Travelers Aid, theater plan near approval

While the city appears to have worked out some details of a plan to relocate the Travelers Aid Society of Rhode Island from its Union Street location downtown to the Providence YMCA on Broad Street – and in its place deliver a coveted Sundance Film Center – nothing has been signed, sealed – or delivered. The city also hopes to develop a parking garage and retail shops in the same vicinity.

Marion Avarista, president of Travelers Aid for the last 15 years, was anxious last week to hear from the city, noting at the time that she “had nothing in writing.”

It’s like he said in the movie, said Avarista; “Show me the money.”

The long-discussed move of Travelers Aid and the recruitment of Sundance appear to be closer to a reality, but several hurdles still must be cleared.

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Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr. told a gathering of business leaders at a Rhode Island Foundation breakfast meeting last Wednesday that the long-awaited developments were on the fast track.

“Sundance’s presence will empower us to create a signature site for Travelers Aid at the YMCA on the southern border of our downtown,” he said. “some of these changes will involve creating a new entrance, a beautification of that area of Broad Street, and utilizing minority and local contractors to transform the Y into a terrific site for Travelers Aid and its clients.”

While not releasing details, city officials suggest that the deal to purchase the Union Street property is in fact imminent. Efforts are also under way to condemn other properties in the area.

At least Joseph Paolino, Jr., a developer and former mayor of Providence owns two of those properties -the building on Weybosset Street with Dunkin Donuts on the ground floor, and an adjacent parking lot .

Paolino has received written notice of the city’s intention to condemn the properties.

“With that situation, it has been difficult for me to rent or fix upwe have vacancies there,” he said.

Paolino has no intention of standing in the way of the development opportunities on and around Union Street. He said he is intrigued by the idea of Sundance and the boost it could give the city’s arts district.

“We want to be cooperative with the city,” said Paolino. “We will work with all parties involved during this process.”

Moving Travelers Aid

The city has been hoping to move Travelers Aid for some time, in hopes of using the space that would be created on Union Street – which connects Washington and Westminster Streets.

And now, according to Cianci, the deal is close to being done.

“We’re trying to get Sundance in here – and they’re willing to come,” said Cianci. “We would like to place them where Travelers Aid is presently located.”

Cianci said the YMCA will build new space and some Travelers Aid operations may be decentralized – spread throughout other Providence YMCA locations. He also said that the construction of a parking garage is also well past the planning stages and that any businesses forced to move from Union Street will be relocated.

“We’re not going to knock businesses out, we’re going to relocate them,” he said. “It’s really going to clean up that area.”

But moving Travelers Aid has long been a contentious issue.

Avarista has nothing against parking garages, retail shops or the Sundance project, but her priority rests with the 200 people who come through her doors each day and the 4,000 clients that Travelers Aid serves annually.

Since discussions to move the facility began long ago, she has steadfastly refused to compromise the agency’s well being. Avarista’s stance has been simple. Any such move must be an upgrade, with more space for services and access for clients that may visit from throughout the state.

Inside the agency’s Union Street headquarters, Travelers Aid is about much more than help for drug and alcohol abusers. It is common to see volunteer lawyers consulting with clients who may have a dispute with an unreasonable landlord. Abused teens receive counseling. A homeless mother may visit a doctor with her children.

Both Providence Councilwoman Balbina Young and Sen. Charles D. Walton, a Providence Democrat, have questioned the impending move of Travelers Aid to the YMCA on Broad Street.

Walton said he wholeheartedly supports the agency’s mission, but he wonders if there may be a better-suited location somewhere in the city.

“The South Side of the city is already at a high stress level,” he said. “Too many people with vast social and economic needs seem to be pushed to the South Side. I support what Travelers Aid is all about, but if I had my druthers, I would want to look at some of the state properties that are out there and maybe find larger accommodations for their needs.”

Walton would like to see more details to help gauge the real impact of the agency on the South Side.

“Does Travelers Aid have food services,” he asked? “Will this put more pressure on Amos House? Does Travelers Aid have a community health center?”

Moving to the YMCA center may make sense, said Avarista, because it is still basically within walking distance of downtown and is on a bus line. Such a move may also allow the agency to expand its services, she said.

But Travelers Aid has been downtown since in was founded in 1894 and it now owns the Union Street building. The agency isn’t going anywhere until it signs off on a deal that makes economic sense.

Avarista also points out that moving Travelers Aid to the YMCA will not dramatically change the landscape of downtown – if that’s what some people are thinking.

“We’re here because our population is here,” she said. “This isn’t anything new. The population is still going to be here.”

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