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Tops Electric (aka Barstow Stove Company) Makes the PPS 10 Most Endangered List for 2017

2/12/2017

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Imágenes: El Norberto
At its January 25th Annual Meeting, the Providence Preservation Society announced its 2017 Ten Most Endangered Properties list. While the Ward Baking Company on Eddy Street didn't make the list this year, the Tops Electric building on Point Street did.

Here's the description from the PPS website.

The Barstow Stove Company was founded by Amos Chaffee Barstow in 1836 and expanded to the complex on Point Street in 1849. The oldest building on the site (west) dates back to 1849 and has a monitor roof, granite window lintels, and a corbelled brick cornice. Today three buildings remain on the site: a four-and-one-half-story brick building with a jerkinhead gable roof, a three-story brick building with a flat roof, and the original 1849 building. A neon sign reading: “TOPS” is prominently displayed on the building’s west elevation. Fenestration on the original block consists of a combination of 1/1 replacement sash, bricked in openings and 8-light sash on the top floor. Fabric awnings project above window openings on the second story level. Attached to the rear (south) is a large, rectangular, flat-roof, concrete block. The central and eastern blocks of the complex also feature replacement 1/1 sash windows. Pedestrian entrances are located along the Point Street elevation.
By 1859, the company had 200 employees and made 50 different kinds of stoves and furnaces. The company eventually acquired the competing Spicer Stove Company, making Barstow the only stove foundry in Providence, and the largest in New England. The complex included two molding rooms, a flask storage building, a room for stoves, storage areas for up to 5000 stoves, and pattern storage.
Barstow began producing gas stoves in the 1920s to keep up with contemporary technology, but could not compete and went out of business in the 1930s. For around ten years the plant was occupied by the Home Service Company, which did household repairs. Since 1974, Tops Electric Company has operated out of the complex, but it was sold in 2015 to the current owners who are evaluating potential uses and redevelopment scenarios.

To see the complete PPS Most Endangered list for the city, click HERE.




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The District Restaurant & Bar Has Opened for Business

2/7/2017

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Add a welcoming new dining place to the District's Richmond Street restaurant row: Since a soft opening at year end, The District has been plying its patrons with plenty of food, drink and conviviality at 99 Richmond St.

"We’ve just opened, for lunch and dinner every day except Monday, from 11:30 on. Kitchen closes at midnight. Sunday brunch. Our idea is to serve the lunch crowd really fast. Our pizza oven can turn out 90 pizzas an hour! We have a private room upstairs for 15-20 people," Jennifer Freitas, the major domo of The District detailed at the JDA January meeting.

As you walk up to The District, you'll recognize a familiar face that's had major reconstructive surgery. Yes, this is the old South Street Cafe. For the past year it has been rebuilt from stem to stern, kitchen to dining and bar areas. Everything is new except the basic outside shape of the building.

Drop in for snacks, a full dinner and refreshments, and welcome the newest JDA business member.



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Promised Award Made to CiTY WALK.

2/6/2017

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Yes, the threatened award to CiTY WALK announced in our previous post was well and truly presented on January 25th at the Annual Meeting of the Providence Preservation Society.

Collecting the honor were JDA members and chief spark plugs for getting CiTY WALK off, er... ON the ground: Dan Bauduoin, Executive Director of the Providence Foundation, Phoebe Blake, Chair of the Planning & Zoning Committee of the Jewelry District Association and Ron Henderson, L+A Landscape Architecture.

The award recognizes "special initiatives or commitment to preservation values in the previous year by an individual, organization, community or group in specific categories."

As also mentioned in the previous post, thanks to hard work, campaigning, making presentations and developing the CiTY WALK concept in detail, this project to knit Providence neighborhoods together with a bike and walking pathway has already been awarded TIP Federal/State Grant of $1.9 million for further development.

And the good news doesn't end there. The City of Providence applied to participate in a new initiative of PeopleForBikes called "The Big Jump Project". 80 cities applied, and 10 — including Providence — were selected.

The name "Big Jump Project" refers to the organization's hoped for increase in bicycling nationwide. The Providence focus area is CiTY WALK and its surroundings. CITY WALK will receive $200,000 in-kind services for infrastructure and programming, annually, for three years.

Great news! And major congratulations to Dan and Phoebe and the whole team and CiTY WALK's supporters for great work!


