In the less than four months since we applauded the audacious $1.4 billion plan put forth by Procaccianti Group to develop Newport’s North End, the project has fallen apart. The city’s legislators opposed the deal, and so the crucial government component never came through.
Our endorsement was less about the specifics and more about the promise to pump some serious private money into this distressed corner of Newport. But the collapse of “02” does not signal the end for development efforts there. And truth be told, often it is the slower, more organic, ground-up economic revitalization that has a better chance to succeed and to endure.
We are, therefore, encouraged to see Newport move ahead with efforts to develop its North End one piece at a time. Government can help by creating the right conditions and making sure the development is consistent with the community standards, but it needn’t be the developer itself.
Even before the Procaccianti proposal, Newport’s North End had seen real improvements. The Community College of Rhode Island expanded there two years ago, and BankNewport is slated to build a new headquarters in that part of town next year. The city’s planning director is identifying separate parcels for development in the North End, including land along the water, and is actively marketing them.
And Newport has an important advantage in – the draw of Newport itself. The Newport “brand,” should help push development efforts along, with the appropriate level of encouragement from the government.
City lessons learned
in the countryside
As odd as it sounds, a farm redevelopment project here has earned an award from the New England chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism.
Tiverton’s Sandywood Farm is being converted by the Church Community Housing Corporation of Newport into a $14 million mixed-use artist community, keeping 50 of the 200 acres as a working farm.
With 50 affordable cottages for artists and 21 market-price homes this plan may not seem to be dense enough to follow New Urbanist principles. But New Urbanism is not just about clustering new housing in dense pockets to create walkable neighborhoods with easy access to commercial and retail services, which in turn provides for a more efficient delivery of public services. It is also about keeping sprawl from overtaking the green space that enriches us all.
Sandywood Farm will do all that in one location, keeping a farm alive and healthy, while creating a new community.
The principles that drive the development of Sandywood – respect for the natural environment and an emphasis on community – can and should be applied to future projects in the state’s urban centers. Safeguarding the available green space makes a difference whether it’s hundreds of acres of farmland, a park, or a swath of green along an urban byway. •