Greater City Providence

WJAR: New apartments coming soon behind Garden City

garden-city

“It’s our belief that there is a movement out away from the big suburban house. People want to live in the heart of something where they can be a part of the community and where they have all the amenities and access to all the great things that are happening at Garden City,” said Jordan Durham of D+P Real Estate.

First, I think it is sad that Garden City can be described as having a ‘behind’. Great urban spaces shouldn’t have a front or back, they should be seemless. It is telling I suppose that Providence Place is also often descibed as having a ‘behind’ or ‘back’.

Second, as I said on Twitter the other day, I might pay a lot of money to ensure that I never had to go to Garden City ever again (I really cannot stand it there), of course I’m sure there are more than a few people who would say the same about Providence, so to each his own I suppose.

All that said, it is encouraging to see people putting real money into apartment living in the suburban sections of our urban core. This won’t be car-free urbanist living to be sure, the article describes the development as featuring underground parking with elevator access, but it will give people the option of dipping their toes into the environment of living closely with neighbors, the option to at least consider walking to Garden City to buy groceries or have dinner… a simulacrum of urban living. It is a start.

For more information on the development visit liveatgardencity.com.

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.

3 comments

  • The school has been empty for years. Immediately adjacent to the school there are a dozen or so 2-story apartment buildings. The location is barely a minute walk to the bulk of Garden City’s shopping and restaurants. RIPTA’s 21 bus passes in front of the building and there’s a stop 300-feet away.

    This is exactly the kind of suburban location where urban or high-density development should be encouraged.

  • Car-free is a lot for some people to swallow still (and there will always be people who want to stay close to family in Cranston/Warwick) but car-lite is very much achievable, and something like this is a good way to get it. If you can accomplish basic errands without a car, you can quickly cut your car usage in half. Still need to store it and everything, but it can be a pretty big move in the right direction.

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