Middletown.
Located between Newport and Portsmouth, Middletown’s name reflects its purpose and lack of distinct identity, but that may all be changing.
The question is when.
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Last year Newport Collaborative Architects and East Providence’s Gates, Leighton & Associates submitted a plan to the Middletown Town Council that Town Planner Michelle Maher hopes will come to fruition within two years.
Maher has been working on the plan to build a town center in Middletown since 1997 when she began her senior thesis on town centers as part of the Master of Community Planning program at University of Rhode Island.
“The concept of a town center has always been a New England tradition, but there are towns in New England that don’t have one and have become a drive-through,” she said. “(We are) taking a traditional notion and reintroducing it to a community that has never had the benefit of it before.”
An ordinance was enacted by the town in 1998, which said no new signs could be made of anything other than wood on Middletown’s two main streets, East Main Road (Route 138) or West Main Road (Route 114).
Maher said the idea was to give the town a more colonial feel.
“The impetus (for the new town center) came from the sign ordinance,” she said. “We were tired of all the big neon signs along Route 114. Then the design review came to looking to a town center.”
Maher said Middletown has started colonializing these two roads because they are the gateway to where the new town center will be, where the two roads meet and form a ‘Y.’
Maher said area companies have been cooperative so far.
“When the ordinance came up nobody spoke out against it,” she said. “The corporations want their basic cookie-cutter buildings but they’re learning that this planning board will not allow it.”
Maher said the area they have chosen makes sense because there is already a major shopping center located in that area, a post office, two banks, and the town hall is right down the street. In addition to these amenities the new town center will include a skating park, a community amphitheater, a community green, pedestrian bridges and about 180,000 square feet of new retail space.
One of the models upon which the plan for Middletown town center was based was Cape Cod’s Mashpee Commons.
Arnold Robinson, director of planning for Newport Collaborative said when coming up with a plan, Newport Collaborative and Gates, Leighton & Associates were influenced by the way Mashpee Commons was flavored with a bit more linkage to transportation and architectural character.
But will Middletown town center simply be a replica of the new colonial shopping areas, which have been popping up within the past few years?
Robinson says no.
“It can be that way if you apply it in a formulaic way,” he said, “but a lot of urban planners and architects realize when you want to make a place interesting it’s got to be unique.”
Keith Stokes, executive director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce agreed.
“What’s important about this is creating a town center identity for the town of Middletown,” said Stokes, “but also it’s an opportunity to develop community areas versus what we have now, which is pressure to build on open space, farm space and watershed areas.”
Stokes said Middletown residents should be applauded for their initiative.
“Very few communities in Rhode Island would take this type of leadership role,” he said. “The issue today is how de we move forward, and I think we should move forward in a cautious planning manner that allows for full public participation.”
Stokes said he has spoken with several interested developers, but the town need not rush.
“The market isn’t going to change,” he said. “The town has a great chance to just sit back and make the best effort to take a cautious approach to planning so they can create the best project for their needs.”
Maher said she is optimistic about the project happening soon because of the activity on East and West Main Roads.
“It’s working every day in terms of papers coming in, and in terms of renovations and revamping, but it’s all going to depend on a private developer,” she said. “And we’d like to see it begin within the next two years.”
(Image, Newport Collaborative and Gates, Leighton & Associates)
