Driving down Taunton Avenue, past East Providence City Hall, one may notice a number of vacant storefronts, but nothing is as obvious as the old red brick building that once gave life to the Hollywood Theater.
The property, whose redevelopment some city officials believe would contribute greatly to the overall vitality of Taunton Avenue, has been vacant for more than 40 years, but city officials and business owners are hoping that won’t be the case for long.
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Last week, state Rep. Henry C. Rose (D-East Providence, Pawtucket), a member of the Rose family which currently owns the building, met with City Manager William J. Fazioli and Planning Director Jeanne M. Boyle to discuss the property’s future.
“We met with Rep. Rose and discussed several ideas (for the property) and right now we’re looking at the possibility of reusing the building for something related to a performing arts center and artisan space,” Boyle said.
“We’re trying to look into different mechanisms to foster the artistic community, and we’re very encouraged,” Boyle added.
Without giving too many details, Rose confirmed that the family is talking with city officials about the property.
“We’re keeping our options open, we want to do what’s best, but right now it might be too early to tell what that will be,” Rose said.
The building, located at 164 Taunton Ave., is now for sale.
Any plans for the 21,000-square-foot theater building are still in the early stages and according to Diane Feather, the city’s chief planner, studies would have to be conducted in the future to determine what condition its interior is in and if it would be feasible to rehabilitate for future use.
“We’re very encouraged by the property owners’ willingness and openness to communicate with us about their future plans. In the near future, perhaps within a month, we will do a walk-through of the building to see what it looks like inside,” Feather said, adding that to her understanding the property is now fairly empty, probably still holding some of the theater chairs and a balcony.
With Taunton Avenue business owners taking a hard look at how the entire corridor could be revitalized, Allan D. Gilmore, owner of Gilmore’s Flower Shop and president of the Downtown Business Association of East Providence, thinks the building is certainly in a strategic location.
According to Gilmore, over the past three years members of the business association, which includes many Taunton Avenue business owners, have been hard at work trying to improve the appearance of the downtown area to attract people there.
“We began listing the faults of the area, which were many, and we hired a consultant to get suggestions about what we should do to improve the area. So far, we’ve been following his suggestions,” Gilmore said, adding that parts of the improvements already visible on the avenue include new street furniture, hanging flower baskets, enhanced crosswalks and sidewalks and landscaping.
“Bit by bit we’re improving the appearance of the area. We still have some vacant buildings, but we’re working on fixing that and bringing more businesses to town,” Gilmore added.
He said that not too long ago the building that once housed the Lynwood Pharmacy, at 188 Taunton Ave., was a blighted property, but since John Rebello and Statewide Development LLC of East Providence took over, it has improved greatly.
“They purchased the strip and developed it and they’ve done a wonderful job,” Gilmore added. The building now is divided into four separate storefronts, one of which is currently occupied by Sassy Sandwiches.
Gilmore added that refurbishing the Hollywood Theater building by turning it into a local performing arts center would be an ideal way to attract people to downtown.
“If we could create a performing arts center (in that building), it would help draw a variety of people to the city, from local artists, to performers and beyond, and this would be great for local merchants,” he said.
“The theater (building) would be the key to the development of the whole avenue,” he added.
