A selection of photos readers have recently shared in our Flickr Group:
Photo © e_pics
Photo © Armadillo Commander
Archives For Jewelry District
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
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
Ted Nesi reports for WPRI about the possibility of the South Street Power Station (aka the Dynamo House) being used as the location for the proposed URI/RIC Nursing School.
Yesterday Brown announced their intention to build their expanded School of Engineering on College Hill, ending speculation that Brown would use the old power station located in the Jewelry District.
Route 195 under construction, July 2, 1957 – Photo from the RIDOT archives.
Gov. Chafee, Congressional Delegation, Assembly Members, City Officials, Private Sector Leaders Break Ground as Infrastructure Work Commences
Important Step in Readying Land for Responsible, Job-Generating Development
Providence, RI – Governor Lincoln D. Chafee joined members of Rhode Island’s Congressional Delegation, General Assembly members, state and City of Providence officials, and private sector leaders today to break ground on the next phase of the I-195 relocation project. Infrastructure work has now begun in the footprint of the former I-195 to rebuild the surrounding city streets.
“The work taking place now is a fundamental step toward the responsible, job-generating development of this valuable land, which holds a tremendous potential for economic development here in the capital city,” Governor Chafee said. “By upgrading our infrastructure around these properties, we can attract leaders in high-growth industries to create good jobs here in Rhode Island.”
The $13 million contract with the Cardi Corporation will focus on roadways west of the Providence River. Work will begin with underground utilities, and move on to the streets as spring and summer progress. The goal is to create a more efficient configuration for all modes of transportation, from cars to bikes to pedestrians. Final completion is anticipated in 2014.
“Today marks a significant step forward in the I-195 Commission’s efforts to realize the highest and best use of these parcels of land,” said Chairman Colin P. Kane. “The groundbreaking represents a nearly $50 million investment by the federal government, state, City government and the utility providers to truly create a dynamic Knowledge District reconnected by new city streets, sidewalks, enhanced infrastructure, pedestrian and bicycle paths, and public parks. All great places are built on strong foundations, and today kicks off the beginning of this foundation. The Commission, working with its partners in the state and City of Providence, together offer a platform for job creation and a flywheel of economic development.”
“We ask that the residents bear with us and be patient while we complete this important work,” Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Michael P. Lewis said. “The result will be an alignment that will better support the city with improved access to the new highway and the neighborhoods nearby.”
Future Friendship Street
Jewelry District resident Lewis Dana sent us some photos and a bit of snarky commentary to go with them. Enjoy.
I don’t know much about building a new street, either. …
Based on this shot of the continuation of Friendship St., early on you dig large holes, drop in these storm sewer pipes and cover them up with dirt. If all goes well, the sanitary lines go in at the same time. Let everything settle for a year or so.
Then you come back, dig more trenches for water, gas and electric services, back fill them and pave everything over.
Then some wise guy asks, what about telephone and cable? So you send in new teams of workers who barricade the streets, jackhammer trenches through the new macadam, install cable and phone, and patch everything back up.
If you’re being fastidious, you make a smooth job of it. Judging by the bomb cratered condition of Chestnut Street, into which someone sawed a fiberoptic trench about 7 years ago, that is a faint hope. Traces of that havoc remain to this day all along Chestnut, which is not on the Mayor’s 40-million dollar street repair map.
When the dust settles, mostly on everything in our apartment, is it too much to hope that the Grafitti Patrol will stop by and remove the tags with which the contractors have embellished every sidewalk in the neighborhood?
I don’t actually know what the process of building a road is, so I’m not sure what it is they are doing here, but someday, this will be Clifford Street.
Photo from The Providence Athenaeum
Friday, April 5th, 5pm-7pm, The Providence Athenaeum presents the weekly SALON: “Curating the City: Temporary Installations, Permanent Impressions” series, part 2: “Parades and Papier-Mache,” with Union Studio Architecture & Community Design Partner Doug Kallfelz in conversation with Diana Johnson, independent art consultant and 195 Commission member, and Buff Chace, Managing General Partner of Cornish Associates, partner in the Greater Kennedy Plaza partnership.
Two areas of our city are currently the focus of planners and prognosticators. Both Kennedy Plaza and the Jewelry District seem full of promise, but are stuck in a holding pattern. While we wait for the longed-for influx of “cranes and cash,” is there a more temporary or seasonal approach to enriching these districts? Join Kallfelz, Johnson, and Chace for a discussion of what the near future might look like.
The Salon takes place at the Providence Athenaeum, 251 Benefit Street in Providence; entrance is at ground floor-level door at the corner of Benefit and College Streets. Free and open to the public. More at providenceathenaeum.org.
Seven years after initial plans were drafted to develop a park along the west waterfront of the Providence River, recent construction in the Jewelry District — including several University buildings — has altered those design plans. The new park will offer a grassy space with access to the river and outdoor programming that will strengthen connections between College Hill and downtown Providence.
The biggest change the commission made to the park plans was selecting a “parcel” from the initial allotment to offer for commercial development, [Bonnie] Nickerson [director of long-range planning for Providence] said.
The commission hopes to see the park ready for construction by summer 2014 and open to the public within 18 months, in late 2015, Nickerson said.
A selection of photos readers have recently shared in our Flickr Group:
Photo © Ken Zirkel
Photo © provbenson2009
Photo © lddana51two
The third part of the photos readers have been sending us over the duration of the storm.
Photo © emiliabright
Photo © provbenson2009
Photo © Armadillo Commander
Photo © 1W57thNY
