Hotel, condo development rising 20 stories awaits OK

Artist's conception of layout plan<br>for Parcel 2 development.<br>(Courtesy of Eastman Pierce)
Artist's conception of layout plan
for Parcel 2 development.
(Courtesy of Eastman Pierce)

The developer of what’s called Parcel 2 in Providence’s Capital Center, is hoping to win approval for a height variance from the Providence City Council by early next month, paving the way for construction of a multi-use development that would reach 20 stories in height in some areas.

Eastman Pierce of Newport and Stamford, Conn. hopes to build a complex that would include a 225-room Hilton Hotel, 150 condominium units, 100,000 square feet of office space, 15,000 square feet of retail and 15,000 square feet of restaurant space. It is an ambitious project that Morgan X. Helies of Eastman Pierce expects to cost $150 million to build.

Helies is hoping the full city council will approve the plan by early August, which would allow for groundbreaking this fall, said John R. Gowell of the law firm, Peabody & Arnold, which is representing Eastman Pierce. If all goes well, Helies said, the project should be completed by the end of the first quarter in 2004.

There were some concerns over proposals for the height of some parts of the complex, along with parking. The parking concerns were raised by some in the business community, but Gowell and Helies said the project not only exceeds the city’s zoning requirements, but will be more than sufficient for the structure. Helies and Gowell said zoning requires 355 spaces, but the developer is planning on 400 to 500 spaces.

- Advertisement -

The issue over the height of the buildings is really an issue over concept. Gowell said the project would not have needed zoning approval, if it were designed as a lower structure, in keeping with both Providence Place and the Wasserman office project that is planned opposite the Westin Hotel.

However, Gowell and Helies said the concept was to build up to allow for more “flexibility” and 48 percent more open space.

“Squeeze it up and you make open space,” said Gowell, noting that plans call for an open plaza and public space. The plan as proposed to the city council modifies an earlier one that would have added another 32 feet to the project that would now be about 200 feet at its highest point.

The 625,000 square foot building, if approved, will be located adjacent to Waterplace Park, behind the American Express Building. It is one of several projects designed to capitalize on Providence’s lower than Boston’s office space cost, and on the growing popularity of the city.

“The tenants will be those fleeing Boston,” said Helies, noting the increasingly frequent rail service linking the cities. “This is a city now.”

Making it more of a “city now,” along with Helies’ project, will be several others that are in various states of planning, including conceptual.

Capital Center’s Parcel 9 at Nine Waterplace Park, bordered by Memorial Boulevard, Francis Street and Waterplace Park. The $60 million, 10-story, 300,000 square foot building will be the first to be built in downtown Providence since Citizens Plaza was built in 1990. It is planned to have six floors of class A office space, parking for 300 cars, and two floors of restaurant and retail space. Starwood Wasserman, LLC is the developer. Completion is expected in the fall of 2003.

Gowell and Helies said the Citizens Plaza parking lot is actually divided into four parcels, one of which is planned for a high-rise 190-unit apartment complex, another a parking garage. Plans have yet to be disclosed relative to the other two parcels, according to Gowell and Helies.

Another hotel is planned for Parcel 12, which is across from the Citizens Bank building, near what used to be the railroad station property. That parcel is owned by Paolino Properties.

No posts to display