Four hotels are planned for Providence (Pawtucket: tax, zoning, assessments)
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I get the point about short term stay hotels- but do we need 4?
why not Holly? Pre Renaissance the city had the Holiday Inn, Biltmore, Marriot at Orms St and the Wyndham along I-195. They added up to about 800 rooms, now there are nearly 2400 rooms in downtown Providence, 71% filled on average. Good for Providence! If there are proposals out there for new ones great. But with the past success of these hotels there should be no need for any type of tax agreement at all for new ones
Who can say building 4 new hotels in PVD isn't good news, I guess? That they look suburban in the most unattractive way, with uninspiring architecture, is probably beside the point. The good news is they're needed and that signals growth of some sort. Too bad they're not located in places where beautiful underused or vacant existing buildings could be repurposed. Likely the availability of cheap surface parking/land is a prime factor.
Who can say building 4 new hotels in PVD isn't good news, I guess? That they look suburban in the most unattractive way, with uninspiring architecture, is probably beside the point. The good news is they're needed and that signals growth of some sort. Too bad they're not located in places where beautiful underused or vacant existing buildings could be repurposed. Likely the availability of cheap surface parking/land is a prime factor.
And so I'll again ask: does this city have a master plan, and is there anyone in this place that knows how to cut a deal? The very fate and fortune of Providence doesn't rest on accepting whatever is thrown our way, we can in fact say "no" to eyesores. As IM suggests, perhaps "encouraging" the rehabilitation of existing buildings or surface parking lots should be mere table stakes for doing business here -- that we negotiate from the starting point on. The lifespan of these abominations isn't mere years, it's many decades. The proposed hotel replacing Fogerty is a real challenge - hard to say which is better, a decayed white urinal or a Post Road special. And with the economy turning the corner and infill development downtown a matter of when, not if, what standards will developers be held? Putting a piece of dreck like the one proposed at the Fogarty site clashes with Hasbro, ProJo and the convention center. Whatever happened to wise architects designing a graceful nod to their neighbor? Alas, Fountain St. is lost.
Look at the trash the Procaccianti Companies plop into other cities! No thanks, Fargo and Billings can have 'em. And if they can cart it away Pawtucket can take the abomination, the G, and put it where there never-will-be new train station could be.
And so I'll again ask: does this city have a master plan, and is there anyone in this place that knows how to cut a deal? The very fate and fortune of Providence doesn't rest on accepting whatever is thrown our way, we can in fact say "no" to eyesores. As IM suggests, perhaps "encouraging" the rehabilitation of existing buildings or surface parking lots should be mere table stakes for doing business here -- that we negotiate from the starting point on. The lifespan of these abominations isn't mere years, it's many decades. The proposed hotel replacing Fogerty is a real challenge - hard to say which is better, a decayed white urinal or a Post Road special. And with the economy turning the corner and infill development downtown a matter of when, not if, what standards will developers be held? Putting a piece of dreck like the one proposed at the Fogarty site clashes with Hasbro, ProJo and the convention center. Whatever happened to wise architects designing a graceful nod to their neighbor? Alas, Fountain St. is lost.
Look at the trash the Procaccianti Companies plop into other cities! No thanks, Fargo and Billings can have 'em. And if they can cart it away Pawtucket can take the abomination, the G, and put it where there never-will-be new train station could be.
The term "Beggars can't be Choosers" comes to mind when thinking of the city's negotiating position. Nobody likes cheap & ugly, except perhaps the hotel developers if it makes the numbers work. Agree totally about the Fogarty replacement design.
I could be wrong because I'm not overly familiar with the inner workings of the city government (!!!) but it doesn't seem, that there is one agency coordinating & overseeing everything. Looks like multiple entities. It also doesn't seem as if there are penalties to non-adherence (???). The plan also refers to a separate zoning plan. I know there is/was an I195 land committee.
So, as far as more hotels go, I still wonder if we need 4 more. On the other hand, I don't suppose hotels build without need assessments- or if they did, they'd be very foolish. The aesthetics angle is very important as are Alfie's comments about infill.
I would like to see a standard based on the gorgeous architecture we have from the past instead of basing new exteriors on what appears to be the new yellow brick and orange facade mode- yuck.
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