From 3-7 tomorrow afternoon, the Project for Public Space will be hosting a workshop on Kennedy Plaza. PPS says this:

“We all want Providence’s great places, especially parks and open spaces, to be places where we come together. Once named Exchange Place, Kennedy Plaza has the potential to be a vibrant central gathering place for our city. Come imagine a Kennedy plaza that is a destination for visitors and residents, a place where people come together to talk, play, and celebrate.”

It’s at the Biltmore. Call 785-9450 x 201 to register.

I was a little early to this morning’s Providence Tomorrow charrette about the Mount Pleasant and Elmhurst neighborhoods, so I wasn’t too surprised when the parking lot at the Triggs golf course on Chalkstone was more or less empty. I mean, the postcard announcing the event wasn’t exactly eye-catching, and not many people have the time to attend meetings on Monday mornings. Plus, people with Monday mornings off probably aren’t particularly inclined to get out of bed and sit with city planners in a cold and leaky clubhouse. more »

What a hilarious letter from Scott Wolfe in today’s Projo:

I was recently in Providence at the lovely Providence Place mall, where it finally dawned on me. As I walked around, I was happy and yet depressed, because I was so angry that Worcester had absolutely no upscale place for me to shop and offers no quality of life whatsoever, as Providence does.

The wonderful thing about Providence is that it is small enough to get around without any hassles. When I compare Worcester and all its ugly triple-deckers and bombed-out factories with idle smoke stacks, I cry.

Yep. That’s Providence for you. No bombed out factories whatsoever. No ugly buildings right downtown (certainly none like in the picture above). Who needs working infrastructure and living wages when you have the glorious upscale shopping of the Providence Place Mall?

Good photo on the Projo’s site:

PROVIDENCE — Demolition is under way downtown at the future site of a Hotel Sierra, a mid-price hotel whose Kansas developers are banking can fill a gap in Providence’s stratified hotel market.

The hotel, formerly known as a Sierra Suites, is to be built between Washington and Fountain streets, tying in with the parking garage next door. It is one of several moderately priced hotel projects now in various stages of completion or development in Providence, where luxury hotels dominate the marketplace.

More specifically, on the economic stimulus package that La Bushe just signed into them thar law-books. This seems to mean that he won’t be running for President, probably, because no one who’s running for President would badmouth cutting $600 checks to American workers. Right?

Some money quotes:

“They want to send out a check to everybody to stimulate the economy. I suppose it won’t hurt the economy but it’s in many senses like giving a drink to an alcoholic.” AND…

“America has a balance sheet that’s starting to look more and more like a third-world country.”

Ouch Mikey! Quit it! Also, Barack Obama proposed a New Deal-style $60 Billion “National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to rebuild highways, bridges, airports and other public projects,” which Bloomberg likes.

• This, on the Arcade, which is notably decrepit of late:

Evan Granoff of Granoff Associates, which manages The Arcade, said that the company is pursuing a mid- to large-size retailer to take over a “significant” portion of the mall. “Once we find a major tenant, [the big national store] will act as an anchor, and then we will fill in the remaining space with smaller retailers,” he said. “We don’t want to start giving out leases until we know what kind of space we have.”

• Small crane up at the BCBS site.

• Also, the lanterns at the top of the new Waterplace towers are finally mostly on.  And dare I say, they almost make it look… nice.   Finale Desserts will be opening there this spring.

• RISD has big plans for the opening of the Chace Center.

Changes in the Andes: Realities, Challenges, and Opportunities for Inter-American Relations will take place at Brown’s Watson Institute for International Studies on February 12-13. The conference will analyze the current democratic transformation in the region, its implications for US and international policy, and its lessons for other world regions.

Keynote roundtable: Mario Gustavo Guzman Saldana, Bolivian Ambassador to the US; Luis Benigno Gallegos Chiriboga, Ecuadorian Ambassador to the US; and Bernardo Alvarez Herrera, Venezuelan Ambassador to the US - introduced by former US Sen. Lincoln Chafee.

more »

The Federal Hill skyscraper got a key approval last night:

Zammiello came before the council’s Public Works Committee last night to get the OK to buy the air rights from the city for $178,000. Two weeks ago, the committee had approved his request to buy the rights to build underneath Bradford Street for $469,000.

But the air rights approval was delayed at the Jan. 29 meeting because of the opposition of Councilman Seth Yurdin, who was able to derail the proposal because of the absence of two committee members, Balbina Young and John J. Igliozzi.

Providence Preservation Society’s 5th Winter Bash

Saturday February 9, 2008
8 pm to midnight
American Locomotive Works (ALCO)
555 Valley Street

Come join the Providence Preservation Society for its 5th Annual Winter Bash! Highlighting preservation and rehabilitation of the city’s historic resources. Featuring live music by the Cusacks, creative hors d’oeuvres, and full cash bar. The attire ranges from blue jeans to ball gowns. Last year, over 1,000 people partied the night away at the Sharpe Building. This year’s event promises to be even bigger.

Tickets are only $30 per person or $100 for Patron tickets which includes a pre-bash reception.

To purchase tickets, visit www.ppsri.org or call 831-7440.

2008 Winter Bash Committee Chairs:
Oliver Bennett
Barrett Bready
Michael Sweeney

Details on the holiday party that never was:

Remember that big storm in December, everyone got stuck on Route 10, bread and milk disappeared, it took 47 hours to drive from Luongo Square to LaSalle Square..? Yeah, we were supposed to have a party that night.

So now we’re finally getting around to rescheduling that. This is not only a Holiday Gathering for UrbanPlanet, but a going away party for our good friend, Crazy Tree Lady™ Jen Cole.

