Replacing the Henderson Bridge Workshop 12/14

  The Cities of Providence and East Providence, the East Providence Waterfront Commission, and the Seekonk Riverbank Revitalization Alliance will host a workshop on:

Friday, December 14 at 3:30 PM Providence Department of Planning & Development 444 Westminster Street, first floor auditorium

The workshop will present designs for replacing the Henderson Bridge developed by Professor Will Green (URI) and his senior design studio for comment and input.

Rhode Island Transit Master Plan - Public Workshops 12/11-12/12

Public Open House Workshops - December 11-12, 2018
Providence, Woonsocket, Newport

The Transit Master Plan will envision how our passenger transportation network should look and operate in the future. In Rhode Island, our passenger transportation network currently includes bus, rail and water transportation services. The Transit Master Plan will envision how this network should be enhanced and further developed to best meet the travel needs of the state's residents, workers and visitors. To develop this plan, we will use data, public input, stakeholder feedback and more. Both short-term and long-term projects will be proposed, as well as an implementation strategy identifying potential partnerships, policies and needed investments.

Get Involved/FAQ

Reminder: Conversation with Tom Hoagland, Providence Business Loan Fund 11/15

Providence Conversation

Come learn about the Providence Business Loan Fund

Guest: Thomas Hoagland, Director
          Providence Business Loan Fund

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Place: 133 Dexterdale Rd, home of Barbara Riter

Time: 7 pm - 8:30 pm

For government, “economic development” translates into public money to private businesses. On the one hand, businesses often desperately need capital, beyond what banks are willing to loan. On the other hand, often the banks are appropriately cagey: the businesses are not sure bets.

 (Remember 38 Studios).
How does Providence balance the need to bolster its businesses, against the worry that some of those businesses may die, even with a public subsidy?
Come hear Thomas Hoagland, Director of the Providence Business Loan Fund

Conversation and coffee, tea and cookies

RIPEC Report on November 2018 Ballot Initiatives and State's Debt Position & Budget Outlook

PROVIDENCE R.I. (October 2018) – On November 6, Rhode Island voters will be asked to consider three ballot questions, which would authorize $589.5 million in additional debt costs, accounting for estimated interest and borrowing costs.  Today, the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC) released a report intended to assist voters as they consider these ballot initiatives.  The report provides an updated look at the state’s FY 2019 budget and out-years, based on the preliminary FY 2018 closing, as well as Rhode Island’s current debt position.  The purpose is to provide voters with information regarding the current financial position of the state and other related issues, which may be helpful when deciding whether to approve the referenda. The report also provides a summary of the 2018 ballot initiatives, and includes a set of questions for voter consideration.  The full report is available here.

Providence Conversation: Thomas Hoagland, Director, Providence Business Loan Fund

Providence League of Women Voters
Invites you to a
Providence Conversation

Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 7pm

Providence needs its small businesses.
Sometimes those small businesses need a boost from the city.

Come learn about the Providence Business Loan Fund

Guest: Thomas Hoagland, Director
          Providence Business Loan Fund

Conversation and coffee, tea and cookies


Date: Thursday, November 15, 2018
Place: 133 Dexterdale Rd, home of Barbara Riter
Time: 7 pm - 8:30 pm

Providence redevelopment plan stalls amid community concern

By: Dan McGowan,  WPRI
Posted: Jul 10, 2018 11:25 PM EDT
Updated: Jul 11, 2018 11:24 PM EDT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – A proposal to redevelop 233 acres of mostly industrial land along the Woonasquatucket River in Providence was met with sharp criticism Tuesday evening from business owners and residents who raised concerns about whether the city will seize their properties.

Repeated assurances were offered by city planning director Bonnie Nickerson that the proposal focuses on “public improvements to public property” and will not result in private properties being taken by eminent domain. But that did little to dissuade dozens of opponents who turned out for a public hearing in City Hall in front of the City Council Committee on Urban Redevelopment, Renewal and Planning (URRP)…

Nickerson agreed to conduct more outreach and return with an amendment that removes eminent domain language from the proposal.

Full Story

City Council Ordinance Committee hearing on Fane Tower zoning change 7/18

The City Council Ordinance Committee will hold a public hearing on the Fane luxury skyscraper proposal on Wednesday, July 18th at 5:30pm in the City Council Chamber (City Hall, 25 Dorrance Street, Third Floor).

