PROVIDENCE — Three development teams, three different visions for the cleared land in the Interstate-195 District on the East Side of Providence, the parcels closest to the historic neighborhoods of College Hill and Fox Point.
The I-195 Redevelopment District Commission invited three prospective builders to present their plans for Parcels 3, 5, and/or 6 in a public forum Wednesday.
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The Carpionato Group, of Cranston, has the largest and potentially most controversial proposal — a plan that would cover all three parcels in an integrated development called The Row at College Hill. Elements would include 74,000-square-feet of retail, a restaurant, meeting space, a 70-room hotel, 200,000-square-foot of new office space and a biological lab facility. The development also includes 104 apartments over two parcels, according to the overview presentation.
Post Road Residential, a Connecticut-based firm, has its focus on just one site initially — Parcel 5. It has proposed a residential building, over parking, with 160 luxury units, with a shared work space on the Wickenden Street side. The urban redevelopment company has recently completed new residential buildings in Everett, Mass., and in New Haven, Conn., said company founder Andy Montelli.
Spencer Providence, which is led by Morgan Helies, of Providence, has a proposal for 22 townhouse condos, which would be sold as residences. The project, called Southwick Place, includes a series of walkable alleyways, and would include a restaurant, hotel and potentially a grocery store, and would cover two adjoining parcels — 2 and 5.
In the public hearing, several speakers advocated for specific projects, and strongly objected to others.
Providence City Councilman Seth Yurdin, who represents the neighborhood, in a letter read into the record decried the Carpionato project as more suburban in design, and out of scale for the bordering neighborhood. He urged the commission to reject it.
“The proposed development would greatly detract from the character of the surrounding neighborhood, and does not reflect the type of urban design or the economic development goals envisioned for the I-195 district.” Yurdin also wrote that it would be a mistake to put all of the East Side parcels under the control of one developer.
Carpionato has already agreed to sign a project labor agreement, promising to work with union trades on the development. And several union representatives advocated strongly for the work on Wednesday. Michael Sabitoni, who leads the organization of construction unions, said it’s time for Providence to have a vision of what it can become, not what it was in the past. Without identifying the project by name, he critiqued the smaller scale of the Spencer Providence proposal. And said the Carpionato project is more in line with what was intended for the district.
“Consider a developer that has a real project, a real track record in Rhode Island. Cities on the move have vision,” he said. “Putting a row of townhouses on that property is not my idea of visionary. This would be a significant, important project.”
Another speaker was critical of what none of the projects included – any housing for working-class Providence residents, or people with moderate incomes.
Cristian Potter, who lives in North Providence, reminded the council that the I-195 district in Fox Point replaced what had been a black neighborhood. “I would like you guys to consider that none of these projects are talking about workforce housing. They’re building things for people who don’t exist.”
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