Join us for drinks (and maybe cake) and for lively discussion about the past year in Providence development and urban matters, and to bid Jen farewell:

Wednesday, February 13th
5:30pm until whenever
Wild Colonial Tavern
250 South Water Street, Providence

We’re back in one of those phases where everything is crazypants. Here’s a quick overview:

• 110 Westminster/W Hotel: Developers demolish most of two buildings a few years ago. Announce the project a half-dozen times but never break ground. Initial plans for a mixed condo/hotel tower are now dead, but sometime soon the new owner might let us know if it wants to build a W hotel there. The 110 website is now gone.
• St Francis Chapel Hotel: A new tower will be built, and the whole thing will be a Hampton Inn. Bunch of monks get booted out in the process. Photo here.
• Blue Cross office tower: Blue Cross gets a big tax break to move from one side of town to the other. Construction is underway. Photo here.
• Capital Cove: After months of labor strife, developer and unions work out a deal, and mid-range rez project moves forward at full steam.
• Providence Fruit and Produce Warehouse: Owner gets sweet deal, contingent on the rehab. Sits on the building for a few years, claims it’s dangerous, and starts to demolish it. Resurrects plans to turn it into a mixed-use office, retail, and hotel development.
• Vista Della Torre: As proposed, project is about six times as tall as zoning allows. It’d be the tallest, or one of tallest, buildings in the city. And on a hill. In a neighborhood full of triple-deckers. May or may not happen. The principal is a colorful character.
  

Tidbits on Frank Zammiello, the developer.  First, his connections to the New England mob:

The project is the brainchild of Frank Zammiello, who rose from a start as an Olneyville electrician to head a powerful real estate company and now splits his time between Providence and Florida. Zammiello has developed the Bridlewood Estates in Lincoln and a 438-unit condo project in Highland Beach, Fla., among others, and owns Northstar Aviation Fueling, at T.F. Green Airport.

In 1986, Zammiello and his family pledged more than $6 million to secure a pretrial release for New England mob boss Raymond J. “Junior” Patriarca, when he was facing racketeering charges. Zammiello and Patriarca had worked together on real estate deals.

Zammiello also owns Camille’s restaurant, formerly Camille’s Roman Garden, which he purchased in 2001.

Second, his connections to 9-11 and the Saudi royals:

The owner of one of the air charter companies involved in the airlift of Saudi Royals and bin Laden family members out of the U.S. after the 9/11 attack has been identified in numerous published reports as a business partner and “close associate” of New England Mob Boss Raymond J. (Junior) Patriarca, the MadCowMorningNews has learned.

Frank Zammiello’s Northstar Aviation in Warrick R. I. flew four Saudis, including a Saudi Sheikh (name unfortunately redacted) on a flight which left Providence R.I. September 14, 2001 and flew to Paris.

So, for better or worse, the project looks pretty hard-wired and ready to go…

Yurdin’s dreamy:

That was not enough to secure approval on both his requests, however. The three members of the council committee who were present voted to approve the underground easement, but Councilman Seth Yurdin’s opposition derailed the approval of the air rights purchase. Council Members John J. Igliozzi and Balbina Young were absent, giving Yurdin significant power on a three-man body.

Yurdin’s concern was the height of the building, which was also a sticking point for members of the City Plan Commission, after that body heard testimony from members of the West Broadway Neighborhood Association that the building would be out of character in the neighborhood.

As I’ve mentioned many times, I like tall buildings — where they make sense. This project would be incredibly out of place on Federal Hill, and is completely out of accord with existing Providence zoning regs. (Zoning here isn’t take very seriously, as regs are unusually malleable, which means that our community has limited say in directing development.)

Here’s Brussat’s take on it from last summer.

The deal for the tower, known locally as the Superman building, closed on Friday, said Jonathan Aron, a vice president at NAI Hunneman. High Rock paid $33.2 million…

Inland, a publicly traded real-estate investment trust in Chicago, paid $21.3 million, or $61.04 per square foot. Five years later, High Rock paid $94 per square foot, a 54-percent increase.

Note: The real Superman building was LA City Hall, at right, and therefore has nothing to do with Providence.  Except for serving to illuminate our poor spatial cognition skills.

But I am. Go, Projo, go! Keep hammering away on the urgency of developing a renewables-based economy in Rhode Island. I’m really hopeful about many of the conversations happening at the Assembly this year — please stay tuned, and be on call to nag the hell out of your elected officials.

We have the potential to be a national leader here — push the rest of the country forward, develop a ton of jobs, reduce pollution, and achieve energy independence.

It would be better to at least quickly try out some of these ideas in some of the more obvious places — the state has plenty of unnavigable reefs and shoals for wind turbines, and wave-power generators could go just about anywhere — and then study the results and proceed expeditiously from there. If Rhode Island were to get in on the ground floor of the renewable-energy business, there would be major spin-off opportunities. Who knows? Maybe an Australian firm that wants to sell us wave-energy generators would like to set up a production facility here, say at Quonset, where a wind-turbine maker could join it.

The Capitol Cove development has been pressing forward steadily over the late fall and early winter, ever since it settled with local labor activists.

I love me my skyscrapers, but it’s usually harder to get psyched about a low-rise town house project. This one’s a bit of an exception, as I think these 96 units could fill a real void in the housing market, as they’re relatively reasonably priced. And they’re notable, among Capital Center projects, for not being hideous — they’ll fit in pretty nicely along that corridor of Memorial and North Main, whose row-houses and hilliness give the stretch an almost San Fran feel, if you wanna be generous.

(It’s crazy to me that Jefferson Place/903 happened before this project, given the similar specs, and Capital Cove’s far superior location.)