EDITORIAL: A Reinvention of Providence Place Mall, That Everyone Should Support

EDITORIAL: A Reinvention of Providence Place Mall, That Everyone Should Support

 

 

On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Brian Stern gave approval for Paolino Properties and Pyramid to rescue the Providence Place Mall from receivership.

 

The mall has faced the potential doom of becoming a mammoth vacant edifice.  There is a website called DEADMALLS.com that memorializes past failures across the country.  Five Rhode Island Malls make that list. Thankfully, Providence Place has new life.

 

This purchase is great news for Rhode Island for two primary reasons.

 

First, Providence Place leaves the purgatory of receivership. It can begin to operate with new life. It is now unencumbered by massive debt.

 

While other malls around the country have completely collapsed, Providence Place has been given a new chance.

 

Secondly and more importantly, the ownership group for the mall is led by a local group that is widely invested in Providence and committed to the success of the reinvention. Paolino Properties says it loves Providence, and it certainly puts its money where its mouth is.

 

The mall, when envisioned in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was a big bet and a remarkably ambitious economic development project that, for about 20 years, was a significant success.

 

The past 8-10 years, not so much.

 

The opportunity is significant for Providence and Rhode Island. There is a chance to reinvent not to the past but to the future. A new experience, potentially in which a portion of the 1.3 million square feet is transformed into housing or another creative new use.

 

Rhode Islanders and the region will need to support it.

 

The new owners will need to ensure that the reinvented Providence Place is sparklingly clean, incredibly safe, and stocked with desirable new tenants. It needs to be better than all others.

 

If you have been to Paolino’s Beatrice Hotel and the Bellini Restaurant, you know the company’s ability to present a superior experience.

 

Now, that type of service and experience needs to be transported and expanded to Providence Place.

 

Local ownership is critical. This ownership will not simply be driven by a spreadsheet, but a sense of community. Profits matter, but the legacy of the family business may be more important.

 

For Paolino, a group that has owned some retail throughout its history, this is a major undertaking. This is a different beast, and the reinvention will not be done alone but in partnership with a group with proven experience — Pyramid.  Ironically, it was Pyramid that first proposed the mall in the 1980s.

 

Rhode Islanders should be pleased — the receiver, Mark Russo, and Judge Stern deserve credit for helping to save Providence Place. The last thing Providence or Rhode Island needs is another Superman Building.

 

The Paolino family deserves credit for taking on this challenge.

 

This is a new beginning.