Proposed Providence Three Towers Trimmed to Just One Tower in New Design
Thursday, December 08, 2016
New York developer Jason Fane of the Fane Organization has rethought his proposed $400 to $500 million three towers project and today unveiled an initial one tower concept -- Phase One.
The initial development faced a flurry of criticism, while some, like Providence developer and former Mayor Joe Paolino, encourage Fane to invest in Providence. In a taping of ABC6’s “In the Arena” Paolino said that it is a good sign that an out-of-state developer is interested in investing half a billion dollars in Providence.
SEE SLIDESHOW OF THE INITIAL DESIGN BELOW
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe 43 floor tower will be just 20 feet taller than the “Superman” building and Fane says he is ready to build the $150 million Phase One now.
The new proposal, or "Phase One," is a proposed 43 story tower, which "will infuse a projected $150 million in new development into the state’s capitol city," according to the company. Fane intends to develop the other two proposed towers in future phases, as market demand allows.
Fane said in a press release on Thursday, “Some people think that our proposed towers will be much higher than the existing tall buildings in downtown Providence. In fact, the opposite is true. Some confusion was caused by the angle of the rendering, where perspective made Hope Point Towers look much taller than the other Providence towers including the so-called 'Superman' Building. Also, many people don’t realize that ceiling heights at Superman are much higher than a typical apartment or residence.”
“Our phase one, 43 story tower, is only about 20 feet taller than the Superman building and includes both residential use and parking, which Superman does not. The proposed 33 story tower would actually be shorter than the Superman (420’) and Hospital Trust (413’) buildings and about 40 feet shorter than The Residences (380’),” said architect Sol Wassermuhl, whose global architecture and design firm IBI Group designed the Hope Point Towers project.
Critics of Three Tower Proposal
The three towers proposal was initially presented to the 195 Commission in early November.
GoLocal’s architectural critic Will Morgan wrote about the three towers project, “Hope Point Towers. Or, as it will no doubt be shortened to, Hope Towers. The name sounds like a high-rise hospice. Or a soap opera. Or maybe the overweight girl in junior high school that everyone teased mercilessly. The name alone ought to be a warning.”
“Surely, this is not a real project? Perhaps this is a game, a scam that we rubes in River City are not smart enough to figure out. After all, we were pretty much ripped off by the underwhelming, anywhere-and-everywhere development of Capital Center,” added Morgan.
Just a day after the three towers proposal was unveiedl, City Council President Luis Aponte talked about the project to GoLocal, who reported, "Aponte is calling the proposal put forth by developer Jason Fane to build three residential skyscrapers on 195 land "insulting" -- and not the best use of the property for the city."
"I think the renderings show that [the proposal] is out of scale, size, and shape," said Aponte. "It's an insult to our city's historic character."
Fane Says the Project in Key to Providence's Growth
Fane says the project vital to the realization of the I-195 Commission’s stated mission, and claims that Hope Point Towers provide a badly-needed residential catalyst at the epicenter of healthcare, academic, science and technology growth in Providence.
“This is a special opportunity for the state and city’s leadership to jump start growth and development. Hope Point Towers is an iconic building that will become the symbol of Providence. As the acclaimed architect Friedrich Florian recently said, ‘It’s time to be courageous.’ We have presented innovative high quality residences which will become much beloved and keenly sought after. The red brick façade of the building was designed to coexist in harmony with Providence’s past, while the soaring glass of the tower represents its future,” Fane said.
“Many years ago, ground breaking development like the Turks Head building, Industrial National Bank building, Hospital Trust building, Citizen’s Bank building, Providence Place Mall, and the Water Place Towers were also bold moves,” added Fane. “Hope Point Towers is in that vein of signature architecture in the city.”
“These developments were courageous and exemplify the critical growth steps communities must take to flourish and to tell the world that they are open for business and growing. Providence needs new beacons of recovery and growth, and like Boston, just up the road, need to make bold and strategic moves and dare to improve the status quo. It is time for Providence to reach higher and be bolder and make such a statement.”
The project would be the first major construction in downtown Providence since the Blue Cross tower and Waterplace Apartment/Condos were built more than a decade ago.
“We urge the government leaders to approve our transformative project; to look at our development track record of success and our financial stability. We think Providence has a unique opportunity to create the residential infrastructure needed to support growth, but we will move on if there isn’t support for this vision.”
On the same taping on "In the Arena" that Paolino made comments, GoLocal's CEO Josh Fenton said about the initial design that while it may not be perfect the review process has a way of improving the project. It will be up to the 195 Commission to develop an appropriately designed project and get projects moving forward.
Related Slideshow: 3 Towers Proposal for 195
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