August 20, 1999, the day Providence Place – all 206,000 square feet of it – opened its doors. There is no question that the opening of Providence Place marks the most dramatic change in Rhode Island’s retail climate since the early 1970s – when retail abandoned the city for the big-box malls and strip-malls of the suburbs. More than 10 years in the making, the mall immediately took its place as the crowning jewel of Providence’s redevelopment efforts.
For the first time in decades, a true retail presence had returned to Rhode Island’s capital city.
Beyond Cash Donations: How New Forms of Giving Are Transforming Not-for-Profit Accounting
Evolving Funding Landscape for Not-for-Profits Not-for-profit organizations are being asked to do more with less,…
Learn More
Those who were there in the beginning will remember the glistening floors of Nordstrom, the sounds of its grand piano, thousands of shoes and a spectacular view of the State House from Café Nordstrom on the third floor. And they will remember the carpeted floor of the mall’s interior, glass elevators and the elegance of so many of its stores.
But Providence Place in 1999 will also be remembered for construction workers, detours, sawdust and a rather confusing and unfinished parking garage.
While the 1999 version of Providence Place delivered “the Cadillac of retailers” in Nordstrom and Filene’s as anchors, along with a varied collection of nearly 100 other retailers, and several restaurants – including an enormous Dave & Busters by year’s end – it did not deliver a 16-screen Hoyt’s Cinema complex or a Lord & Taylor. The theaters and remaining anchor are scheduled to open during the first quarter of 2000.
In fact, as 1999 drew to a close, nearly one-third of the mall’s space continued to await the arrival of tenants.
Despite its unfinished state, Providence Place appeared to be attracting steady crowds as the holiday season approached. The parking garage was packed most evenings and weekends and restaurants such as Fire & Ice, Napa Valley Grille and The Cheesecake Factory often had long waits.
Providence Place clearly spurred continued investment at other malls in the area. Lincoln Mall has a new owner and plans for major renovations, a new anchor is expected to arrive at Warwick Mall in 2000 and the parking lot of Rhode Island Mall is making way for a Chuck-E-Cheese.
Garden City Shopping Center in Cranston continues to evolve – and draw crowds. Borders moved from one end of the center to another. Its former anchor location must be filled. There is talk of a scaled down Home Depot coming to nearby Sockanosset Crossroads, at the site of the former Davol property.
On Route 2 in Warwick, North Carolina-based Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, the second largest home improvement retailer in the world, is poised to rise out of the site of the now closed Warwick Musical Theater. It is one of only a few developable parcels along the congested road.
Overall, it was a third quarter comeback of sorts for small businesses in the East.
According to the latest Padgett Business Services quarterly report, while behind the national average of 7.82 percent, Eastern small business owners realized a minor .41 percent increase in operating income quarter-over-quarter. It may be due in large part to an 11.81 percent quarter-over-quarter increase in wages.
The third quarter results come on the heels of what was a rough second quarter for small businesses in the East.
According to a Padgett survey released just months ago, a tight labor market and a decrease in consumer spending was to blame for a 6 percent quarter-over-quarter decline in operating growth among small businesses in the region. That survey showed wage expenses up 9.4 percent, due to the low unemployment rate.
In the third quarter, according to the Georgia-based international accounting franchiser, Eastern small businesses kept pace with the nation’s rate of real GDP growth with a 5.47 percent increase in revenue.
Based on fourth quarter projections of 2000 small business owners, many anticipated riding the third quarter wave of success into the next quarter. Of those surveyed by Padgett, 59 percent indicated that they expect an increase in sales in the fourth quarter, most likely in anticipation of the holiday season.
