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A STRIKING DICHOTOMY marked planning and development in Providence through the ’90s: Backed by the publicly subsidized relocation of downtown rivers and his skill as a consummate promoter, Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr. presided over the city’s celebration as national shorthand for urban revitalization. But the mayor’s indefatigable cheerleading and the crowds of suburban visitors attracted to the city by WaterFires obscured a sparse amount of private investment during a decade when the national economy was mostly humming.
By the time of Cianci’s racketeering conspiracy conviction in June 2002, Providence seemed like both a far more vital city than in the past and a place marked by some glaring gaps between hype and reality. Signs of the Providence Renaissance, for example, remain few and far between in poor neighborhoods throughout the city. And although Downcity is home to an impressive amalgam of arts and entertainment options, it has yet to coalesce as a truly vibrant arts and entertainment district.
As it stands, the sluggish state of the national economy and the heightened anxiety of the post-9/11 age hardly seem to constitute auspicious conditions for sparking fresh growth. But even as the administration of Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline grapples with a $59 million budget deficit, the process of citywide planning and development is inexorably moving forward on a number of fronts.
Many observers expect the Cicilline administration to bring about a more methodical, merit-based approach to planning and development, and the mayor touts GTECH’s plan to relocate its headquarters in Providence, building the first new office tower in the Capital Center in 13 years, as an early dividend of his reform-minded administration. Across Interstate 95, a flurry of new retail and residential activity is unfolding in the stretch radiating from the rear of the Providence Place Mall to Olneyville Square — with uncertain consequences for some of the artists and low-income residents in the area. Most significantly, the relocation of Interstate 195 will open land for development while posing potential conflicts between private and public interests. Meanwhile, there are visionary concepts — such as decking over parts of Interstate 95 between downtown and Providence’s West Side — that, even if they seem unrealistic or improbable, could chart the future of the city.
It was back in the ’70s, after all, that the concept of uncovering and changing the course of Providence’s downtown rivers was first discussed. The city faces any number of challenges in the arena of planning and development — a paucity of affordable housing, the Balkanization of local political interests, and an absence of growth in certain crucial job sectors. But the process of urban planning and development typically encompasses two to three decades, and the near-term decisions being made in Providence will influence the city, for better or for worse, for years to come. Here’s a look at some of the focal points for future development and the prime planning issues facing the city:
ALTHOUGH IT has received scant public attention, the greatest highway construction project to hit Rhode Island in decades has already started — the relocation of Interstate 195, south of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier — and it offers some big opportunities.
The relocation of I-195 will free up 35 acres between Fox Point and the edge of downtown Providence, 20 of which will be suited for development, says Ed Parker, chief engineer for the state Department of Transportation (DOT). DOT currently owns the land, and the oversight for development rests with the city’s zoning code. Although the details have yet to be settled, there’s general agreement that this acreage will developed under the city’s Old Harbor plan, which calls for a mix of residential and commercial uses, with taller construction near the relocated highway and lower-scale development toward the waterfront.
Thomas Deller, Providence’s director of planning and development, says the intention is to use small development parcels to give construction a similar "fabric" as downtown and to knit the new growth into the adjoining Jewelry District. While little progress has been made toward the most ambitious elements of a conceptual plan for the Jewelry District — such as creating a canal on Ship Street — the number of neighborhood residents is gradually increasing, says Michael Hogue, president of the Jewelry District Association. The relocation of the highway and other factors — particularly the finalization of the Old Harbor plan and the development of the Heritage Harbor Museum — offer the promise of more closely unifying the Jewelry District with the surrounding areas.
Even more intriguing is the question of what will happen with the area south of the relocated I-195 — a strip of land stretching from the banks of the Providence River through India Point Park and toward the Seekonk River and East Providence. Some community activists see the relocation of the highway as a prime opportunity to optimize the land’s civic and economic use by mostly preserving it as green space. Such a plan, the thinking goes, would connect the downtown riverwalks with the Ocean State’s maritime past, drawing visitors and enhancing the public use of the area. With East Providence pursuing a plan to develop 300 acres of waterfront across the Seekonk, it would also offer the possibility of continuous green space and bike paths.
Although a scrap yard and railroad tracks occupied India Point until about 30 years ago, the area is rich in history. Roger Williams canoed by on his way to Seekonk in 1636. The shoreline was built up by John Brown for the Indies trade (thus the name of the park) and it was later a point of entry for tens of thousands of immigrants to Rhode Island. The park’s resurgence can be seen, says David P. Riley, co-chairman of the Friends of India Point Park, in the crowds that flock there on spring weekends, from Mexican soccer players to East Side dog walkers. The city Parks Department estimates that 75,000 people use India Point Park each year, making it the city’s third most active recreational area — and, says Riley, the most diverse.
The vision that park boosters are promoting for the surrounding stretch consists of keeping most of the land undeveloped as green space, with perhaps a city-leased restaurant and such low-impact uses as bicycle rentals and a small marina. Proponents cite the estimated $20 million annual economic impact of WaterFire in talking up the wisdom of maximizing public access to the waterfront. "I think we forcefully need to make the argument of the economic and civic benefits in the long term in protecting the one sensitive piece of bay shoreline that there is in the capital city of the Ocean State," Riley says. "The whole thrust is to have the riverwalks go to the shoreline [from the starting point at Waterplace Park]. It’s really completing the vision."
But the outlook for this plan remains uncertain, mostly because the land in question is either privately owned or held by the DOT. In an interview last week, Cicilline remained noncommittal about the vision put forth by the Friends of India Point Park. Calling the I-195 relocation a city planner’s dream, the mayor would say only that it’s important to pursue the project "with a very open mind" and "a process that really engages the community" and protects the city’s interest.
A related issue is posed by Narragansett Electric’s plan to relocate the high-voltage power lines on the Providence waterfront closer to the water, rather than burying them. Riley likens the concept to leaving scars on a patient after performing plastic surgery. But the plan stands at least for now, in large part because of the cheaper cost of moving the power lines ($1.5 million), rather than burying them ($8.2 million). A coalition led by the Friends of India Point Park is backing an effort to bury the power lines and says this can be done without posing a financial burden for the city, in part through a $1.20 annual charge for Narragansett Electric ratepayers.
page 1 page 2Issue Date: May 16 - 22, 2003
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