Pawtucket makes its move (continued)

AS PIECES LIKE this fall into place, city officials feel more and more confident about Pawtucket’s future. "As people came into Rhode Island looking for places, we got dressed up for the ball," says planning director Mike Cassidy. "When the date came knocking and said, ‘Hey, do you want to go out tonight?’ We were all ready." But is Pawtucket really ready for the big time? Will the arts and new real estate activity be enough to solve Pawtucket’s problems, especially in the downtown?

Even with the scheduled arrival in June of Crazy Burger — the first new restaurant to come to the area in recent memory — and the potential for more activity, downtown has a long way to go. Most of the storefronts along Main Street, just a few blocks from City Hall and the Slater Mill historic site, are empty, save for a few churches and a diner. There is almost no foot traffic, and hardly any retail or services. Gail Ahlers, president of the Foundry Artists Association, says in a statement, "The arts scene in Pawtucket is thriving and growing. The SoHo of tomorrow." But Ann Galligan seems more grounded. "I walk around the downtown," she says, "and it looks like they’ve just had a nuclear scare."

Pawtucket lost two major downtown employers in recent years. After a cold snap caused its pipes to freeze and burst, the Registry of Motor Vehicles moved its central offices from 286 Main St. to the Apex building. Then Pawtucket Mutual Insurance went out of business. Cassidy says losing these employers was a big blow. "There were 400 people working downtown a year and a half ago; they’re not there now," he says. "We’re still working on how to fill those spaces." The loss also had a big impact on the few remaining businesses, Cassidy says. The Registry employees working in the Apex "only get half an hour for lunch, and they don’t come downtown. They used to walk across the street to the little restaurants that were there. Those restaurants died. One went out of business, the other one is really struggling."

Others can view the evidence of economic blight with their own eyes. Matt Kierstead, who recently purchased a space in the new Bayley Lofts project, says, "I see, literally in the 180 degrees that I can take in from looking out my window, vacant and underutilized historic buildings." Referring to the China Inn, he says, "You can get any kind of food you want downtown, as long as it’s Chinese. A big office supply store, Hill’s Office Supply, just went out of business. I could have walked out of my building and walked three minutes to buy stuff. I could have thrown a rock from my window and hit that building. Now I have to drive to North Attleboro to go to OfficeMax."

Rich Davis of the Pawtucket Foundation says the city’s arts initiative has opened up a lot of possibility, "but there is still a good chunk of downtown properties in transition between former use and new use." Some people think it might just take more residential development like the type the city is beginning to see before the downtown can attract commercial and retail services. With more residents, Cassidy says, "They’re going to be looking for book stores, coffee shops, interesting places . . . I’m waiting for my Starbucks!" Cassidy says, smiling and banging on a conference room table for emphasis. "Woonsocket got a Starbucks. I want a Starbucks! You need people with disposable income, and that’s what these [new redevelopment] projects are doing." Still, he acknowledges, downtown will never be what it was during its long-gone commercial heyday.

Pawtucket might attract more business and residents if it can sink its hooks into the regional economy, especially the Boston residential market (a story in the Boston Globe last year tabbed northern Rhode Island as "the new New Hampshire.") Could Pawtucket’s real estate market support a dozen more condo projects like Riverfront Lofts? "No, not right now, unfortunately," says Galligan, "[but] the answer is yes, if it gets that train to Boston."

The concerns of Henry Shelton, director of the George Wiley Center social agency, are a reminder that the city still faces a lot of problems that get much less attention than the arts. "Housing is number one," Shelton says. "And utilities are number two. Shut-offs are at an all-time high. It’s a major problem." Shelton says he has also been pushing the city to build a new homeless shelter for men and single women, but found an underwhelming response.

Meanwhile, the influx of people from other places, especially Boston, inflates housing prices and makes it harder for people who are already struggling. "I had a lady just come in here, her rent just jumped from $500 to $800," says Shelton. With the city pushing for new residents, the problem of rising rents isn’t likely to improve. "You have Rhode Island politicians in [an] unreal world, fantasy land, if they think things are getting better," Shelton says. "And if they know things are getting worse, the question is, what are they doing about it?"

When I visit Luke Mandle, he hands me a copy of the Times of Pawtucket featuring an article about his new downtown studio. The same page also featured two other stories — about the one-year anniversary of the Greenhalgh Mill fire, which destroyed the mill and 11 neighboring houses, and the lack of a homeless shelter in Pawtucket — that illuminate Pawtucket’s less attractive realities.

Fighting decades of American history and changes in the urban landscape, clearly, is no small task. Pawtucket is not the only city asking these questions, or going through the process of seeking urban improvement. Many cities would relish Pawtucket’s sense of momentum, proximity to Providence and Boston, and assets ranging from a growing arts community to the presence of the top minor league team of the Boston Red Sox. Those optimistic about the city’s rebirth say its growing pains are at least a sign of growth, and that the related debates show how people are talking. When it comes to revitalizing Pawtucket, though, this city very much remains a work in progress.

Robin Amer can be reached at robinamer@riseup.ne. Peter Ian Asen contributed reporting to this story.