A new boutique hotel and upscale restaurant is being planned for construction in the heart of the capital city, which backers hope will help revitalize Providence’s downtrodden Downcity district.
Construction has already begun on The Hotel Providence, a proposed 80-room boutique hotel located in two adjoining 19th century buildings at the corner of Mathewson and Westminster streets in Providence. The new luxury hotel will include 29 suites, a ballroom, a function room, an outdoor terrace and a fitness center. The hotel will also house a relocated L’Epicureo restaurant on the ground floor.
The joint venture, which is scheduled to open in August 2004, would herald an economic renaissance for the downtown area, say economic development officials.
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“Ten years ago we recognized that Downcity was, not falling apart, but by and large empty. This hotel project will be a major part of Downcity’s revitalization,” said Dan Baudouin, executive director of the Providence Foundation.
The hotel is being developed by Stanley Weiss, a real estate investor, antiques merchant and former banker who has owned the buildings for more than a decade. The hotel will be managed by Dunfey Hotel Group Providence LLC, said Weiss.
The project is the culmination of 10 years of work by Weiss to build a luxury hotel at that location, Weiss told a crowd gathered at a ceremony to celebrate the beginning of construction, on Aug. 13. Weiss said he was always attracted to Downcity’s “fabulous turn-of-the-century architecture,” but was warned for years that there was not enough public/private investment in the blighted downtown district, and that his property was an “unbankable building.”
Today, Downcity is officially designated an Arts and Entertainment District, and millions of dollars have been invested in the district from both public and private sources.
“I believed that it was a matter of time, and I wanted to be part of it when it happened. I was a graduate student at Brown University, majoring in urban sociology. Almost 40 years later, I guess I’m still majoring in it,” said Weiss.
Weiss said he envisions his hotel supporting and being supported by a revitalized district full of retail shops, eateries and art galleries.
“If developed properly, we can have a delightful SoHo appeal,” he said.
The restaurant, L’Epicureo, is a popular one with a strong reputation, and is being relocated from its longtime home on Federal Hill.
“We had been looking for another space for L’Epicureo for about two years, but nothing was right. Nothing fit our expectations,” said Rozann Buckner, who owns the restaurant with her husband Tom Buckner.
The newly located L’Epicureo in the Providence Hotel will seat 150 guests in the main restaurant and about 70 more people on an outdoor patio, said the Buckners. The restaurant will also have a private dining room and space for wedding dinners and other events in the ballroom and function rooms.
“This is just a great space for us. It affords us the ability to do what we’ve always wanted – to have the piano, to have the outdoor dining, the multiple kitchens, the dancing in a grand ballroom,” said Tom Buckner. “We’re here to make this inner part of the city just totally fantastic – breathe new life into the downtown part of the city.”
Weiss said the entire project would cost at least $10 million to $15 million. He would not disclose how much of his own money is tied up in the venture.
The project is being funded by a consortium of parties, including state and local taxpayers, Bank Rhode Island, Ocean State Development Corp., and possibly the Rhode Island Foundation. The final financing package is still being worked out, said Weiss.
Two loans, one from BankRI for approximately $5 million and one from Ocean State Development Corp. for $1.3 million, will be guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The project will also rely on federal and state historical rehabilitation tax credits, Weiss said.
Weiss also received a property tax break from the city of Providence, worth almost half a million dollars.
“We’re in the business of taking risks, calculated risks. We think this is
a smart transaction to do,” said Merrill W. Sherman, president and CEO of BankRI.
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