The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial development has reached the I-195 Redevelopment District, where several projects are under construction, approaching groundbreakings or in design.
More than ever, the mix of what might be built on the former highway land is leading the public discussion.
For several years, observers have raised questions about whether too much residential development was heading to the district, meant to be a job-creation center for Rhode Island.
Now, some wonder if there isn’t too much retail space, too, as plans for new offices and research labs are put on hold.
Wexford Science & Technology LLC, seen as the catalyst for attracting innovation-oriented companies to Providence, has extended its option for purchasing additional land by two years. The amendment to its purchase and sale agreement for a second phase was approved on Sept. 23.
That phase was to include labs, research facilities and offices meant to expand the ability of Providence to claim some of the bioscience and technology jobs that typically head to Boston and other cities.
Wexford built a nearly 200,000- square-foot innovation building called Point225 in 2019, but it has yet to reach full occupancy. Still, Wexford says it is committed to the innovation district.
‘Build housing. We need people downtown.’
COLIN KANE, Peregrine Group LLC principal
Aside from Point225 and a 175-room Aloft Hotel under construction on an adjoining site, development in the I-195 district has leaned toward apartments and retail.
Exceptions include Parcel 6, on the east side of the Providence River in Fox Point, where the development team plans to attract a 13,000-square-foot grocery tenant.
Two developers are now competing for another available site, Parcel 9, also in the Fox Point neighborhood. One of the proposals, by Providence-based ONE Neighborhood Builders, would include a child care center run by nonprofit Children’s Friend as the primary commercial tenant.
So, is the district developing as it should?
Sharon Steele, president of the Jewelry District Association, said she’s confident Wexford will follow through on its plans when the economy rebounds. “This reflects what a smart, facile developer does when the economic situation does a 180,” she said of the extension on the purchase.
As for residential construction, she is among those who say the I-195 commission is leaning much too heavily toward apartments and housing. And developers are also pitching too much retail space, she noted. She cited the Exeter Property Group LLC project, which will be developed on Parcel 28. The company’s plans call for 20,000 square feet of retail and about 250 apartments.
“Given the amount of vacant, unused space in the Jewelry District, what’s the probability they’re going to fill up that space?” she said.
Colin Kane, the former chairman of the I-195 commission, and a principal of the East Providence-based Peregrine Group LLC, said that if the market calls for housing, then build housing. He heard arguments against residential construction when he started as chairman, he noted. A mass of people living downtown is economic development, he added.
“Build,” Kane said. “Build housing. We need people downtown. Downtown, multifamily density is what we need.”
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.
Sharon Steele who often talks without facts or perspective should come up a plan of how to fill the I-195 space with offices and laboratories rather than only offering up criticism/opposition of the obvious.