NEWS & CITY LIFE
N e i ghbo r ho o d News | Curated by Abbie Lahmers
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Neighbors call on the 195 Commission to reconsider plans for Parcel 2 “It’s not easy, I get it,” said Providence resident Leslie Gardner to the 195 Commission at a mid-January public meeting. The respected longtime former chair of the Capital Center Commission, Gardner sympathized with the commissioners’ task: to evaluate three building proposals currently on the table for Parcel 2, the area of 195 land located between South Water and South Main streets. “This is a very important decision,” she continued. The Commission has since chosen a developer, Urbanica, but Gardner – and other residents and neighborhood leaders who spoke at the meeting – did not hold back their objections to all three designs, saying the proposed six-story, mixed-use structures are too tall and too massive. Almost all speakers expressed concerns that vehicular traffic and parking are problematic, even before the arrival of the new residents who would occupy the buildings. Some residents pleaded for fewer built-in parking spaces to encourage a shift toward more sustainable forms of transportation, while others urged the Commission to move in the opposite direction by providing more space for the likely influx of residents with cars. Neighbors also pointed out the potential for flooding in the area, as well as the urgent need for affordable housing in Providence. The Fox Point Neighborhood Association wrote a letter of position to the 195 Commission, its second since November, urging the organization to “go back to the drawing board” to develop designs that are more compatible with the neighborhood. –By Amy Mendillo
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ProvidenceOnline.com • March 2022
