[Summit] Summit Digest, Vol 69, Issue 12

Wed Dec 15 19:34:20 UTC 2010

Dear Neighbors,

I want to weigh in on this issue, as before working at The Miriam Hospital I was the Program Director for the Downcity Partnership/Providence Foundation which spearheaded the revitalization of Downcity and Westminster Street. 

Allen Tear is right about Cornish Associates who certainly was a leader on Westminster Street, but the change on Westminster isn't because of one developer.  
Few people know that The Rhode Island Foundation had a donor that gave a large amount of money (in the millions) to the revitalization effort.  Part of the money was spent assisting "Travelers Aid" (now called Crossroads) to relocate out of the center of the city to it's current location at the old YMCA.  The other money was used in a Revolving Loan Fund which was available for developers to apply for to refurbish their store fronts, or apply for gap loan funding. Stanely Weiss for example, used some of these funds to create The Hotel Providence.

The Rhode Island Foundation also paid three FULL TIME staff persons to 
work on the project.  That was The Downcity Partnership.  There was an Executive Director, a Program Director, and a Administrative Assistant.  We worked as a subsidiary of the Rhode Island Foundation, although we had our own Board of Directors with
some very influential people serving on our board.

The Downcity Partnership ended up being dismantled, and the project was placed in the care of The Providence Foundation, under the direction of Dan Boudouin.  My position as the Program Director remained and I worked with Dan. Dan and I worked with ALL of the current developers in the area, the merchants associations, the Downtown Neighborhood Alliance,  the Downtown Security Network, and The City of Providence Planning Department (Plus other groups to numerous to mention).  We hired a professional firm to do a year long study of the area to make recommendations for it's improvement. Every single stakeholder in the area was interviewed, people on the street were interviewed through the means of on street and telephone interviews, and other professional groups were consulted to create the report.  The report was called the Cooperative Arts and Retail Management Study, and is probably still available through the Providence Foundation. The main
 recommendation (they detailed short term, mid term, and long term goals) for the area was to create a "Business Improvement District", now called the "DID" (Downtown Improvement District).  Parking was certainly one of the issues facing downtown, but like North Main Street, it was one of several issues.  Other things that helped with Westminster Street
included the use of Historic Tax Credits for developers as an INCENTIVE to develop.

 I worked on the Downcity Revitalization effort for 3 years, it was a very rewarding project. There were many nuances to getting an Improvement District approved.  I was heavily involved with the International Downtown Association Movement and the Main Streets Program prior to coming to The Miriam Hospital, all of whom have professional program models for these efforts around the country .  In my opinion, revitalizing North Main will take a long time and will need a consortium of groups to be committed to it in order for things to change.  The groundwork has been laid nicely by SNA who started the process.
But there are many criteria that need to be regularly addressed, monies which need to be raised, and awareness about the project which need to be raised.

A very good goal is the one currently being taken by Peter Kammerer of the Sandwich Hut to start a merchants association.  The Downcity Merchants Association was a key stakeholder in the changes that are now enjoyed in Downcity.  

Sincerely,
Monica Anderson
I

-- On Wed, 12/15/10, summit-request at sna.providence.ri.us <summit-request at sna.providence.ri.us> wrote:

From: summit-request at sna.providence.ri.us <summit-request at sna.providence.ri.us>
Subject: Summit Digest, Vol 69, Issue 12
To: summit at sna.providence.ri.us
Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2010, 1:00 PM

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: To all the North Mainers . . . (Dream W)
   2. Re: To all the North Mainers . . . (e2shatter2 at cox.net)
   3. Fountain  progress (George Schietinger)
   4. web site building question- SBI (Breslers)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:56:27 -0800 (PST)
From: Dream W <dreammail22 at yahoo.com>
To: summit at sna.providence.ri.us
Subject: Re: [Summit] To all the North Mainers . . .
Message-ID: <778045.57481.qm at web39704.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I agree completely with Allan. ?I have been working with the North Main St. Committee, and the absence of interested developers is clearly what is holding the street back.
It's pretty simple: If we get the properties developed, the street will turn around.

