It is encouraging to see that at least a portion of Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr.’s ambitious "New Cities" development proposal is moving forward. But we also wonder about how such a proposal can move forward, while at the same time the area has become home to several adult entertainment businesses, which have legally ensconced themselves where zoning permits.
The city has hired a Massachusetts firm, Sasaki Associates, to determine who owns what along the Allens Avenue waterfront – and to begin assessing what it will ultimately cost taxpayers to acquire pieces of that land and redevelop them.
The redevelopment of the waterfront is destined to be a time consuming and very costly endeavor. But now is a good time to at least establish some framework for what may take place there. In fact, given recent developments along the Allens Avenue corridor, the sooner a plan for its future can be set in motion, the better.
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Yes, the area in question has great potential. It is less than a mile from downtown Providence, it is easily accessible off the highway and it sits on the water.
But at the moment, the most obvious economic activity has been the expansion of adult entertainment venues. And, apparently, more are on the way.
An establishment known as the Megaplex, located on Allens Avenue, captured headlines last month after officials at the Massachusetts Department of Health reported that four men had engaged in unprotected sex there, and as a result, contracted syphilis. More recently, a federal judge overturned the Providence Board of Licenses decision to deny a liquor and entertainment license for another strip club, one now poised to join an increasingly crowded adult scene along Allens Avenue.
We would be interested in hearing just how the mayor plans to address this burgeoning adult entertainment business.
It seems foolish to conduct studies and make plans for a wholesale redevelopment of the area – as "New Cities" represents – without outlining how, and if, the adult entertainment businesses will also play a role in the area’s future.
