New “One Tower” Design for 195 in Providence Draws Mixed Reaction
Friday, December 09, 2016
A new trimmed back proposal announced Thursday by New York developer Jason Fane to start with one tower — instead of the originally proposed three towers — on 195 land has drawn mixed reactions from elected officials and community leaders.
City Council President Luis Aponte, who had criticized the first three tower proposal when it came out, said that he appreciated Fane’s willingness to take feedback.
“Looks like one evil tower is better than three,” said Aponte. “Look, it shows a willingness to understand the terrain and the concern of city leaders -- I am under impression that this was a negotiative process.”
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After releasing his three tower vision in November, Fane's 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.
“It's smaller scale, fewer units, and a different approach than proposed -- the design hasn't gotten better but that's something we can work on,” said Aponte. “We look forward to further discussions and I'm please with their enthusiasm that they want to move forward quickly.”
Maintaining Opposition
Jewelry District Association Vice-President Sharon Steele said that she opposed the original proposal, and opposes the new tower for similar reasons.
“When the original proposal happened, I said my immediate reaction was the scale was not right for that location. thought it would look great in Duba - but the scale was all wrong for Providence," said Steele. "That’s not saying we’re not ready for out-of-the-box thinking, but we’ve worked for the past ten years on bringing the park, and pedestrian bridge, to fruition.”
In his release Thursday, Fane acknowledge the opposition based on the towers’ size.
“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,” “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.”
Steele said that it was not only the tower’s height, but how it is designed that she is concerned about how it would fit in the area.
“These buildings - and this tower - are slated to be built on ‘podiums’ of five stories — that’s for parking,” said Steele. “116 Chestnut Street is six stories. That would be just the platform — that will read like a wall, all along Dyer Street. Behind it is the park, and the river, and pedestrian bridge. The park would be in constant shadow, and then it becomes for all intents and purposes a private park for the towers. We didn’t fight [the Paw Sox] stadium to end up with a five story podium for parking."
SLIDES: See More Reaction to the "One Tower" Proposal on 195 Land in Providence BELOW
Related Slideshow: Reactions to Fane’s “One Tower” Proposal on 195 - December 9, 2016
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