Thom

The comment period on line continues until April 10th. Comments will be received at the public hearings on the 11th and 12th. Please come and say your piece.

The charrette manager is a team of consultants from the mid west who were selected through an rfp process. The planning staff picked this team based on their ability to quickly under stand the issues in the city and to developed execrises to draw out discussion. Many groups wanted an unknown consultant so that the manager could start with an open mind and evaluate what all have to say. We are confident that the manager will run a good charrette, however, the success will depend on people coming and sharing their thoughts on where the city should grow and what that growth should look like. Hope to see you there. As a final comment, I need to say that I am very proud of what the planning staff has done to develop a process that is open and inviting to all. They have worked very hard in developing the approach to "Providence Tomorrow" and have done a great job building this first charrette. Hope to see you all during the week.

No, it is importnat to hear comments on all issues, but some will not be part of the planning process but will be turned over to the Operations Department to think aboput how we get better at doing our job.

We are revising our web page as I type this and if all goes well it will be up tomorrow. We will be setting up a few buttons on the Providence Tomorrow page. One will be for sharing ideas, one for photos and the third will take you to a landing page for our presentations. Hope this helps. If you send photos, send them to [email protected] until the page is corrected. Thanks. Also, there has been discussion about what exactly we are looking for. What we are really trying to get a sense of is what people think is good development and what is bad development. It is a way to educate us and the public about the variety of views that exist in the city. Thanks.

Could you elaborate?

We spoke about the potential link today. We are willing to link. contact Bob Enright in my office to get it done.

So, what is the VIP treatment that Pawtucket offers? Do they really offer something different or is it just perception?

There are no new plans at this point. Developers are waiting for the dust to settle and some deals are taking a lot longer to put together then was anticpated. An update on what I said a few months back. 1. Hilton condos No change. 2. Proposed tower at the former Gulf Station No change - a dream at the moment. 3. Metro Lofts - Plans being revised based on comments received. Expect the building to be moved forward and the local streets that were to be abandoned to remain. Height and density will probably drop because of the market. Expect the new building design to be in the 150 to 175 range. - 4. former public safety - WE are negotiating the development agreement. As we get final language expect an announcement. We must sell the property by June 15, so something will go public before then. 5. Grants Block - being redesigned. 6. 190 Dyer Street - Developer has not changed plans and still hopes to start construction in 07 - proposal for 210' to 230' office tower. 7. Fogarty Building Minor renovations expected in the coming months. 8. Sierra Suites - Plans under review. If I thought to bring home the plans I could have posted them. Still in the 180 to 200 foot range next to the Majestic Garage at the location of the old McDonald's. There are very preliminary discussions about two other buildings, sites undetermined. The first is residential somewhere near Atwells Ave (think it might be the corner of Broadway and the service road) for a residential tower. Diminsions and timing unknown. The federal GSA is looking for a site to build a 14 to 20 story tower. They are rumored to be looking to move out of Boston. The only site that they have looked at is the old Shooter's site. Bought with Federal money by RIDOT and the feds have first option. Hard to believe they'd build an office building there.

The building behind the tea house is the Times2 High School. the one next to the PO is a medical office building.

You have the right location for the Metro Lofts, however, the Merritt building comes down and is part of the project. Concerning height, there are a number of groups and individuals fighting the city's efforts to allow more height in the city. They have filed an op ed piece with the Journal in opposition of the revised zoning ordinance, calling the draft ordinance too developer friendly.

1. Hilton condos on hold until market impact of all the projects under consturction is understood. 2. Proposed tower at the former Gulf Station is a dream at the moment. 3. Metro Lofts - west side of the city between Washington and Westminster along the service road, not at Broadway. 210' to 230' in present design. Application to Zoning Board in the next 30 to 60 days. 4. former public safety - expect two announcements in the coming weeks. First about the developer second about a project. Expect two towers in the 150 to 250 range. This could change. 5. Grants Block - 239' going to zoning board in the next two months. 6. 190 Dyer Street - proposal for 210' to 230' office tower. Expect plans to go public in the new year. 7. Fogarty Building announcment in the next few days. Expect a change in plans. 8. Preliminary plans for a 180 to 200 foot building next to the Majestic Garage at the location of the old McDonald's. That's all I know at the moment.