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Award Slated for CiTY WALK at PPS Annual Meeting

1/3/2017

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CiTY WALK, a city-wide idea born and bred in the Jewelry District, has just been named the winner of a Preservation Initiative Award by the Providence Preservation Society. The award recognizes "special initiatives or commitment to preservation values in the previous year by an individual, organization, community or group in specific categories."

CiTY WALK will be recognized in the Community Involvement category. The award will be presented on January 25th at the Providence Preservation Society Annual Meeting. For more information about all the  awards, see the article from Providence Business News HERE.

The PPS Annual Meeting and awards presentation is open to the public. Registration is required, which you can accomplish via the PPS website, HERE.

In the works for several years, CiTY WALK has come to realization thanks to the efforts of a city-wide coalition of individuals and organizations. Spearheading its development, the JDA Planning & Zoning Committee has been working with the Providence Foundation, Ron Henderson/L+A Landscape Architecture, the Providence Planning Dept. and neighborhood organizations along the route between Roger Williams and India Point Parks.

CiTY WALK was included as one of the projects in the long-range Rhode Island Transportation Improvement Plan for 2017-2025 submitted for Federal funding. In 2016, a total of approximately $1.9 million was approved for design and implementation during  2017-2018. So the work can begin now! 

For details about CiTY WALK, click HERE.



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Johnson & Johnson's Coming to the District... for a While.

12/22/2016

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The Governor's Office announced on Monday that global healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson is opening a new technology center in Rhode Island. The news is significant for the District because J & J will take up temporary residence at One Ship Street. 

J & J will be hiring personnel for a new healthcare technololgy center — up to 75 people —  aiming at a Spring 2017 opening. For full details, as usual, consult Kate Bramson writing in the Providence Journal Dec. 19... HERE.

One Ship Street, long the home of law firm Lynch & Greenfield, was sold to Wexford Science & Technology for use in connection with the innovation center they are developing next door on 195 Parcels 22 and 25. (See more details on Wexford on the PROJECTS Progress page.)

It's not clear where the office will finally locate, but in the meantime, more new faces in the District!



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PARL Shows Off a New Adoption Area in Expanded Facility.

12/16/2016

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On December 14, the Providence Animal Rescue League (PARL) held an open house to introduce a newly-built Dog Adoption Area at its facility at 34 Elbow St.  We'll let PARL's Kristina McKenzie give you the details.

"Bigger, brighter, quieter and more flexible, the 370 square foot expansion features new double-sided kennels in an acoustically damped space."


"Replacing dilapidated ‘70s-era cyclone-fenced kennels, the new space is designed to reduce stress and maximize health for dogs awaiting adoption at the shelter. It features offset entrances so dogs don’t have to see one other, acoustic panels to lessen barking noise, varied kennel sizes to accommodate larger dogs or multiples sharing space, and an inviting area to welcome prospective adopters."

"Funded in part by generous gifts from the Champlin Foundations, the Rhode Island Foundation, and the Carter Family Charitable Trust, this new space will be a comfortable and reduced-stress home for the hundreds of dogs PARL cares for each year."

Executive director Kara Larson said, “It’s very exciting for us to end 2016 with such a wonderful new space opening. It’ll make the holidays a little better for our dogs this year.”

Having taken a tour of the new center, we have a suggestion. PARL currently houses a number of  appealing residents. Why not make the holidays even better for one of them:  Drop by, put the new adoption area to the test... take home a pup!



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Chestnut Commons Passes Muster. CV Wexford Details First-Phase Plan for Parcels 22 & 25 to 195 Commission

12/13/2016

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Providence, December 13. At a standing-room-only monthly meeting of the 195 Redevelopment District Commission, two major project moved ahead to next stages. The first tangible project proposals for the former I-195 land since the completion of the Johnson & Wales U. engineering building, they represent the latest, major steps for the future of the District.

The Commission gave design approval to Waldorf Capital Management for its apartment development at 91 Chestnut Street. Now the developers can proceed with the City permitting process as they aim for a Spring 2017 ground breaking. For details on Chestnut Commons, click HERE.

In a detailed presentation to the public, CV Wexford announced two anchor tenants for space in the first phase, 190,000 square foot "innovation center."  Brown University has signed a letter of intent to move its Professional Studies faculty from its current location across the street. And the Cambridge Innovation Center will take space for the latest location for what has become a nationwide group of creative hotpoints. 

