gregw

It should be the number one priority. I think the hold up is largely due to the fact that the Catholic diocese would need replacement space since the McVinney Auditorium will have to come down.

A few months ago I spoke with someone in the Planning Dept who said that this will happen. It's just a question of when not if.

Brussat is as a pompous windbag. I think what he means by "edgy" is hip or funky. Brussat would rather have downtown be more conservative and established in feel (which is why he likes Tilden Thurber and Hotel Providence) but he's happy tolerating the edgy places like Tazza or Xxodus because they're a big improvement over the seedy places he doesn't like such as the Safari Lounge.

It's true that apart from the East Side Providence doesn't have enough greenery. There are some exceptions though. I don't know if they checked out Rising Sun. There's a lot of green space in the back plus the river. It's also next to a well tended park. Also parts of Elmwood still have a leafy quality on streets like Adelaide and Atlantic closer to Elmwood Ave. Unlike Federal Hill and the Armory, Elmwood is more akin to parts of the East Side where there are yards and more substantial housing lots.

Good suggestions. Also you might consider some of the nice South County villages if you want some density as well as amenities. (I have no idea about rents) such as Wickford, and Wakefield (not the ugly strip mall area but near the older downtown area to the west), Kingston (home of URI), Peace Dale (in South Kingston). Parts of Westerly are very nice too and Westerly has a really pretty downtown. Newport is another option but the toll to use the bridge might realy add up. This is defintely the most urban option outside of the Providence area. And yes, there's a lot more to Newport than the mansions or touristy knickknack stores. I particularly like Broadway, which is the equivalent to the Armory District in Prov., an up-and-coming and still diverse neighborhood with funky charm. There's also the Point and the Hill, but expect to pay more $. In nearby Kent County there's of course East Greenwich and in West Warwick, which has been pretty depressed, there are some exciting new housing developments that are coming on line such as the Royal Mill. On the other hand, if you like rural, there are lots of lovely areas in South County that are not of the standard cookie cutter subdivision variety.

I would say that Grant's Block and The Plant (Puente) also belong in the first category. It's true that Grant's Block has been going through some design changes but Chace is totally committed to it. Heritage Harbor should be upgraded to the second tier based on SBER's track record. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2006. I would move One Ten down a notch based on the fact that the design is clearly in flux and groundbreaking is not imminent. I also think the AS220 Dreyfuss Project is pretty definite. (Maybe second category).

I live not too far from there. It's a nice area. You have good access to parks, stores, as well as a bus line. I can't think of anything negative except that the Pawtucket police often have a speed trap around there so drive nice and slow.

My kids go to Martin Luther King on Camp St. Arguably the best elementary is Vartan Gregorian on Wickenden and then King and Kennedy, which is near PC. Parents do have a fair amount of leeway in choosing the school but preference is generally given to kids in the neighborhood. Hopefully my kids will attend Nathanael Greene for middle school and then Classical. As far as my own experience goes, MLK has been quite good although the budget cuts are definitely starting to degrade the quality of the education particularly as art and music have both been cut to half an hour each week. It's not an easy decision where to send your kids and I would never send mine to most of the public schools in PVD because they're just too tough. I would stress however that the point that the public schools in the city are lousy and the only option is the elite private schools or suburbia is simplistic. You have also good charters, more affordable privates, parochials, and a few still decent public schools all in Providence.

I would add my 2 cents to what Cheesebot said and say don't give up on living in Providence. Providence has great neighborhoods where you can still buy a beautiful old house particularly if it's an emerging neighborhood like Elmwood or the Armory. Cheesebot's right that the East Side has gotten way expensive but you might still find some good deals in Mount Hope or Fox Point. As far as the schools go, yes there are problems. But I have my kids in public school in Providence and have been happy for the most part. Plenty of other parents who are educated (including some Brown professors) have their kids in the Providence public schools from K-12. Plenty of kids go through the Nathanael Greene Gifted Program and Classical High and then on to Ivy League colleges. So when you hear from snotty realtors that the schools are "no good," that's a code for the schools being heavily lower income and minority, IMHO. There are problems but it's far from hopeless. There are also other options in PVD besides the public and the expensive private schools. There are some very good charter schools (Cuffee, International, Highlander, Times 2) and some private ones (Community Prep) that have most of their students on financial aid. There are also plenty of good parochial schools (LaSalle, Bay View) that are a fraction of the cost of the independents (i.e. Moses Brown, Wheeler, Lincoln). So when you hear that you must move out to the suburbs to find decent housing at an affordable price and decent schools for your kids, keep in mind that many people feel that you don't need to make that choice.

Yup, way better than IE IMHO.

Let me try that again. I have to differ with Garris here. Hope St.'s getting pretty upscale. Garrison Confections, an expensive choclatier, is on Hope, as are Pizzicco, Oak, Chez Pascal, Seven Stars, Gallery Hop, all pretty elegant places. I guess "downscale" is a relative term. I think the east-west of Hope issue is nearly a thing of the past. There's really not much of a price differential anymore unless you're right on the tougher parts of Camp St. In fact, it's pretty gentrified now all the way up to the eastern side of Camp.

Hi, I have lived there for 6 years now and can say that it's a great neighborhood. But first, please, do not call it Hope Village. The realtors have recently invented this name and the vast majority of people from Providence have never heard it before. Most would just say "Hope St." or "Off Hope," or Mount Hope (west of Hope between Rochambeau and Olney) or Summit (west of Hope between Rochambeau and the Pawtucket line.) The area is a mix of mostly early 20th century single family houses and 2 to 3 family apts. The main commercial strip, Hope St., has some great establishments such as Seven Stars Bakery, Rochambeau Library. It's a pretty safe neighborhood with the exception of some of the areas around Camp St. It's got great parks, good bus as well as highway access. There are lots of young families, seniors, gay couples, Orthodox Jews, etc. Pretty diverse and tolerant. The area has gotten a lot more expensive over the last couple of years. SOme of the recent condo conversions seem very pricey to me. You might do better actually buying a smaller single family or going the owner occupied 2 family route depending on your budget. Overall I definitely recommend it highly. My only hesitation is that it's not the bargain it once was.

Garris, you should post your excellent pics to the providenceri.com website. Great compositions, exposures, etc. They're as good or better than the professional photo collections that are already up there. Also would make a great calendar. (We need a good local calendar since the RI Tree Council stopped doing theirs.) Personally I would love some pics of Westminster St.

I think that Garris' caveats are right on. You definitely have to keep in mind that their interests do not necessarily line up with yours. But, in my personal experience, I had a very good experience using a realtor as my buyer's agent, Gerri Schifman at Residential Properties.

I'm so excited about Hope Webbing. Phew. I'm relieved that Lowe's didn't get to level it as Home Depot did a couple of years ago in Providence with the Silver Spring complex. THese are good times for us mill huggers. The Foundry, Rising Sun, Ashton in Cumberland, Royal Mill in West Warwick, and now Hope Webbing. It looks like the state tax credit program as well as the enlightened and energetic work of people like Mayor Doyle and Herb Weiss are saving the state's industrial architectural heritage. Let's hope that the General Assembly keeps the tax credit in place. I remember that last year Costantino and some others on the House Finance Committee were talking about scrapping it. PS- a memory about the Hope Webbing building. I live about a mile south in the Summit area of Providence. I remember every so often outside my house I would smell this almost sickly sweet scent like corn syrup or cotton candy. I was a mystery what was causing it for some time. Until I discovered the culprit on a happenstance drive down Esten St. in Pawt. - the Hope Webbing bldg was being used to manufacture candy.