Greater City Providence

ProJo: Plans for six story apartment building by Providence train station move forward

Rendering of ‘The Commons at Providence Station’ as it was proposed in 2014

Plans are proceeding for a multi-story apartment building by Canal Street downtown that would be built on land by Providence Station and across from the Roger Williams National Memorial, according to documents filed with the city’s planning department.

The developer, Capital Cove Development LLC, has applied to the Building Board of Review Review for a variance to allow construction. The application describes the planned structure as six stories high, with the first two floors used as parking, with 169 spaces.

[alert type=”muted”]Plans of the building from 2014: The Commons at Providence Station – aka Capitol Cove Building B[/alert]

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11 comments

  • They love building the suspense more than the actual building, but it’s good news!

  • It would’ve been nice to have retail or office space on at least part of the first floor facing Canal St. Also, canal st needs a Protected bike lane.

  • I understand that they weren’t going to be able to put in retail on Canal (unfortunately) because of the Mo’ River, but I would have really liked to see them build over the train tracks and put storefronts on Gaspee Street. The Providence Train Station needs more than just Cafe Le France. I wish that the station would be more active at night, I find myself there all the time later at night (with many other passengers) and there is nothing open. For such a busy station, this is strange.

    I’d like to see them cover/deck over the train tracks all the way up to the Providence Marriott. 🙂

  • KCB, from what I’ve heard, the train station bus hub is going to be built over the train tracks, so there’s no way that the capitol cove building b could build over the tracks. what would be nice is if the propsesd bus hub had mixed affordable housing on top of the hub with maybe even some office space. The bus hub is supposed to have some retail space but I’m not entirely sure if it’s going to be in the form of storefronts facing Gaspee Street.

  • Unfortunately, the Capitol Cove building has effectively ruined the view of College Hill from Capitol Hill in Providence. It used to be a magnificent sight to walk out of the Providence train station and look across the waterway to the sweep of trees and houses and churches rising in the distance to the top of the hill. Now all there is to see is Capitol Cove’s ugly brick wall. Thanks a lot to the Capital Center Commission and the project developers Corcoran/Trilogy/262 for destroying one of the loveliest historic vistas in New England.

  • I’m all for beautiful views and whatnot, and I don’t think that this is the prettiest project in the world – but I’d rather have a view blocked by a building with people living in it than gaze across an expanse of dirt and weeds to a pretty view.

  • I agree on co-locating apartments and office space above the bus-hub. Providence should be trying to make the area around the train station as dense as possible. Boston-based businesses and commuters would consider making Providence their home if their commute was single source — a simple MBTA ride between downtown Providence and downtown Boston.

    Why not even designate new development around the train station as being in a special sister-city economic zone, that promotes intercity commerce. There should be an express train running Providence to Boston so that you can travel between the two cities in 40 minutes (or less). The train station is an asset and should be an amentity for developers. Just as you can walk between Back Bay Station – Copley – Prudential, completely indoors. You should be able to walk from the Bus Hub – Providence Train Station – Prov Place Mall – Omni Hotel – Convention Center – The Dunk, and over a covered sidewalk on the overpass to Federal Hill.

    If I could have traveled on an Express Train from Providence to Boston in less than 40 minutes, I would have never spent 3 years of my life living in Boston. It would have saved me a ton of money and hassle. I’d be in the market to purchase an apartment located at the Train Station, it’d make friends visiting easier, airport trips easier, open up more job opportunities, and eventually when RI Rail is built out will make the trips to Pawtucket, EG, Cranston, Woonsocket, Quonset (whatever ends up getting built) car-free.

  • Taking advantage of our location on the Boston-NY Northeast Corridor is clearly a good idea and the powers that be are aware of that.
    One thing that bears watching is the fitire of the bus system. Downtown property owners are trying to remove the buses and bus passengers from Kennedy Plaza, and though one suggested banishment to a remote location on Allens Avenue, that is clearly unworkable. I think the powers that be are more serious about moving the bus hub to the train station area.
    While I think we could use better bus-train connections, this bears watching as the KP bus operation plus the private development can overwhelm the already congested road system possibly making the train station difficult to access at times.
    RIPTA has a $17 million grant for the “enhanced downtown transit corridor” from the RR station to the hospitals, but as far as I know there has been no public input into how that money will be spent. In addition to sprucing up bus stops along the route, I’ve been suggesting a free shuttle on the route as at $2/ride its doubtful it will attract few new passengers. New Haven, Hartford, Denver are some of the cities I’m aware of that also have train stations at the periphery that connect to the center with such a free shuttle.

  • Agree, if the streetcar is out and the shuttle is in — it must be free in the downtown core, and you can charge for loading at stations outside the core (see: Calgary’s system).

    I think moving the buses to a centralized train station location is a no-brainer. That intermodal facility should be a 24/7 operation that supports multiple forms of transportation, including water taxis/ferries — with free shuttles (see: Silver Line at Logan on the way back to South Station).

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