POTENTIAL GROCERY STORY: Pictured is the construction site of a six-floor housing project at 78 Fountain St. in Providence, where developers Cornish Associates and Nordblom Co. would like to see a grocery store occupy the ground floor. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
Downtown Providence is known as the central political and cultural district of Rhode Island. Among those who live and work there, it’s also known for something else: the lack of a supermarket. There are several small food stores and delis downtown. However, some residents and city officials said a supermarket is the missing piece to…
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A good city to emulate is San Diego where the downtown is now served by two supermarkets – Ralph’s and Albertson’s. Ralph’s is particularly interesting because it occupies a full city block and has underground parking with a movable belt type walkway to accommodate grocery carts. San Diego also has a vision that Providence leaders lack in that they know how many housing units are in the downtown area and what they see as a optimum downtown population in the future. To follow San Diego, Providence must first define downtown Providence with its boundaries, then they must determine the number of apartments and condos within that area and the population that exists today and then they must forecast how many residential units and the population considered to be optimal at a future date. That roadmap would then be a guide to how to incentivize the construction of the number of units to meet that goal. Also, Providence needs diversity in its resident downtown population – not just students and millennials – which is why the Fane Tower is so important to build.
Want to share this story? Click Here to purchase a link that allows anyone to read it on any device whether or not they are a subscriber.
A good city to emulate is San Diego where the downtown is now served by two supermarkets – Ralph’s and Albertson’s. Ralph’s is particularly interesting because it occupies a full city block and has underground parking with a movable belt type walkway to accommodate grocery carts. San Diego also has a vision that Providence leaders lack in that they know how many housing units are in the downtown area and what they see as a optimum downtown population in the future. To follow San Diego, Providence must first define downtown Providence with its boundaries, then they must determine the number of apartments and condos within that area and the population that exists today and then they must forecast how many residential units and the population considered to be optimal at a future date. That roadmap would then be a guide to how to incentivize the construction of the number of units to meet that goal. Also, Providence needs diversity in its resident downtown population – not just students and millennials – which is why the Fane Tower is so important to build.