PROVIDENCE – The developer of the proposed Hope Point Tower has been told by the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission chairman that the latest deadline extension he’s requested will be the last one.
In a letter sent by email Thursday to Jason Fane, president of The Fane Organization, I-195 district chairman Robert Davis said he would grant additional time to Fane for filing an application with the city of Providence for a tax incentive agreement.
But he said it would be the last time. Fane previously has sought and secured several extensions from the I-195 commission, all related to deadlines in the purchase and sale agreement he signed when he agreed to purchase the land for his project.
Fane has proposed to build a 46-story residential condo building on a parcel of I-195 land. The purchase and sale agreement was negotiated several years ago, then renegotiated in January.
The new deadline for Fane to file a request for a city tax stabilization agreement is Dec. 1.
In the letter, Davis said he was particularly concerned by a few lines in the request made by Fane’s Providence-based attorney. In it, the attorney stated that the deadline extension for the TSA would not be the last one made, because the project developer does not have construction cost estimates from its general contractor.
The I-195 letter quoted attorney Jeffrey Padwa as writing: “We expect that it will take several months in order to obtain construction cost estimates from our general contractor and we expect therefore to request a further extension as the December 1st deadline approaches.”
Davis pushed back:
“It has been our experience that from early in the pre-development process developers establish a cost estimate for their projects and carefully monitor whether their preliminary project design fits within that estimate. We were surprised to now learn that in your case you seem to have submitted a design and entertained modifications to that design without such a consideration.”
He continued: “It concerns us that you seem to be pursuing a major project without the kind of pro forma that would ordinarily be expected.”
A spokesman for the Fane Organization said the matter could have been resolved with a phone call, rather than a public document. Dante Bellini said the issue is the TSA application deadline is in the wrong order within the schedule of deadlines, and should have been required later.
“Jason Fane came to Providence to build a great project that will move the city and state forward, not to fight with the 195 Commission over bureaucratic red tape,” Bellini said in an emailed statement. “He has committed several years of his time and energy as well as a significant amount of resources to constructing this iconic residential tower. But it is unfortunate that Chairman Davis chose to send a public letter, rather than picking up the phone and working through a simple deadline issue that is misplaced to begin with.”
He said the organization would be speaking with the I-195 chairman to resolve the issues.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
