Archives For Development

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City Plan Commission Meeting – June 18, 2013

Jef Nickerson —  June 12, 2013 — Leave a comment

Notice of Regular Meeting
Tuesday, June 18, 2013 • 4:45pm
Department of Planning and Development • 1st Floor Meeting Room
444 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903

Opening Session

  • Call to Order
  • Roll Call
  • Approval of minutes from the May 21st 2013 meeting – for action Director’s Report

City Council Referral

1. Referral 3365 – Petition for a permanent easement for property located at 186 Fountain Street The applicant is requesting a permanent easement to construct an outdoor deck for the restaurant located at 186 Fountain Street – for action (AP 25 Lot 185, Downtown)

Minor Land Development Project

2. Case No. 13-014 MI – 207 Waterman Street (Preliminary Plan Stage) The applicant is proposing to demolish the existing building to construct a four story (approx. 45 feet), 30 unit multifamily development on a lot measuring approximately 11,677 SF. The applicant is proposing to provide 21 internal parking spaces, 45 are required. The development will require dimensional relief from parking and density requirements – for action (AP 14 Lot 516, Wayland)

Adjournment

  • Agenda
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Downtown Design Review Committee Meeting – June 10, 2013

gcpvd —  June 7, 2013 — Leave a comment

Notice of Regular Meeting • Monday, June 10, 2013 – 4:45pm
Department of Planning and Development, 1st Floor Conference Room 444 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903

Opening Session

  • Call to Order
  • Roll Call
  • Approval of Meeting Minutes of May 13, 2013

New Business

1. DRC Application No. 12.10: 122 Fountain Street (Diocese House / aka the Sportsman’s Inn) Proposal by 122 Fountain, LLC to install new awnings, handrails and signage as part of the renovation of the building into a hotel. (The project received final approval at the 5/14/12 DRC meeting)

2. DRC Application No. 13.11: 195-197 Pine Street (Plantations Hall) Proposal by Johnson and Wales University to create a new opening on the east fac?ade of the Wales Hall building for the installation of a new door and sidelite.

3. DRC Application 13.12: Burnside Park Proposal by the Department of Parks and Recreation to install an interim use temporary structure as part of programming by Greater Kennedy Plaza/Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy.

Adjournment

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ProJo: Project for Kettle Point, long at rest, on the move

kettle-point-1

Rendering of Kettle Point by Union Studio Architecture & Community Design

Tuesday night, the city’s Waterfront District Commission unanimously approved the 40-acre, 407-unit, $75-million Kettle Point development.

The project developer is Churchill & Banks of Providence. Richard Baccari II, the firm’s executive vice president, said that after state permits are obtained, construction would begin this summer. A year later, the first residents would arrive.

Posted by gcpvd on May 9, 2013 In Development, Waterfront , , , ,
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Downtown Design Review Committee Meeting – May 13, 2013

Jef Nickerson —  May 7, 2013 — 2 Comments

Notice of Regular Meeting • Monday, May 13, 2013 – 4:45pm
Department of Planning and Development, 3rd Floor Conference Room, 444 Westminster Street, Providence

Opening Session

  • Call to Order
  • Roll Call
  • Approval of Meeting Minutes of October 15, 2012 and November 5, 2012
  • Acceptance of DDRC 2013 Meeting Schedule
  • Annual Election of Vice Chair

New Business

44-hospital

This building at 44 Hospital Street would be razed to make way for a 6-story apartment building. Image from Bing Maps

1. Pre-Application Review: 44 Hospital Street Proposal to demolish the existing building and construct a new 6-story apartment building. This item is for discussion only. No action will be taken by the DRC at this meeting.

Adjournment

See Also:

Providence Business News: Architecture firm files plans for Hospital St. apartments

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Mayor announces plans by the Omni Group to redevelop the C.J. Fox Complex

Jef Nickerson —  April 11, 2013 — 2 Comments

Mayor Taveras joined Omni Group CEO William L. DiStefano, Jr. and others this morning to announce that company’s purchase and plans to redevelop the C.J. Fox Complex on Federal Hill.


