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DESTROYED: Providence Fruit & Produce Warehouse

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Recchia Town

Recchia

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First off, what kind of say does the mall have in regards to the use of another property? Are we supposed to disallow for any retail development downtown now cause it will compete with the mall? That's ridiculous...

Second, I love Jerome Williams' quote in that Projo article:

According to DOT Director Jerome F. Williams, Carpionato has

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foxpointer Whistle-Stop

foxpointer

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That is what the State is doing by filing the temporary restraining order.

And I agree with Jerome. The place looks much worse now than it looked in the past months. I think he's weighing in because the RFP DOT issued clearly stated that there would be a preservation easement, and someone at Administration dropped the ball.

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mental757 Burg

mental757

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but, at the end of the day, the building might actually have come to the point of being unsafe, so, technically, the damage has already been done. That, to me, is the real shady act in all this. Jerome Williams has it right, Carpianato left this place to rot, but where were all the DOT and city admin people driving by on route 95 & 6 everyday? we all saw this place falling further into disrepair. WTF - this really is BS now - I really liked the Quincy market idea, the building seemed perfectly set-up for something like that and with all the new residential and commercial along the river (and the cleaned up river and riverwalk on that branch) in this area, this could have capped off an amazing redeveloped stretch of Providence. Now we'll get a big box? A Target? TJ Max or Marshalls? C'mon people, this site has more potential than that!

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Pseudo_Work Hamlet

Pseudo_Work

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Not a bad suggestion if remaining there is what you want for the building. Bear with me for a moment, here. In the film The Hunt for Red October (1990, remember, kids, before you were born?) hero CIA guy Jack Ryan asks former sub captain Skip Tyler, "Could you launch an ICBM horizontally?" Skip replies, "Sure! Why would you want to?"

Could the produce building have been cleaned up and made presentable? Sure. Why do so many of you want to? Joey P. is skating remarkably close to the truth here when he says the building is ugly. Is it the ugliest building in Providence? I don't know; it seems there is a lot of competition for that title (and Providence is hardly alone in that regard). However, despite a lot of preservationist hysteria, it is an old, ugly, industrial structure, that nobody needs. As has been pointed out, mostly in sarcasm, the site would make a great parking lot.

I delight in seeing first class, beautiful historic structures preserved and returned to their original glory. I consider the LaSalle Square loss a serious blow. The problem here is that a lot of folks, certainly some vocal ones on this forum, seem to want revenge for the very real losses we have all seen and deplored in this country's inventory of historic buildings. I understand the anger, but what's the point in saying, Mr. Developer, you took great structures away from us in the past, so we're going to make your life miserable over one that we can chime in on, even if it's not worth spit. That ugly mess of undistinguished laundry buildings on Charles Street was no loss at all, though I was despressed at the absolute cheapness of the Home Depot built there. It was the first I ever saw of fake-brick exterior paneling! Yuck!

What really bothers me here is that the state essentially kissed off $10 million. Somebody's posterior (maybe more than one) should wind up in a state attorney's briefcase for that deal. And, yes, the mean big developer scores again. How about snooping into just exactly how a non-demo agreement got lost in the shuffle? That could be interesting. The pro-jo could sell some serious papers over the backstory here. The rest is smoke and mirrors, amplified by a crowd mentality. Good riddance to that ugly hunk of masonry. I got tired of driving back and forth past it for enough years.

OK, just let me get the galvanized trash can over my head, and then you can break out the baseball bats. No aluminum please, just wood. :w00t:

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jencoleslaw Town

jencoleslaw

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you know, it doesn't matter whether anyone thinks this building is ugly. what matters is the deal. The deal was that the developer got a freaking sweatheart deal on PRIME state property with the promise that the building, which is historic and was once a very important part of Providence's (and RI's) economy, would be salvaged and made useful again. I do not give a rat's a$$ if people think its not worth saving because it isn't beautiful. The fact is that it is worth saving because it is part of our history, because the state wanted to save it, and coddamn it, that was the deal.

