PROVIDENCE – A redevelopment plan for three buildings on Westminster Street owned by Cornish Associates received final approval by the city’s Downtown Design Review Committee on Feb. 12.
The project will renovate the Lapham and Wit buildings for conversion to a mix of commercial and residential units and renovate and expand the Trayne Building for a similar purpose.
In all, 54 apartments will be created on the upper floors of the buildings.
The expansion of the Trayne Building will push the building into the park owned by Cornish, consuming about 25 feet of the space, according to Joe Haskett, a senior associate for Providence-based Union Studio Architecture and Community Design.
The popular and free “Movies on the Block” series will be retained, Haskell said, but will have to be redesigned for the remaining park because the wall the movies are shown against will be blocked by a finished addition with windows.
The Wit Building, a two-story commercial building, will remain a commercial building. Its floors will be connected to the first two floors of the renovated Lapham Building. The remaining floors of the L-shaped Lapham Building will be converted to residential apartments.
The project has received approvals from federal and state historic preservation authorities, according to Haskett, and should begin this year.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
