Historic Jewelry District
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Pedestrian Bridge 90% Plans Revealed

10/3/2014

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PictureArtist's conception: facing west
At a presentation on Monday, September 29, the City Planning Department detailed the latest revisions to the design for the Providence River pedestrian bridge as it moves toward a construction start in the Spring of 2015.

Director of Long Range Planning Bonnie Nickerson said the current plans adhere closely to the original concept. T
he number of seating elements which contain lighting elements has been increased. Stairs have been added to provide access to the two east-side piers. To keep overall costs under control, the event space on the lower level has been eliminated, and the square footage of the bridge deck has been trimmed.

The presentation included renderings of the interconnections with the east and west side parks and plan and elevation views of the bridge.
See the complete update here.

The new bridge will be the key link between the East Side and the Jewelry District for CiTY WALK on its route between India Point Park and Roger Williams Park. For a look at how the new bridge fits into CiTY WALK's plan for connecting Providence, click here.





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One Day, a Parking Lot, Give It a Year, a Transformation

9/3/2014

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The Johnson & Wales parking garage grew to its full height in what seemed like minutes. And now Johnson & Wales University has announced the construction of a new $40-million academic building just up the street on an irregular-shaped piece of former I-195 land.

Designed by
Edward Rowse Architects of Providence and Architectural Resources Cambridge of Cambridge, Mass., the new building will house the School of Engineering and Design, and the Alan Shawn Feinstein Technology and Design Center. Ground breaking is scheduled for Spring 2015, completion Fall, 2016.

Full details appear in the article from Providence Business News that you can read here.


Full details appear in the article from the Providence Journal that you can read here.
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A Garden Grows and Another Construction Joins the Exhibition

8/29/2014

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The Gazing Garden has grown its own garden to reflect on. The Providence Downtown Improvement District planted the corner of Pine and E. Franklin Streets a while back. Now, thanks to the care, feeding and watering by the team in Yellow Shirts you see around DownCity, the garden is flourishing grandly.

Just the other day, a new sculptural piece appeared between Bassett and Clifford Streets. Shown from two sides in the pictures below is RIB Sequence by Kurt Snell. Placed temporarily at the moment, RIB Sequence will be re-assembled on parcel 35 across Clifford Street when the big dirt pile there gets broken down by RIDoT later this month.

Jan Brodie, Executive Director of the 195 Redevelopment Commission, notes that:  Seven new pieces are going up at the end of this month/beginning of October. Three on the west side (including Snell’s piece) and two others near the Brown Medical School. Four new pieces will join the original pieces already in place on the east side of the river.

All these sculptures, including the original five that went up in May, will remain on display for up to a year. In the late fall, the Commission will post for new submissions to replace the five original installations. The idea is to keep generating new visual interest in the vacant 195 land as well as providing a highly visible showcase for new creations from Rhode Island's artistic community.


To see the other works already in place in the Jewelry District in this 195 Redevelopment Commission interim-use art project, click here.


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Catching up on Old News: Water Feature Ideas for River Park

8/10/2014

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PicturePhoto: WaterPics
A recent meeting of the 195 Redevelopment Commission reviewed ideas for a water feature in the new park on the west end of the new pedestrian bridge over the Providence River.

As the Providence Journal reported in its August 5, 2014, edition, the emphasis in the ideas varied from the fanciful to the practical. Read Kate Bramson's article here.

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195 Commission Mulls Five Proposed Projects, Rejects Three

8/10/2014

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Writing in the Providence Journal, Kate Bramson details the proposals currently on the table for land parcels in the 195 Redevelopment District.

"
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The developer preparing to renovate the old South Street Power Station near Davol Square into nursing schools, university offices and apartments proposed buying a nearby parcel of former Route 195 land for as much as $2.25 million to build a 150-room hotel, potentially a Starwood Hotels property.

But the bid by CV Properties, which has offices in Southport, Conn., and Boston, is among three proposals rejected by the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission, which released the proposals to The Providence Journal in response to a request for records."  Read her article here.