So let's not muddy the waters here with chatter about how "well, its an ugly duckling of a building anyway, so we shouldn't get our panties in a wad" because that isn't the point at all.

every time the state or the city gives something away, every time a developer takes a mile when given an inch, every time someone is strong armed into "emergency" demolitions of historic structures, we lose. We don't just lose our history, we lose our integrity and our ability to trust developers, elected officials, and municipal workers. It is a rot and it invades everything and turns it sour. And if folks want to paint the developer with the brush from another crappy project, then I say why not? What comes around goes around. Development Karma is a b*tch, friends.

I think one of the worst things about RI is that when you suspect, or find out that someone is on the take or at least taking advantage, it hurts a little more because it is probably someone you know quite well, maybe even someone you like and are friends with.

I'm looking forward to moving somewhere where I don't know the people who represent me on the many levels of local and state politics and I can't possibly take it personally when they screw me and the other tax payers over with their backroom deals and greased palm not-so- secret handshakes.

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foxpointer Whistle-Stop

foxpointer

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" yet this developer has single handedly screwed the state out of 10 million dollars with zero effort."

I am not defending the intentions or actions of Carpoionato, but let's be fair here: the state purchased the property to create an off-ramp from 95 to the Providence Place Mall. The Carpionato bid was the highest of all purchase proposals received. This means all of the other bidders felt the property was less valuable than did Carpionato (this could be due in part to the other developers sincerely intending to keep the building and not simply giving lip service to the preservation easement).

Isn't it possible that the State overpaid for the land, the justification in its mind being the anticiapted sales tax revenues from the Mall? I think some more scrutiny needs to be put on the State's actions when it purchased the land and the manner in which the land was dispensed.

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Liamlunchtray Burg

Liamlunchtray

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I don't really understand all the people saying this building is ugly. I think at the moment it is only ugly because it is so run down. Sure, its no architectural marvel, but with the right project it could really shine. It has more personality than most all new construction, and to be honest It has long been when of my favorite buildings in the city. I dig it. Paolino likes to say that any building that needs to be rehabbed is ugly and disgusting, He said the same thing about the round gast station and the Trolley barn. If it ain't surface parking, it aint for him.

This is what it is supposed to look like. I love it

http://www.artinruins.com/arch/decay/provf...Market-hist.jpg

Of course as everyone else has already mentioned, the beauty of this building is besides the point. The main issue here is that the state is effectively owed $10million.

Could the produce building have been cleaned up and made presentable? Sure. Why do so many of you want to? Joey P. is skating remarkably close to the truth here when he says the building is ugly. Is it the ugliest building in Providence? I don't know; it seems there is a lot of competition for that title (and Providence is hardly alone in that regard). However, despite a lot of preservationist hysteria, it is an old, ugly, industrial structure, that nobody needs. As has been pointed out, mostly in sarcasm, the site would make a great parking lot.
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brick Burg

brick

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Here's a question. If someone went up to Carp and said "we'll pay you the $4.3 million you paid, you wanna sell to us?"

What do you think Carp would say?

foxpointer has a valid point, and I am typically a market economist, but Carp is clearly clearly taking advantage of the system (such as it is) in any way they can. They and Pavo are a threat to this state and city's economic future, wanting to create and endless swath of suburban blight. They are not innovators, they are not benefactors, they don't even take risks. They have no reason to be in existence other than to suck at the teat of RI taxpayers until the well is dry. Frankly in an honest world they would not be allowed to be in business.

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gregw Hamlet

gregw

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I think the Produce Warehouse is a cool building that would shine if it was rehabbed along the lines of the earlier renderings. I like the Art Deco detailing on the concrete, the rhythm of the multipane windows and brick spandrels, and even the mini towers that give the building its distinctive silhouette. It's also a slice of older Providence that is fading as the city becomes more and more homogenized. Too bad it fell into the hands of a developer who seems to be imaginatively and ethically challenged.

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