So many mornings Barry Feldman, a New York-based developer,
would drive through Providence on his way to Boston for a business meeting.
From the highway, Feldman would see signs of the renaissance. It was unfolding
before his eyes.
He wanted to be a part of it.
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So he called Shaw’s Supermarkets – a company with whom he had worked in the
past – and hooked up with its real estate division.
“Let’s put a supermarket in downtown Providence,” said Feldman.
Soon Feldman was driving around the capital city, scouting locations. Lots
of locations.
But there was something different about one location. It was at the intersections
of Atwells Avenue, Valley Street and Eagle Street – about a mile from downtown.
It didn’t look like much at first. The Eagle Square mills ceased to operate
years ago. Most of the properties were abandoned, in disrepair. There were environmental
concerns. The fire department had expressed concerns of its own.
But Feldman and the people at Shaw’s saw promise. They presented an initial
plan to the city that called for buildings to be razed and land to be cleared
for a new supermarket to emerge. It seemed like a slam-dunk.
It wasn’t.
When a coalition of artists and preservationists heard about the plans, they
cried foul. They wanted to protect the historic value of some of the properties
and preserve space – both living and working – for artists. They lobbied city
officials and forced Feldman to revise his proposal.
It meant more time, more work and more money.
Feldman could have walked away. He could have decided it wasn’t worth the
trouble, the expense. But he didn’t. Feldman re-worked his plans. And he didn’t
just tweak them. He made them bolder, grander.
Eagle Square has emerged as a mixed-use development, still anchored by a Shaw’s
Supermarket, but now with commercial and residential elements as well.
Situated in the Promenade District at the bottom of Federal Hill, the development
features remodeled properties, including the former Crawford Seed building and
the flea market property. These will now be home to residential apartment units,
retail space and restaurants overlooking the Woonasquatucket River. And along
that river will run a 1,200-foot walking and bike path.
With Jefferson Place – near Providence Place – opening soon and the Rising
Sun development moving forward, the total number of apartments located within
about a mile of the Eagle Square approaches 1,500.
It is indeed, another chapter in the Providence renaissance.
“This development is going to act as a catalyst for the revitalization of
this area,” said Feldman.
It is a Wednesday afternoon and Feldman is standing outside of Shaw’s, just
two days before its grand opening. Feldman likes to work with Shaw’s.
Out of West Bridgewater, Mass., Shaw’s is a $4.4-billion company – a company
that leaves nothing to detail.
The Eagle Square store is its 14th in Rhode Island. It will have a neighborhood
feel. Company employers have done their homework. For nearly a year they have
attended neighborhood meetings, visited church groups. They’ve taken part in
neighborhood cleanups. They’ve held focus groups.
The results of that effort will be found in the store. There is an aisle for
Latino foods. There is an aisle that specializes in Italian products. There
is an emphasis on family-value packages, like 25-pound bags of rice. Signs in
the store are printed in English and Spanish.
Maybe most importantly, Shaw’s becomes a major employer in an area that needs
major employers. In total, the store will employ 200, with 60 percent being
of Latino descent.
Outside of the Shaw’s on this afternoon, rain is beginning to fall. Feldman’s
cell phone rings constantly.
I ask him about those meetings with the artists and preservationists. They
were, at times, contentious. Was it worth the trouble – the extra time, the
extra money?
On this point, Feldman is clear.
“The people in the city showed a lot of foresight … they showed a lot of caring,”
he said.
And the result, he said, is a better development.
He’s right. It is a better development. And you probably had to see the before
to appreciate the after. This was a tired, failing corner of the city. And what
is emerging at Eagle Square – the luxury apartments, the restaurant overlooking
a river – would have been unthinkable a few years ago.
You look at Eagle Square and you realize that the Providence renaissance didn’t
stop – it’s just moving itself around a bit.