From the Mayor’s Office:

Mayor Taveras and The Omni Group Announce $1.6 Million Purchase of C.J. Fox Complex in Providence’s Historic Federal Hill

Anticipated $5 million renovation will transform vacant factory into upscale office space.

Mayor Angel Taveras joined The Omni Group President and CEO William L. DiStefano, Jr., and Dominic Shelzi, executive vice president of The Omni Group, Economic Development Director James S. Bennett and other city officials today to announce the developer’s $1.615 million purchase of the C.J. Fox Complex, at Two Fox Place in Providence.

The Omni Group will soon begin a $5 million renovation of the vacant manufacturing complex to transform it into upscale office space.

The C.J. Fox Complex includes 70,000 square feet in four buildings and accompanying parking lots, located on 2.17 acres of land in historic Federal Hill. The Complex was formerly owned by the C.J. Fox Company, which manufactured tags and boxes for the fashion jewelry industry.

“The Omni Group’s redevelopment of the C.J. Fox Complex shows confidence in our capital city and a recognition of the incredible opportunities that exist here,” said Mayor Taveras. “We look forward to The Omni Group’s work to transform the Complex into a vibrant new center of commerce in Providence.”

The Omni Group has restored a number of properties in the Federal Hill neighborhood, including nearly six acres of the West Exchange Center, with nine office buildings and several parking lots. The developer also owns several residential properties in the area. Last year, The Omni Group adopted Garibaldi Park on Atwells Avenue and improved it with landscaping as well as a bandstand area.

“We originally purchased West Exchange Center because we felt that this part of Federal Hill had a great deal of potential,” said William L. DiStefano, Jr., president and CEO of The Omni Group. “It is within walking distance to Downtown Providence and Atwells Avenue, there is an abundance of parking, and there is easy access to all major highways. The project has had continued success year after year, and that, along with our optimistic view of the City’s future, is why we have decided to expand once again.”

“When developers and site selectors travel through Providence and see the transformation of these properties, it will send a strong message that we mean business here in Providence and that there is great potential for growth and economic success in Rhode Island’s capital city,” said Mayor Taveras.

Of course you may recall that the Omni Group has proposed an office building with two levels of parking at 50 Cedar Street as well as a two-level parking structure along two blocks of Cedar Street. Neither of those projects have broke ground yet.

In Buildings, Development , , , ,
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AP and ProJo reports on the Superman Building

gcpvd —  March 27, 2013 — 1 Comment

The Providence Journal: Future uncertain for empty icon

Bank of America confirmed Tuesday that it has moved the last of its employees out of the Art Deco skyscraper, which earned its nickname from its resemblance to The Daily Planet in the 1950s “Superman” TV series. The bank’s departure leaves a Jazz Age monument to Rhode Island’s industrial might, when it opened in 1928, as a virtual 26-story tombstone marking the state’s economic decline.

Tearing down the building for something more practical “is not an option,” said Fischer. Other alternatives “would not be good for the city,” he added, such as leaving it vacant or renovating it for offices, which would create a glut of office space and depress commercial rental rates.

Fischer called rental apartments “the highest and best use of the property,” bringing 500 more people to live downtown while creating at least a year and a half of construction work that would benefit the economy.

Boston.com: Superman building owner wants historic tax credits

The building has 350,000 square feet, and High Rock hopes to build around 290 apartments of various sizes, Fischer said. The first floor, which now includes a grand lobby with high ceilings and marble columns, could be used as a restaurant or other commercial space, but the rest would be residential, he said. Among the issues High Rock is looking at is how to address parking since the building does not have it, Fischer said.

In Buildings, Development, Downcity , , ,
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ProJo outlines developer’s vision for east side 195 parcels

carpionato

A Johnston real estate developer wants to be the first private party to dig into the land left behind by the Route 195 relocation project, offering the state a multifaceted vision for its vacant highway property in the Fox Point section of Providence.

Carpionato Group envisions a series of buildings and outdoor spaces including a hotel, town houses, a restaurant, research laboratories, three parking garages, shops and public spaces linked by pedestrian bridges — one a Ponte Vecchio-inspired span over Wickenden Street; the other a more utilitarian structure above South Water Street connecting a retail plaza to a park along the Providence River.

