DESTROYED: Providence Fruit & Produce Warehouse

[brick]

Dave Brussat weighs in too: "Don

[Cotuit]

PROJO Editorial: "Risky warehouse?"

http://www.projo.com/opinion/editorials/co...16.2b0f2de.html

[gregw]

Somebody's been reading the blogs:

http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid54723.aspx

[Cotuit]

I knew there was something I liked about Ian Donnis.

j., your 10 step process has been rushing around the intertubes, I saw it posted in a comment on RIFuture the other day too.

[ArtInRuins]

j., your 10 step process has been rushing around the intertubes, I saw it posted in a comment on RIFuture the other day too.

[glassandsteel]

What is so bad about parking in front? This is something I never truly understood the backlash for. I understand youse guyse want things to be walkable, but why can't they be both walkable and parkable?

[ArtInRuins]

Cicilline announced an Executive Order last night at the Providence Preservation Society Awards that would, in effect, make it harder to execute Demolition by Neglect in the city again. Not impossible, but harder. Property owners would be held more accountable of their properties, and out-of-town banks would have to do more with their foreclosed properties than just board them up. I'm not sure how this will work exactly, but apparently, they have 90 days to draft the new ordinances.

A working group of the Director of the Department of Inspections, Director of Planning, chief of the Fire Department, someone from the Solicitor's office and someone from PPS will be formed to evaluate the current regulations in RI and the City.

He also put a moratorium on the issuance of demolition permits of any of the cities 5000 National Register buildings until the above group turns in it's recommendations.

Projo News Story about the PPS event and the Mayor's Executive Order here.

[runawayjim]

while this sounds good, it almost sounds like it's too little too late.

[Cotuit]

Well, he could hire I don't know, an engineer.

He also put a moratorium on the issuance of demolition permits of any of the cities 5000 National Register buildings until the above group turns in it's recommendations.

[glassandsteel]

while this sounds good, it almost sounds like it's too little too late.

[TheAnk]

I do think Monet added life to the area.. I don't think The Steel Yard does.. I view that as artist sponsored blight, a junk yard on acid.. I don't expect anyone here to agree with me on that, so no comments needed.. I'm sure everyone at The Steelyard are great people, except the Trash Can Lady..

Nothing is going to change the fact that Harris Ave abutts the Amtrak rails.. So since Amtrak or whoever owns that swath on the South side of Harris Ave from Tort Fruit to Club Fantasy is directly to blame for the state of Harris Ave.. And until something is done on that side, that street is Bubba O'Reilly - teenage wasteland to me.. And THATs why its scary.. Not some parking in front of a probably well lit, security guarded newer building.. Besides.. Lets not forget that this building is basically under RT 95.. Not exactly prime space

I just get the feeling sometimes that people are too quick to hate anything new because its not solely functional as "walkable".. Why can't it be both walkable and drivable.. Cuz lets be honest.. Until Amtrak tosses up a long strip of 2-3 story commercial on the southern plots.. Harris Ave is going to stay terrible..

This is why to me, any development is good development in bad areas... The first stuff there has to be pheasible.. Then the area gets better.. Later along, we can nit pick about what type of developments should be built.. But we can't just skip to being picky; we have to be grateful for private money development first..

[ArtInRuins]

I'm wondering whether this is a little too late, or if somebody else knew how long they had. Either way, this works wonders as a political save.

[brick]

Cotuit beat me to it, but I would like to emphasize the fact that if the mayor wants to have more responsible demolition, then he needs to hire an actual qualified professional to do these inspections and sign off on the condition of these buildings.

Also, the city should start routine inspection of derelict buildings, etc. Basically what needs to happen is that Providence needs to start working like a real city and not continue to have policy governed by people who only care about what the city looks like on WaterFire nights or from their view on I-95.

[glassandsteel]

Ank, you're right about The Steel Yard in the fact that it doesn't consistently generate noticable pedestrian traffic, but I feel that the awareness that it brings to it's location is tremendously valuable for the area in general. A lot of people that would never have any excuse to be in that part of town, find themselves there due to The Steel Yard.

