Providence Felt Different Last Week - Joseph Paolino

Providence felt different last week.

 

Driving through the city during Brown University’s graduation reminded me just how special Providence can be. The streets were alive. Restaurants were full. Parents and students filled our sidewalks with energy and optimism. And now, a week later, the city is quiet again.

 

Like many people, I often look at Providence and think about how we can make it better. But sometimes the answer is sitting right in front of us.

 

Years ago, Providence grew because of major employers like Fleet Bank, Narragansett Electric, Providence Gas, AT Cross, The Providence Journal, Cookson America, and many of our insurance companies. Those businesses created jobs, filled office buildings, expanded the tax base, and helped shape the skyline of our city.

 

But many of those companies no longer exist here in the same way. Mergers, acquisitions, relocations, and changing economies have transformed downtown Providence.

 

So the question becomes: where does our future growth come from?

 

I believe the answer is right in front of us — our universities and hospitals.

 

What were once viewed by some neighborhoods as difficult neighbors may now become our greatest partners for growth and revitalization. Brown University, RISD, Johnson & Wales, Providence College, Rhode Island College, and our healthcare institutions can become the economic engines that redefine Providence for the next generation.

 

Downtown Providence is not what it once was. Office vacancies, empty parking lots, and underused buildings have changed the landscape. But instead of seeing decline, we should see opportunity. We should put downtown on a blank canvas and reimagine it.

 

Let’s think boldly.

 

Let’s encourage our universities to expand their presence downtown and create a true urban campus environment. Let’s continue encouraging healthcare systems to repurpose vacant buildings, much like the transformation of the old Hasbro headquarters. Maybe even the “Superman Building” could someday become part of that vision.

 

By moving institutional growth into downtown, we can also help protect the residential neighborhoods that have hosted these institutions for decades. Expansion downtown creates room for new housing, protects neighborhood character, and breathes life back into the center of the city.

 

There is a lesson here from West Palm Beach, Florida. Developer Stephen Ross, one of the major developers behind New York City’s Hudson Yards, has shifted much of his attention to West Palm Beach since the pandemic. His vision goes beyond office buildings. He is creating a master plan that combines universities, hospitals, housing, retail, business, and public spaces into one connected ecosystem.

 

Providence should be thinking the same way.

 

I call upon our city planners, elected officials, universities, hospitals, and business leaders to come together with a comprehensive vision for downtown Providence. Match vacant buildings and empty lots with the needs of higher education, healthcare, research, housing, and innovation.

 

Imagine a downtown that is active seven days a week. Students living there. Doctors and researchers working there. New housing rising. Restaurants and shops thriving again. A city center connected to education, healthcare, and opportunity.

 

Most importantly, this approach can unite the city instead of dividing it. It can protect neighborhoods, strengthen downtown, create jobs, educate the best and brightest, and provide world-class healthcare right here in Rhode Island.

 

Providence has always been a city with great bones. What we need now is the vision and courage to think differently about our future.

 

Providence can be a better city.

 

Let’s start learning from others.