Emily Martineau, City Council Chief of Staff at emartineau@providenceri.gov 

Chair Terrence Hassett at Ward12@providenceri.com.

A Towering Debate
By Dan McGowan
for the Eastside Monthly
Posted June 25, 2018

Excerpt
Fane already has an agreement in place to buy the land from the state for about $3 million, but he needs the City Council’s help. The maximum height for a building allowed in the location he wants to build is 130 feet, well short of the 500 feet he currently envisions. The City Plan Commission has already voted against recommending a zoning change, but the council has the final say. The proposal is currently before the council’s Ordinance Committee.

Full story with history of proposal

Brownfields as Land Reuse for Building Better Communities

Tuesday, July 17 at 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Navigant Credit Union - 693 Broad Street, Central Falls, RI 02863

The City of Central Falls Office of Planning and Economic Development along with New Jersey’s Institute of Technology TAB Team and Grow Smart RI have teamed up to host a free seminar on
Brownfields and how to effectively manage them in your community!

The workshop is open to planners, developers, community members, or anyone interested in the development of brownfields sites in Rhode Island.

For more information and to Register

Regulating Short Term Rentals (Airbnb) - Neighborhood Meeting 6/25

From Councilman Sam Zurier's 6-17-18-Ward-Letter

In recent months, Councilwoman LaFortune and I have received requests from constituents to consider regulation of short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb.  We asked the City Council staff to research current regulations in place in other communities.  We now would like to share that research with you and receive your thoughts and ideas about what type of regulation would make sense in Providence.  With that in mind, we have scheduled a neighborhood meeting to take place at the Rochambeau Branch Library Conference Room on Monday, June 25 at 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.  Please mark this on your calendar and consider coming if you wish to learn more about this issue and offer your feedback.

Next Stop: Making Transit-Oriented Development Work for RI

GrowSmartRI Forum

Cities and towns across our region and the nation are seizing on the public-private partnership opportunities to build stronger, more vibrant and sustainable communities through transit-oriented development.

With major transit projects currently in the works, increased demand for housing in walkable urban neighborhoods and job sites with convenient access to transit, Rhode Island is poised to take advantage of these trends to grow smart with transit.

For more information and reservations

Is there enough affordable housing in your town?

By PBN Staff -
May 6, 2018 12:15 am

The 2017 Housing Fact Book from HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University notes that households earning the state’s median income of $56,852 in 2016 could afford the median-priced single-family home in only four of Rhode Island’s ­municipalities. For affordable housing advocates, that is not enough to meet the needs of the state’s families. They argue that more affordable housing needs to be built across the state, in every community. What do you think about the state of housing where you live?

PBN Survey

Life or Death for Fane Tower?

PROVIDENCE CITY PLAN COMMISSION NOTICE OF REGULAR MEETING

TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2018, 4:45 PM Joseph Doorley Municipal Building, 1st Floor Meeting Room 444 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903

CITY COUNCIL REFERRAL
6. Referral 3429 – Rezoning of a portion of AP 20 Lot 397 Petitioner: Fane Organization, Jason Fane and I-195 Commission The petitioner is proposing to create a new height subdistrict – D-1-600 – in the D-1 zone, and rezone AP 20 Lot 397 from D-1-100 to D-1- 600. The additional height is intended to allow for construction of a high rise residential building on the site. The petitioner is also proposing to change the zoning ordinance so that the Downtown Design Review Committee may waive regulations relating to building height, massing and required transition lines – for action (AP 20 Lot 397, Downtown)
Full Agenda

Corruption in Rhode Island: Reality and Perception.

How corrupt are we? How does media expose it? What impact on our economy?

Speakers:
Margaret Curran - Former US Attorney for RI
Tracy Breton - Former investigative reporter, Providence Journal
Richard Ratcliffe - Former RI Assistant Attorney General
Grafton (Cap) Willey IV - Tax and Budget Chair, SBA Small Business Summit

Parking available in the Wheeler School lot across the street.
For wheelchair-access, call Carrie Taylor, 401- 453-0688 , ctaylor@preserveri.org

Report: Providence tax deals lack compliance, transparency

By Dan McGowan, WPRI.com Reporter
Published: January 9, 2018, 12:45 pm

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – There is “widespread noncompliance” with annual reporting requirements for recipients of tax breaks in the city of Providence, according to a review of the special deals released Monday by the city’s internal auditor’s office.

The 95-page report on the city’s 52 active tax stabilization agreements (TSAs), prepared at the request of the City Council, also suggests there “is not an easy or transparent way” for the public to learn about the incentives that are currently in place.