Dean  ?------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:46:01 -0500
From: Allan Tear <aktear at gmail.com>
To: summit at sna.providence.ri.us
Subject: Re: [Summit] To all the North Mainers . . .
Message-ID:
??? <AANLkTin70hcqOfajmeuh73Bc9B4CTZ0ZpKHcodoGn5ns at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Westminster's progress - despite setbacks - is due to a committed developer,
Cornish Associates, with a vision for a livable downtown. The lack of a
similar developer on NM is a "main" reason why it hasn't made progress,
despite the energy of the surrounding community to the cause.

Best, Allan
93 Lauriston

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Message: 2
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:40:32 -0500
From: <e2shatter2 at cox.net>
To: Dream W <dreammail22 at yahoo.com>
Cc: summit at sna.providence.ri.us
Subject: Re: [Summit] To all the North Mainers . . .
Message-ID: <20101214174032.V54JH.375381.imail at eastrmwml46>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

Miriam Hospital's hogging most of the parking around the old Sears and Anderson-Little site has discouraged developers
from doing anything around there. I don't know about the rest of the street.
---- Dream W <dreammail22 at yahoo.com> wrote: 
> I agree completely with Allan. ?I have been working with the North Main St. Committee, and the absence of interested developers is clearly what is holding the street back.
> It's pretty simple: If we get the properties developed, the street will turn around.
> 
> 
> Dean  ?------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:46:01 -0500
> From: Allan Tear <aktear at gmail.com>
> To: summit at sna.providence.ri.us
> Subject: Re: [Summit] To all the North Mainers . . .
> Message-ID:
> ??? <AANLkTin70hcqOfajmeuh73Bc9B4CTZ0ZpKHcodoGn5ns at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> Westminster's progress - despite setbacks - is due to a committed developer,
> Cornish Associates, with a vision for a livable downtown. The lack of a
> similar developer on NM is a "main" reason why it hasn't made progress,
> despite the energy of the surrounding community to the cause.
> 
> Best, Allan
> 93 Lauriston
> 

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:56:02 -0500
From: George Schietinger <george at residentialbuilders.info>
To: <summit at sna.providence.ri.us>
Subject: [Summit] Fountain  progress
Message-ID: <C92D6E42.C090%george at residentialbuilders.info>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

> George, et al.
>  
> With the exception of the new concrete walks going to the fountain and the new
> benches, most of the work completed at the project has been underground or not
> readily visible:  all of the plumbing piping to the fountain, the tie-in to
> the city water system, the plumbing under and in the fountain, the plumbing
> under the pump house, the foundation for the pump house, and pump house slab,
> the slab for the bike rack and benches, the footings for the new lights, and
> the electrical conduits and wiring for the additional lighting around the
> fountain.
>  
> We are disappointed that the pump house is not yet built...we have had permit
> issues for the water system that delayed the slab being poured and for the
> past 10 days the temperatures have been unseasonalby colder than normal which
> has not allowed us to put up concrete block and concrete.  We need 3 days of
> 45 degree weather to put up the block and then the carpentry can proceed.
>  
> The construction fence has to stay--it is the reasonable and prudent action.
> In April, we will return to the site to complete the following major items:
>  
> *  
> * Fountain cleaning
> * 
> *  
> * Caulking of fountain joints
> * 
> *  
> * Landscaping 
> * 
> *  
> * Bluestone repair
> * 
> *  
> * Final lighting 
> * 
> *  
> * Final plumbing
> I apologize for the delays in the project.  There have been a variety of
> issues that have delayed the project that are not the responsibility of the
> contractor.  
>  
> Bob McMahon

------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2010 21:22:28 -0500
From: Breslers <breslerfamily at gmail.com>
To: Summit Neighborhood <Summit at sna.providence.ri.us>
Subject: [Summit] web site building question- SBI
Message-ID:
    <AANLkTi=dDNE1kJSqqXbVihMWeAU_bnPTf7AGbLK64JEA at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Does anyone have any first hand, i.e. personal experience, with the web site
business "Site Build It"
I would be interested to hear about it.
Thanks
Elianna

-- 
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funded in part by a Folk Arts Fellowship grant from the RI State Council on
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End of Summit Digest, Vol 69, Issue 12
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