Carpionato Properties Inc. last week presented plans to the Design Review Committee of the Capital Center Commission for a downtown Providence hotel slated to be 18 stories tall, with about 120 rooms.
The purchase agreement for the small triangle of land on which the project would sit – surrounded by Steeple Street, Exchange Street and Memorial Boulevard – was made by the Johnston-based developer and the city of Providence in September for $2.8 million.
The property sits within the city’s Capital Center, giving the committee control over the building’s design.
John Kokot, executive vice president of Carpionato Properties, said the plans call for retail or restaurant space on the ground floor, a parking garage directly above it, then the hotel rooms. Condominiums may be added on top.
Committee members expressed several concerns, including that the design looked “stocky.” According to Kokot, the developer will incorporate the comments into its plans and present the revisions next month. Kokot said he is optimistic that the project will move forward.
“I thought that the comments were constructive criticism, and we agreed with many of the comments made,” Kokot said. “For an opening meeting, I felt it went well, and I’m optimistic that we are going to be able to come back in a month with some refinements for the design committee.”
The project, if built, will mark Carpionato’s first attempt at a project in downtown Providence. The company already owns the Crowne Plaza Hotel and the Holiday Inn Express in Warwick, and it has been chosen to develop a Hampton Inn in Pawtucket, with construction expected to begin next year.
There are presently no cost estimates for the project, Kokot said.