Full WPRI Story

Workshop: Designing A Vision for the “Post-Industrial” Seekonk Corridor

Designing A Vision for the “Post-Industrial” Seekonk Corridor

A Workshop on October 30, 6 to 8 PM

At Tockwotton on the Waterfront
500 Waterfront Drive, East Providence, RI 02914

This workshop will present work being done to redesign the Seekonk Corridor by Professor William Green’s University of Rhode Island Landscape Architecture Senior Design Studio. The workshop will provide an opportunity for people who care about the future of learn about the emerging vision for the area, give feedback, and contribute ideas.

The Seekonk Corridor extends from the Henderson Bridge to just south of the Washington
Bridge along both sides of the Seekonk River.

For more information

Providence's Capital Improvement Plan and Infrastructure Bond

If you want more information on the Capital Improvement Plan, please visit www.pvdcapitalimprovementplan.com. If you’d like more information on the contents of this fiscal year’s budget, those items – as always – can be found on www.openpvd.com.

Kayla Powell
Director of the Human Relations Commission
Neighborhood Projects Coordinator
Office of Mayor Jorge O. Elorza
Providence City Hall
25 Dorrance Street
Providence, RI 02903
kpowell@providenceri.gov
(401) 421-2489 | Ext: 5378
Call to Connect | PVD311

Providence Commercial Tax Rate Creating Two Classes of Business

Monday, July 31, 2017
GoLocalProv Business Team and Kate Nagle

Downtown Providence
The new building projects coming to Providence are asking for millions of dollars in tax breaks — tax stabilization plans...

...Providence functionally can’t compete without major subsidies. Thus, the new projects are “the haves” — new, modern, and heavily subsidized. Then, there are the "have nots."

Full Story

Providence Symposium, Nov. 3-4

The Providence Preservation Society's 2016 Providence Symposium, Why Preserve?, on November 3-4, will bring together experts from across the nation as well as local stakeholders to examine why historic preservation matters to Providence and all communities. To be held at the iconic but threatened Industrial Trust Building, the Symposium will launch a year of community-based conversations around these foundational preservation questions: Why do we preserve? What do we preserve? Who decides what we preserve – that is, who are “we”? What are the costs of preservation? Who bears them?

Featured in the program will be special guests whose work has had monumental impact on countless cities, communities and historic buildings, including: Keynote Speaker Curtis G. Viebranz, President & CEO of Mount Vernon; Carl R. Nold, President & CEO of Historic New England; and Dr. Max Page, MS Design Program Director and Director of Historic Preservation Initiatives with the Department of Architecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as well as author of the newly-published book, Why Preservation Matters.

Join PPS to find out just what we mean when we say preservation matters! Learn more and register at www.providencesymposium.com. Thursday's keynote session is free; Friday's program is just $5 for students ($60 public/$45 for PPS members and university/non-profit affiliates).

A fast track to ruin? Amtrak opponents fear high-speed plans

by SUSAN HAIGH AND MATT O'BRIEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wednesday, October 26th 2016

OLD LYME, Conn. (AP) — This quaint shoreline community, proud of its role as a nursery of American Impressionist art, fears the destruction of its heritage if a federal proposal to someday run an East Coast high-speed rail line through its historic center becomes reality.

Full Story

Question 5. PORT INFRASTRUCTURE BONDS – $70,000,000

For port infrastructure projects, to be allocated as follows:
 (a) Port of Davisville Infrastructure at Quonset $50,000,000
 (b) Port of Providence Infrastructure $20,000,000

Articles concerning:
Providence Journal: 
Question 5: Should state borrow $70 million to expand Davisville, ProvPort?
By Patrick Anderson
Journal Staff Writer

Political Scene: Waves of contributions rolling in for R.I. ports expansion
Posted Sep 4, 2016 at 5:04 PM 
Updated Sep 4, 2016 at 5:04 PM

In support:
R.I. Ports Coalition

Vote yes on Question 5
EDITORIAL THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD

Opposed:
RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity
REJECT QUESTIONS #4-7 over Debt Concerns

Vote NO on Rhode Island Ballot Question #5, MINDSETTER™ Ken Block
Friday, November 04, 2016
Ken Block, MINDSETTER™

EDITORIAL: Question #5, It Smells Like Low Tide
Sunday, November 06, 2016
EDITORIAL GoLocalProv