I also agree that the whole vacant half of the street is it's greatest setback. I just think that if we're able to create the sort of dynamic that brings people in at both ends of the void, there should eventually be the desire for and eventual supply of development along the tracks.

[jencoleslaw]

Cicilline announced an Executive Order last night at the Providence Preservation Society Awards that would, in effect, make it harder to execute Demolition by Neglect in the city again. Not impossible, but harder. Property owners would be held more accountable of their properties, and out-of-town banks would have to do more with their foreclosed properties than just board them up. I'm not sure how this will work exactly, but apparently, they have 90 days to draft the new ordinances.

A working group of the Director of the Department of Inspections, Director of Planning, chief of the Fire Department, someone from the Solicitor's office and someone from PPS will be formed to evaluate the current regulations in RI and the City.

He also put a moratorium on the issuance of demolition permits of any of the cities 5000 National Register buildings until the above group turns in it's recommendations.

Projo News Story about the PPS event and the Mayor's Executive Order here.

[ArtInRuins]

are there any buildings left besides the arcade, and maybe city hall?!

[jencoleslaw]

There are 5000 National Register buildings in the City of Providence. I am not sure how this Executive Order will effect the Grove Street School. For a complete list of the Properties on the List, go here: http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/RI/. Unfortunately, it is all of Providence County, there isn't a good way to sort the search by just the City itself. But you get the idea.

There are quite a few houses and churches on the List, and some other things you might not expect, like the American Street School (22 America Street). It's not to say that there are many that are in decay now that need our attention, but certainly, a few years from now, there will be more and more that are worth keeping an eye on.

[Pseudo_Work]

are there any buildings left besides the arcade, and maybe city hall?!

[jencoleslaw]

you guys realise that just about every building that has come down, that we are lamenting was protected in some way, shape or form and it didn't matter, right? I do not buy this belated concern for providence's history. As Pat Benatar says "its a little too little, and its a little too late."

[Pseudo_Work]

you guys realise that just about every building that has come down, that we are lamenting was protected in some way, shape or form and it didn't matter, right? I do not buy this belated concern for providence's history. As Pat Benatar says "its a little too little, and its a little too late."

[jencoleslaw]

Yes well, you're jumping ship, so I wouldn't expect you to believe in anything.

[TheAnk]

Driving by this today.. I am kind of happy to see it go.. This building was like the Barbero of Providence.. Broken, waiting to die.. I kind of feel it was put out of its own misery..

And now that it is gashed open, its innards visible.. I just don't see how that thing could have been reused.. It looks like it was built for Oompa Loompas.. What were fruit workers 4 feet tall pigmies in 1920 or whenever it was built? Jesus the ceilings look like they are tops, maybe 6 feet high..

[citationx092]

Now I realize that areas around railroad tracks aren't exactly like Commonwealth avenue Boston, but that place was a real bad image for those riding Amtrak into Providence. Aside from its historical significance, I really gave a bad impression of Providence as you come in on the train. People from out of town probably saw that and came to the conclusion that the city hadn't improved its image from the Providence they knew as kids. At least this exposed the 903 a little more.

[gregw]

I remember when the nearby Cold Storage Warehouse was demolished that it had 6' ceilings in some places as well as tiny windows. It was like a giant brick refrigerator. A beautiful structure in many ways but really hard to reuse.

In this case people can have honest disagreements about whether the Produce Warehouse should have been preserved or not. It's the way the deal went down that really stinks.

I take it there is not going to be some kind of inquiry to find out how the easement "disappeared" from the sale documents? Will we ever find out if the throwing away of minimum $10 million in taxpayers' money was due to just incompetence or whether someone in the state got paid off and hit delete when preparing the docs?

Driving by this today.. I am kind of happy to see it go.. This building was like the Barbero of Providence.. Broken, waiting to die.. I kind of feel it was put out of its own misery..

And now that it is gashed open, its innards visible.. I just don't see how that thing could have been reused.. It looks like it was built for Oompa Loompas.. What were fruit workers 4 feet tall pigmies in 1920 or whenever it was built? Jesus the ceilings look like they are tops, maybe 6 feet high..

[Liamlunchtray]

At least this exposed the 903 a little more.