WANDERING: MetroLofts

[runawayjim]

I like how the Downtown people didn't think that WBNA had any business weighing in on the old Police Complex because it was Downtown, but that they (the Downtown people) have no problem weighing in on the other side of 95.

Are you there, Irony? Its me, Mothra.

[Mothra]

just playing devil's advocate here... but one can easily ask why the WEST broadway neighborhood association is weighing in on the EAST end of broadway/westminster?

[xine]

Wow, sorry if this has already been discussed, but I was surprised and disappointed to read that if built, this would be the first LEED certified building in the state of Rhode Island. That's pretty poor.

[Cotuit]

Doesn't Projo have fact checkers?

[Griswald]

It's only surprising and disappointing if you ignore that it's not true.

There are nineteen projects in RI registered with LEED and potentially on-track to be certified before this one. Doesn't Projo have fact checkers?

Granted, it's a difficult process and there is yet to be the "first", but it's precisely because it's a lengthy and rigorous process that there's no reason to believe this project will magically sail ahead of those others. I wouldn't want to diminish their efforts but let's please get our facts straight.

[basachs]

I would ask that people stop blaming Kari Lang for opposition. She is the executive director of a neighborhood association. She is not the neighborhood. She is the public face of the organization but every one of the people that live in the neighborhood have the potential to take an active role in determining the policies and voice of the WBNA. It is easy to sit back and beotch, far harder to step up.

There are plenty of legitimate and nuanced reasons to oppose this no matter how good the design is. There are also plenty of reasons to support it. Bottom line, TPG came to the WBNA and presented their plans to more than just Kari Lang, it is not like the organization just willy nilly opposed it. There was plenty of discussion before issuing a decision. The WBNA does not oppose or support projects simply becasue they feel like it. These are hard decisions to come to.

If you dont like the way the WBNA runs, get involved. It is not a dictatorship, it is a neighborhood association that by its very charter seeks the best for the neighborhood even if sometimes on the surface it seems different. It requires people's invovlement to be successful.

[carthago]

http://www.bidclerk.com/project.409912.html

Site work, demolition and new construction of a mixed-use development in Providence. Design plans call for the construction of an 12-story, 94-unit condominium development. The project will include 11,100 square feet of retail space and a health club.

Est. Start Date: March 2008

The correlating numbers come from the following Projo article:

http://www.projo.com/ri/providence/content...N6.35e0ce7.html

"...a 12-story, 94-apartment building with 11,100 feet of retail and health club space..."

[Garris]

http://www.bidclerk.com/project.409912.html

[Frankie811]

Zoners approve 12-story Federal Hill condo project.

[Pseudo_Work]

Zoners approve 12-story Federal Hill condo project.

[tangorre]

I really don't understand why they don't simply move this design into the Downcity area. It seems an easier solution than spending time fighting for variances and upsetting the neighborhoods. Surely Proc Group can easily buy or already owns an undeveloped lot downtown, which in my mind, is a more logical fit for this project to take place.

[JimmyGreaves]

From The Providence Journal, "Zoners approve 12-story Federal Hill condo project"

By Gregory Smith, November 14, 2007

The board attached conditions to the approval that were recommended by the planning staff, including the requirement that Procaccianti Group, developer of METROLofts, get the planning staff

[jencoleslaw]

funny how it got just small enough not to have to go before the City Plan Commission.

[Cotuit]

Is there still no rendering of this out there, though?

[JimmyGreaves]

At least someone at DPD will be able to push back on the design, even if it's not CPC.

[Frankie811]

Is there still no rendering of this out there, though?

[Cotuit]

[Jenkins]

[runawayjim]

[matt]

You can't see the roof deck from this angle

[Cotuit]

My first reaction was 'yuck!' It is giving me a headache. There's too much going on. Each element I might like individually, but it is hurting my head.

Anyone have any critiques on what you'd like to see changed (if anything (and not that it should be taller, this is the approved scale))?

[runawayjim]

My first reaction was 'yuck!' It is giving me a headache. There's too much going on. Each element I might like individually, but it is hurting my head.

Anyone have any critiques on what you'd like to see changed (if anything (and not that it should be taller, this is the approved scale))?

[mod134]

Ditto.

[Liamlunchtray]

My first reaction was 'yuck!' It is giving me a headache. There's too much going on. Each element I might like individually, but it is hurting my head.

Anyone have any critiques on what you'd like to see changed (if anything (and not that it should be taller, this is the approved scale))?

[Cotuit]

The materials will make or break it, but Im totally into it.