Greater City Providence

Building Brown… and URI… and RIC

One of our Facebook fans shared this link with us.

A 40-minute video of Brown University’s assistant vice president for planning, design and construction, Michael McCormick discussing Browns recent campus building and near future plans, including much on the Jewelry District plans. There is a link to a 10-minute condenced version to give you the gist of what he had to say. The video is not embedable, so you’ll have to follow the link over to Brown’s site to view it.

In other Jewelry District News, ProJo reports today that URI and RIC are planning to team up to build a Nursing School on a portion of the land being vacated by Route 195 in the Jewelry District. The plan requires approval by the General Assembly to post a bond measure to voters.

If approved, construction could start in 2012 and be completed by 2013.

URI and RIC each seperately had plans to build nursing schools and will save $10 million by teaming up to build one $60 million facility in the capital city.

URI’s new President, David M. Dooley has stated that he would like to increase the university’s presense in Providence.

Jef Nickerson

Jef is Greater City Providence's co-founder, editor, and publisher. He grew up on Cape Cod and lived in Boston; Portland, Maine; and New York before settling in Providence. In addition to urbanism, Jef is interested in art, design, and ice cream. Please feel free to contact Jef if you have any question or comments about Greater City Providence.

5 comments

  • Ted Nesi reports on the Nursing School for PBN. Adding info on the parcel the schools are interested in:

    Education officials are eyeing a section of highway for the nursing building just south of the J. Joseph Garrahy Judicial Complex in Dorrance Plaza, about a block from where Brown University plans to build a new home for its Warren Alpert Medical School. Officials want to turn the area, which is also close to Rhode Island and Women & Infants hospitals, into a “Knowledge District” centered on the biotechnology and life sciences sectors.

  • ProJo reports that the Assembly did not approve a ballot question seeking $60 million in bonds for the URI/RIC nursing school but rather allocated money for a feasibility study.

    URI still hopes to be able to break ground in 2012.

  • PBN reports today about the proposed URI/RIC Nursing School. A nine-month study by the Board of Governors concludes that building a 120,000 sq. foot shared facility in the Jewelry District is the best option for the two schools.

    The new facility, plus renovations to space at the schools’ respective campuses would cost in the neighborhood of $79 million.

    The report makes no recommendation on the best way to finance the project. The state could issue bonds to pay for the building. Another option would have URI and RIC become the anchor tenants for a privately financed building that would likely sit close to where Brown University is constructing its new medical school.

    The private-public option is attractive because it would spur private investment while keeping the building on the city’s tax rolls, Rhode Island Commissioner for Higher Education Ray DiPasquale said.

  • ProJo also has a story today.

    Higher education officials, including the nursing faculty and administration from URI and RIC, met once a week for nine months with architects from RGB and HO+K, who recommended a four-story building of 127,000 square feet that would feature life-like robots simulating patient problems in a variety of medical settings, including the operating room, the emergency room, and labor and delivery.

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