It would cost an estimated $254 million and would support the equivalent of 900 full-time jobs.

Carpionato has in the past proposed a large retail complex at the site of the old Providence Fruit and Produce Warehouse (which they tore down) and a hotel tower on the triangle parcel near Kennedy Plaza. Neither project ever happened.

A suburban developer’s project design reviewed by a Commission chaired by a suburban developer, this is the problem with the 195 Commission.

Posted by Jef Nickerson on February 25, 2013 In 195 Relocation Project, Development , , , , , , ,
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ProJo editorializes support for nursing school in the Jewelry District

Kudos to Governor Chafee for sliding into his fiscal 2014 budget proposal $500,000 in state money for design work for an advanced-nursing school in Providence’s Knowledge District. (We still much prefer the more charming and evocative term “Jewelry District.”) The school would be a joint venture of Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island. The concept calls for nurses in training to spend their first two years at the RIC or URI nursing schools and then to complete their program at the new facility, presumably taking a year or two to do that.

Posted by gcpvd on February 11, 2013 In 195 Relocation Project, Development , , , , ,
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Providence 2013 State of the City Address

gcpvd —  January 29, 2013 — 1 Comment


Mayor Angel Taveras

2013 State of the City Address

Providence Is Recovering

Tuesday, January 29, 2013 • (as prepared for delivery)

Photo of the Mayor delivering the State of the City from the Mayor's Office.

Photo of the Mayor delivering the State of the City from the Mayor’s Office.

Governor, Mr. President, honorable members of the Providence City Council, distinguished guests, and my fellow residents of our great Capital City –

One year ago I stood before you in this Chamber with an urgent message for our City and the entire State of Rhode Island. Providence was in peril. Despite many difficult decisions and painful sacrifices made to pull Providence back from the brink, we were still $22 million short of closing a $110 million structural deficit.

Crucial steps necessary to navigate our City safely through our Category 5 fiscal hurricane had not yet come to pass. We still needed to reform our unsustainable pensions. And we needed Providence’s large, tax-exempt institutions to contribute more.

As I stood before you on February 13, 2012, Providence was running out of cash, and running out of time. In the months that followed, there were some who said Providence could not avoid filing for bankruptcy.

BACK FROM THE BRINK

Today it is my privilege to deliver a much more hopeful report on the State of our City: Providence is recovering.

Through collaborative efforts and shared sacrifice, we have all but eliminated our City’s $110 million structural deficit, and we expect to end this year with a balanced budget. Working together, we have accomplished what few believed possible.

We were determined to address the root causes of Providence’s fiscal emergency and prepared to act unilaterally if necessary. And we knew our City would never achieve a lasting recovery without addressing our unsustainable and spiraling pension costs.

In April, following months of actuarial analysis and public testimony, this City Council unanimously approved a pension reform ordinance that put Providence’s pension system on a sustainable path.

We recognized that passing the ordinance would likely lead to a high-stakes lawsuit with no real winners – because a decision in favor of the status quo would push our City over the brink. However, faced with the challenge of negotiating pension changes with more than 2,000 retirees who were not represented by a single entity, we saw no alternative.

Continue Reading…

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The New York Times: Historic Power Plant in Providence, R.I., May Get Another Chance at an Encore

The New York Times reports that Brown University may be interested in redeveloping the South Street Power Station, better known as the location of the stalled “Dynamo House” project.

According to James S. Bennett, director of economic development for Providence, “serious” possible tenants have looked at the building in recent months, though he declined to say who they were. Sources knowledgeable about the site said that Brown University might be interested since Dynamo House is in the city’s Jewelry District, where Brown has expanded in recent years.

Mr. Bennett said the city had made finding a new use for the building a priority, and would not consider the alternative: “It’s not going to be torn down,” he said.

See also:
Greater City Providence: What’s going on with the Dynamo House?
Via: Nesi’s Notes

Posted by Jef Nickerson on January 8, 2013 In Colleges/Universities, Development, Waterfront , , , , , , ,
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