When former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr. proposed a sweeping plan to transform downtown Providence with trees, wider sidewalks and upgraded lighting, the idea was met with broad support from city leaders and civic groups.
But more than a year after it was unveiled, the beautification and greenery proposal has gone nowhere.
“It’s very disappointing,” said Paolino, managing director of Paolino Properties LP, a major downtown property owner. “I haven’t heard anything from anybody on it.”
That doesn’t mean the idea has been abandoned, according to city officials and local civic groups.
In fact, Austin Grondin, spokesperson for Mayor Brett P. Smiley, said Paolino’s plan aligns with the administration’s priorities, adding that the city is already performing tree planting, landscaping and other downtown beautification as part of its usual maintenance.
But Grondin stopped short of outlining any specific path forward for Paolino’s proposal, which called for work to be done along Dorrance, Friendship, Pine and Fulton streets.
Meanwhile, City Councilman John Goncalves, who introduced the council resolution supporting Paolino’s plan, noted that the unanimously approved measure did not commit city funding, and the project was not adopted as a municipal project.
Goncalves, whose Ward 1 includes downtown, said he is still reviewing what discussions have taken place since the resolution was passed in February 2025.
The plan, commissioned by Paolino himself and developed by Traverse Landscape Architects LLC, outlined street-by-street recommendations for several corridors aimed at making downtown more attractive to residents, visitors and businesses.
Paolino paid $25,000 for the 30-page plan, which included renderings of the various streets, and presented his vision to Smiley, city officials and The Providence Foundation in late 2024.
It was clear early on that finding money to pay for the work – Paolino didn’t have cost estimates – could be a sticking point.
At the time, Paolino acknowledged the need for the private sector, city leadership and nonprofit groups to develop funding sources and “work in unison to make it happen.”
But the proposal ultimately stalled after those early presentations failed to lead to a plan to pay for the work, according to Paolino.
Paolino said competing municipal priorities have likely contributed to the project losing momentum, including the city’s costly winter storm response this year, which he said may have absorbed discretionary funding.
“The private sector can’t do this alone,” he said. “I think everybody likes it. I just don’t think there’s anybody who wants to step up and write a check for it.”
David Salvatore, executive director of The Providence Foundation – the nonprofit-focused economic development long-term visionary city project – said the organization was an early supporter of the idea and he does not consider it dead.
But at the moment, Salvatore said, the foundation is prioritizing housing and transit in its funding decisions.
He expects to return to the beautification proposal later this year. Any path forward, he said, would likely involve the Providence Downtown Improvement District, a group paid for by downtown businesses that manages the bright-yellow uniformed “clean team.”
Downtown Improvement District Executive Director Robert S. Russell, too, would not commit to Paolino’s beautification plan, pointing instead to the organization’s ongoing downtown upkeep.
Despite the proposal’s standstill, Paolino said he believes there is still value in the plan.
“It would change the face of the downtown,” he said. “I hope other city leaders can really embrace this dream of making the city greener.”
