in 2001.
The 27th annual meeting of the Providence Foundation was a time not only to reflect on three decades of accomplishments, but also to map out bold goals for the coming year — and years.
In fact, so much has happened in the capital city in recent years, it now appears the business leaders and government officials involved with the Providence Foundation are convinced that anything is possible.
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That “anything” includes the establishment of a larger downtown, as the result of a relocated I-195. It would be a downtown with more hotels, new office space, residential dwellings in the downtown’s old core and more parking facilities.
A major component of revitalizing Downcity, is to move the Travelers Aid facility on Union Street out of the city’s core to the YMCA building on Broad Street. The Broad Street building is expected to be sold and the YMCA – presumably with Travelers Aid as a tenant — may move to the South Side. The Providence Business News reported last week that one site under consideration is the former Gorham Manufacturing facility, which is in the West End.
With Travelers Aid gone, city officials and business leaders are confident they can attract further development to the city’s old core. A plan to bring a Sundance Cinemas project, or one like it, to the block that Travelers Aid would vacate, is still in the works. Sundance Cinemas has widely reported financial problems, but city officials are holding out hope that the company will bring an arts movie house to Providence.
The Providence Foundation is assisting in making all of that possible – launching a campaign last week to raise about $8 million for the Travelers Aid move.
“With or without Sundance, we have to make sure this (Travelers Aid move) happens in 2001,” said Richard J. Hoag, president and CEO of the Providence Washington Insurance Company and the outgoing chairman of the Providence Foundation. “It is the key to the development of the Downcity.”
At the group’s annual meeting – held last Thursday evening (Jan. 11) on the 13th floor of One Citizens Plaza – Hoag thanked “the hundreds of professionals who have been involved in a partnership to make a three-decade dream come true.”
Hoag cited the many accomplishments in the city in 2000, with Providence Place becoming fully operational, the Marriott Courtyard opening, and the reconstruction of Kennedy Plaza getting under way, just to name a few.
Hoag also pointed to a series of ongoing projects with which the Providence Foundation is working closely. The relocation of I-195, for example, the relocation of Travelers Aid, and the expansion of public parking and child care facilities within the downtown. He also pledged the organization’s support of Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr.’s ambitious “Three Cities” development proposal.
“As for I-195, everything is on time and on schedule — and we’re quite sure it will stay that way,” Hoag said.
Cianci offered his remarks to Providence Foundation members, emphasizing the resurgence of retail in Providence.
“The opening of Providence Place has, in one stroke, made downtown Providence the principal shopping and entertainment center of Rhode Island once again,” he said. “For the first time in at least a decade, more people were employed in retail in Providence than in Warwick. Specialty retail is, increasingly, our engine of growth. Since 1992, in fact, we have added 5,000 retail jobs in this city.”
The city continues in the midst of much change, said Cianci. He said it is a cleaner city and a safer city, with the number of stolen cars in the city falling by 50 percent since 1990. But he also acknowledged challenges.
“There continue to be concerns about safety after dark, particularly in the Downcity area,” he said. “As Downcity becomes a college campus and residential neighborhood, it is increasingly important that safety concerns be addressed. We have doubled our walking beat, increased lighting, used the mounted patrol more frequently, and installed surveillance cameras downtown.”
Also, last Thursday night, Hoag turned the chairmanship of the Providence Foundation over to Donna Cupelo, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Communications.
Cupelo said the group would continue to push through ongoing projects and focus on the Downcity.
“We believe we can make this city an extremely viable, economically developed place,” she said.
RIPTA honors businesses, unveils parking program
In related news, the Providence Foundation has honored 13 downtown businesses for their “demonstrated commitment to providing their employees with commuting choices other than the single occupant car trip.”
The businesses recognized participation in the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s “Express Travel Program.” The program offers commuter benefits and incentives to encourage people to use public transit and carpool in order to decrease traffic congestion and environmental pollution.
One of the commuter benefits available through the program is “Commuter Check” which provides tax-free incentives for employees who use public transit or carpool to the workplace and tax-deductible benefits to employers. “Express Travel” is also the official registry for the 500 High Occupancy Vehicle carpooling spaces at Providence Place.
RIPTA will soon offer a “Satellite Parking Pilot Program” to encourage commuters to park on the downtown’s periphery.
A RIPTA Satellite Parking vehicle will travel exclusively within the downtown, making stops at nine parking lots and garages, the financial district, existing bus stops, Johnson & Wales and many other locations downtown.
The new service comes as a recommendation of the Providence Foundation and the city planning department’s “Downtown Parking Study.” It will run Monday through Friday at peak hours and cost .50 per ride.
“We think it’s a great way to enhance the quality of life downtown,” said Daniel A. Baudoin, executive director of the Providence Foundation. “It will cut down on traffic congestion and pollution.”
The businesses honored by RIPTA as part of the “Express Travel Program” include: Textron; Bank Rhode Island; Providence Energy Corporation; The Providence Journal Company; Providence Place; Verizon; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island; Providence Washington Insurance Company; Edwards & Angell; Citizens Bank; FleetBoston Financial; and URI’s Feinstein College of Continuing Education.