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Our Abandoned Power Plant Starts Back to Life in September

8/9/2014

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After years of sitting forlornly on the Providence River's west shore, the old Narragansett Electric power plant is about to get an exciting and very different new life.

With the lease arrangements approved by the legislature, work can now begin on converting the shell of the power plant into offices for Brown University, nursing school(s) for the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College.

Along with the re-purposing of the power plant will come new construction for a parking garage and graduate students housing.

For a complete look at a project that will transform the south end of the Jewelry District, see the Developers Report.
PicturePhoto: Two If By Land Surveys



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95 Chestnut Owner gives up proposal on 195 land

7/24/2014

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Kate Bramson, Providence Journal, July 24, 2014 reports that Hecht Development, among the companies that submitted proposals to develop land along the former path of Route 195, is no longer in the running, founder and CEO Ken Hecht said Tuesday.

Jan A. Brodie, executive director of the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission, recently told Hecht that it wouldn’t make sense to meet with the commission unless he had firm plans to build on the parcel, about half an acre adjacent to his property at 95 Chestnut St. that he rents to the Betaspring business accelerator program and other tenants.

“The commission, to their credit, is armed with the mission to have development occur — to have development occur now — and I understand it and appreciate that,” Hecht said. “And my proposal was not necessarily ‘Here’s the plans for the building; we’re going to start building next month.’” Click here for the complete article.

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Owner announces closing of South Street Cafe

7/3/2014

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For some 21 years, the South Street Cafe has been part of the restaurant and bar scene on Richmond Street. Passersby and a large and loyal group of patrons have read, with dismay and sympathy for the owner, the notice pasted inside the front windows:

To My Friends/ Customers of South Street:  I have made a decision based on the past couple of weeks with my personal health and new medical conditions that I am no longer able to continue with the South Street overall daily operation. South Street will be closing indefinitely on June 29th. I feel very fortunate to have been able to develop friendship with so many people over the past 21 years.
Thank you again for so many memories.
Paul
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Ward Baking granted a stay of execution

7/1/2014

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PictureGoogle Street View Photo
At a hearing on Monday, June 23, the Providence Historic District Commission denied an application to demolish the Ward Baking Company Building at 145 Globe Street in Providence's historic Jewelry District.

The structure stands prominently at the entry to downtown Providence at the intersection of Eddy Street and Allens Avenue. It is the last remnant of a much larger (and less characteristic) complex of buildings, that last was in use as Victory Plating. The rest of the property was cleared in recent years in preparation for re-development. The JDA campaigned to save the Ward Baking building. 

Ward Baking was included on the Providence Preservation Society's 2014 list of Most Endangered Properties. Constructed between 1908 and 1956, the structure is a post-World War II Deco/Moderne industrial building, a style that is rare in Providence.



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Garrahy parking lot transformation to garage advances

6/30/2014

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Picture116 High Altitude Photos
As the 2014 legislative session wound to a close, the long-planned/awaited Garrahy Courthouse parking garage came closer to realization. The lot, pictured at left, would become a multi-story garage with retail on the ground floor and a possible satellite RIPTA bus depot.

Things appear to be on the move all around that lot. The legislature  enabled the
joint Brown, Rhode Island College and University of Rhode Island re-purposing of the abandoned power plant on Dyer Street. That project alone will bring hundreds of new people into the district on a daily basis. Developers have expressed interest in several 195 parcels as the infrastructure work nears completion.  That means more people coming into the area.

As development proceeds and daily activity increases, additional parking will be sorely needed. So will the improved mass transit capabilities the proposed bus depot would bring to the District.

One of the 195 parcels mentioned as a possible site for a "life science incubator" is just off-camera diagonally across the
Clifford and Richmond intersection from the southwest corner of the current Garrahy parking lot.

In its issue for June 23d, Providence Business News provided background and full details.

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