The Providence Preservation Society has issued a heads-up on plans for developing the property at the end of Waterman Street, property that includes the lovely Simple Pleasures, owned by Mary Moore and daughter Alice. It is unclear whether this 19th-century building, which originally served as a blacksmith shop known as Mahoney’s Forge, will survive the plans for the inevitable luxury condo building. The PPS has a comprehensive history of the site complete with old maps and newspaper reports, as well as an update on the status of the new proposal and a rendering of that building. And the Mahoney family should be pleased with author Keating Zelenke’s lively account of this dynamic clan. It’s a fun read.
All we know at this time is from that PPS report: The Providence Architecture and Building Company, led by Dustin Dezube, plans to develop part or all of the property that includes Simple Pleasures and it’s not yet clear whether they intend to demolish it. From the company’s website: “We are a boutique design-build organization passionate about creating meaningful spaces that reflect Providence’s distinctive character.” The PPS provides this update:
Back in October, the pair submitted a proposal for a 326-unit residential building to the City Planning Commission with requests for parking and dimensional variances. The proposed building would stretch from lot line to lot line — on top of where Simple Pleasures is currently located. In fact, the plan featured no mention of 6 Richmond Square, leaving the Moores to wonder whether their livelihood will be demolished.
. . . Ultimately, the rest of the Commission voted in favor and Dezube and Diamond received conditional approval for their variance requests, requiring them to conduct community outreach and submit another preliminary plan further down the line. Those details have not yet materialized.
As of yesterday, the owners of Simple Pleasures, had no further information. We’ll be following the story.
Simple Pleasures is open Tuesday through Saturday at 6 Richmond Square (the end of Waterman, where the Red Bridge used to be).
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“Proposed development at 27 East River Street.”
Okay NOW I understand something that had been puzzling me for months.
This address explains why I got such a non-answer from RIDOT director Peter Alviti at a neighborhood meeting when I asked why official-looking, and very confusing, signs were appearing around this area for “East River Street” when such a thing did not exist on city maps or google maps.
Who exactly paid for this? And why was it posted at the intersection of Butler and Angell Streets?
