At a cost of billions in private and public funds and over a span of up to two decades, a reformation could spread to literally the three corners of Providence, creating parks and entertainment districts, office and retail space 10 times what the city has already experienced in its downtown Capital District. With the downtown renaissance already capturing the attention of much of the nation, a key ingredient in the development of a TV series that caries the city’s name, Mayor Vincent Cianci, Jr.’s three cities concept is now being hailed in such publications as U.S. News and World Report.
It is a massive undertaking that stretches from what are now rundown industrial sections to the west of Providence Place mall to an industrial waterfront that is now more recognized by its scrap metal heaps and oil tanks. The third patch in this municipal transformation would be created by covering Route 95, thus producing Westminster Crossing.
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Cianci has been talking about his three “new cities” plan for Providence for several months, but only recently began unveiling more details of the proposal. Initial designs were prepared by Sasaki Associates of Watertown, which designed the waterfront, known as Narragansett Landing; Urban Strategies of Toronto, Canada, which designed what is to be known as The Promenade; and The Cecil Group of Boston, which designed Westminster Crossing.
While Cianci said he suspects the whole project to take up to two decades, changes will come much sooner.
”A lot of planning and people will be coming on board in the next year or two,” he said. “I think you’ll see some real remarkable changes in five to six years.”
For that to happen, the city must secure the public and private funding to purchase land, secure air rights, and continue the planning process. When it’s all done, Cianci estimates that billions will be spent from both the public and private sector to create what he says will be “one of the most exciting and ambitious development projects on the East Coast.”
Included in the plan are his three New Cities:
Narragansett Landing, a 200-acre development on waterfront land currently occupied by oil and gas storage facilities.
The Promenade, a 175-acre development in an old mill district, directly across Route 95 from Providence Place.
Westminster Crossing, the163-acre development built over Route 95, linking Downcity with Federal Hill and the West Broadway neighborhoods.
”The big thing is this affects neighborhoods, property values,” Cianci said. And, he said, if all goes as expected it could create 30,000 new jobs and generate $106 million in new taxes.
In all it will involve 540 acres, 40 percent of which would be developed as new green space with parks, playgrounds, greenways and marinas.
Cianci’s plan calls for four new hotels, with 1,254 guest rooms; seven million gross square feet of office space; 400,000 square feet of retail space; 4,335 housing units for 11,000 new residents; a 40-acre marina with 500 boat slips; 300 apartments on new wharves with boat slips; four pedestrian walkways over Route 95; a 73-acre park at Pleasant Valley Parkway; and the seven-acre Providence Gardens over the highway, requiring air rights.
In more detail here’s what’s envisioned for each of the three New Cities:
Narragansett Landing
Narragansett Landing is a 200-acre waterfront development that includes more than 100 acres of prime development sites along the Providence River, at the head of Narragansett Bay.
Old industrial uses, including oil and natural gas storage facilities will be replaced with an elegant new residential and business district, which will stretch more than a mile along the Providence waterfront.
There will be extensive parks, river walks, waterfront apartments and boat slips, a marina for more than 500 boats, three major hotels, and 12 new office buildings. A new 20-acre greenway will link Roger Williams Park to Narragansett Landing.
This district will provide four million gross square feet of new office space for commercial and industrial use. It is expected that more than 16,000 people will work in the district, and 6,500 people will live there.
Efforts will be made to “cleanse the soil and groundwater” while the Narragansett Bay Commission addresses the problem of combined sewer overflows in the Providence River.
The plan proposes replacing the existing Algonquin LNG tank with a museum dedicated to Narragansett Bay.
The Promenade
High quality retail, entertainment, office and residential development would replace deteriorated factories that are across Route 95 from Providence Place.
This district would support 10,000 new jobs and provide 2,000 homes for new residents.
The redevelopment of this area along the Woonasquatucket River would revitalize nearby neighborhoods.
The area will have more than one million square feet of office, entertainment and retail uses.
The highlight of the entertainment district, as envisioned by Urban Strategies, would be a 300-room Hotel Ponte Vecchio, reminiscent of the famous Renaissance bridge in Florence.
Another highlight of the district is a proposed 73-acre park.
Westminster Crossing
Planners propose two major attractions: deck over the highway between Atwells Avenue and Broad Street, creating a seven-acre park on the top deck to be called “The Providence Gardens.”
The deck will be used primarily for open space.
