everything else from that perspective, and is actually quite well integrated.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What area from the west are you thinking? I can't see the Westin from Federal Hill. I can see the Financial District towers, and I can see the State House, but not the Westin. Although I think if I crane my neck from my bedroom skylight I can just make it out.

I'm wondering what kind of view the Rialto and other Federal Hill condos might enjoy of it.

You can see the Westin quite prominently from Dean Street at Route 10, but what a horrible place to stand and enjoy the view!

True, but the RISD guy is seemingly just as opinionated (if not more so) in the pro-Modernist camp as D. Brussat is against it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

At least it creates a balance, even if it is a balance of extremes.

[eltron]

If I could find a good photographic area (which I actually haven't been able to as yet) from the West of the skyline, I'll show everyone. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Try the hill above Eagle Square/Rising Sun - Putnam Street off of Atwells, heading into the "bad" part of town. The view of downtown is remarkable from there, if a bit far. Bring a zoom lense!

[Cotuit]

Try the hill above Eagle Square/Rising Sun - Putnam Street off of Atwells, heading into the "bad" part of town. The view of downtown is remarkable from there, if a bit far. Bring a zoom lense!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was looking up there yesterday when I went grocery shopping, I need to get up there. It's like Great Mount Providence or something.

[Liamlunchtray]

I was looking up there yesterday when I went grocery shopping, I need to get up there. It's like Great Mount Providence or something.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Back when SoundStation7 was still open (Recording studio that was in an amazing converted Fire Station up that way) I was able to go up to the top of the Hose Drying tower. The view of the city was fantastic from up there. It was up that hill and then on a side street off to the left. Cant remember the actual street name to save myself though.

Liam

[eltron]

Back when SoundStation7 was still open (Recording studio that was in an amazing converted Fire Station up that way) I was able to go up to the top of the Hose Drying tower. The view of the city was fantastic from up there. It was up that hill and then on a side street off to the left. Cant remember the actual street name to save myself though.

Liam

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oooof!

Lucky beotch! The view there really is incredible. The firehouse/SoundStation 7 was on the market last year, but they took it off to deal with some zoning issues and what to do with the recording equipment. Its an awesome building, and I would LOVE to get my hands on it!

[provid]

Dimeo has been hired for this job. ( Construction Management )

[Cotuit]

Dimeo has been hired for this job. ( Construction Management )

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Who are you sleeping with?

I'm a little surprised that Dimeo got this, I didn't realize they could take on something this big. I was kind of expecting someone out of state like Suffolk.