After deliberating in Executive Session, the Commission reopened the public session with a vote to commit up to $18.5 million from its Incentive Fund to the project. The project will also qualify for state Rebuild RI credits.

Kate Bramson reports on the Commission's meeting and its decisions in the Providence Journal HERE.

Ted Nisi follows up on Channel 10 WPRI with his report on the news conference a jubilant  Gov. Raimondo held the next day, which you can see HERE.

And for a quick survey of projects planned and parcels you could put your own project on, see an informative map from the Providence Journal HERE.

A note about the architect's conception, above, from the CV Wexford presentation: don't get excited about all that green sweeping from Dyer Street to the river. Yes, half of that will be Our Park; The Fane Organization is considering using the other half for a very large, view-of-the-river-blocking apartment complex. The fully rendered buildings are planned for Phase One. Buildings in white are for later phases of the CV Wexford project. The woods at left are now filled with construction underway for the South Street Landing parking garage and the National Grid Switch Gear Building.
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A Whole New Story... or a Lot Fewer Stories, for the Moment, on the Riverfront.

12/8/2016

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Yes, a whole new story has been offered by Fane Developers. After creating a stir, to say the least, with their proposal for a tri-towered colossus on the Providence River, the New York developers have tempered their enthusiasm — or gotten a dose of realism, depending on whom you talk to — and now offer us 43 stories of apartments overlooking the riverfront park.

Call it an improvement or a something else, the new proposal is a mere shadow of the 33- 43- 55-story trio of towers that would have put our park in perpetual shadow, if our calculations are correct.

The base of the proposed tower is now only wide enough for two towers. That's a relief for  people crossing the foot/bike bridge: now they won't have to circumnavigate a 600+ foot wide five-story barrier in order to get to and from the park. Of course, the mighty plinth currently on the drawing board will still cast a  formidable shadow of its own over sun-bathers in the park. And, should tenants show up in droves, Fane Developers will move forward on the second... and third towers, although at somewhat reduced height.

Early days, as they say.

How many more shoes will be dropped? What market realities will intrude? How massive will the subsidy and tax relief requests be? Too early to say.

Kate Bramson offers her fair and balanced view in the Providence Journal that you can read,
RIGHT HERE.

And coverage from GO Local Prov, including comments from some community leaders. Read Kate Nagel's article, HERE.
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Stefan Pryor, Commerce Secretary, Talks about Progress on District Development on Public Radio

12/2/2016

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PicturePhoto: Ian Donnis

This morning on Rhode Island Public Radio's Political Roundtable focused on development projects in the District. Joining regulars Scott MacKay and Maureen Moakley, was Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce (and Jewelry District resident) Stefan Pryor.

Recently seen  one Saturday morning helping inflate a balloon bridge to celebrate the start of work on the pedestrian bridge, Pryor offered a wide-ranging view of what's going on in our increasingly fast-changing neighborhood.

Ian Donnis opened with a question about the I-!95 Commission's commissioning of a $10,00 study of the new proposal for a skyscraping residential complex (see preceding story), and things went on from there. The conversation covered a number of topics, and included a strong nod to the work of stakeholder organizations such as the JDA. Pryor wound up the broadcast with an upbeat, declaration that "Wexford is still on the way...and advancing beautifully...things are happening... Stay tuned for plenty more!"

It's all about our neighborhood and you can listen to the broadcast HERE.

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Massive Residential Project Announced for Parcel 42

11/22/2016

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PictureThe Fane Organization; Sol Wassermuhl, architect, IBI Group.
On Monday, Nov. 14, with a large, excited crowd on hand at the 195 Commission meeting, New York developers, The Fane Organization, unveiled an epic concept for Hope Point Towers. The project will erect three towers atop a massive retail and parking garage base in the one-acre 195 Parcel 42 along Dyer Street.

To say that the grandeur of the concept boggles the mind is massively understating things. Three towers, to be built in phases, of 33, 44 and 55 stories will each dramatically o'ertop everything in the District, the Superman Building and nearly everything else Downcity.

Rather than comment on scant information (we missed the meeting), we refer you to Kate Bramson who was there and gave us the full story, with pictures, in two articles in the Providence Journal.

The concept presentation story, HERE.

And an introduction to the "well-connected" developers, HERE.

Stay tuned for what may, or may not, remake the historic skyline of the DIstrict and our city.

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