Downtown Providence, RI

Current day Dwtn Providence was originally  known as “Weybosset Neck” or “Weybosset Side”. It was first settled by religious dissidents from the First Congregational Society in 1746. Their settlement was located near present-day Westminster Street. Downtown did not witness substantial development until the early 19th century, when Providence began to compete with Newport RI thanks to the British destruction of much of Newport. From there on Dwtn Providence developed like typical American dwtns first becoming a warehousing, storage, and general goods district, then hosting a concentration of Department stores, offices, and theaters in the early 20th century.

But like most American Dwtn’s, Providence was scared and isolated by significant highway development receiving an innerbelt looping around 2/3s of the downtown area and isolating it from South Providence, West End, Federal Hill, and the Smith Hill neighborhoods. By the 1970s downtown was widely seen as a dangerous place to be after dark and witnessed significant disinvestment and abandonment. Johnson and Wales University used this opportunity to purchase many of the vacant properties for cheap and significantly expanded its main Dwtn campus and in the process helped stabilize Dwtn. The 1980s and 1990s kicked off major reinvestment projects in Dwtn including reopening access to the city’s natural rivers, Water place Park new development around the Capitol, and the opening of Providence Place, an extensive mall with several department stores and Cineplex.  Significant investments were also made to bolster the arts lead by the Providence Performing Arts Center and Trinity Repertory Company.

From an urban perspective Downtown providence punches above its weigh class for a metro at just over 1.5 M. It has a compact historic core which is generally in tact with a great array of historic bldgs, solid dwtn population, good retail amenities (thanks to the Providence Place Mall), good cultural amenities, compact feel and good walkability including the ability to walk to Brown in 10-15 minutes, large college presence, and well connected by bike and transit modes. But for this to become a top tier American Dwtn it needs to reinvent itself in the wake of the Covid-19 shuffle. Recent news articles point to a Dwtn which is struggling to maintain its vitality with the decrease in dwtn workers. Downtown Providence needs to build on its quality built environment and compactness and truly become the 5 minute neighborhood it was meant to be. There are many surface parking lots, especially on the southern edge of Dwtn and in the Jeweler Subdistrict screaming for new density and housing.

Click here to view my Downtown Providence Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Solid population for a  dwtn.
* Great public transit within Providence with 7.5 rating. Public transit to the suburbs is a mixed-use bag with better transit in the older suburbs than the newer ones.
* Decent dedicated bike lanes within Providence and Dwtn but not as fully as one would like. Some good lengthy bike lanes out to the suburbs but not plentiful. Providence has dockless system across the City but not as good as dedicated bike sharing stations.
* Excellent Historic architecture, mostly late 19th century 4-6 story bldgs but also some boutique skyscrapers too.*
* Most intersections have ADA curb cuts and good sidewalks.
* Not the most gridded Dwtn but lots of short blocks.
* Excellent racial and economic diversity metrics Dwtn.
* Some amenities dwtn for kids including the History & Children’s museum, Hockey Team, and winter ice rink.
* Generally a very safe dwtn with low levels of crime and limited blight.
* Very nice cluster of private, public, and arts schools in the heart of Dwtn with mixed ratings. Several quality schools on the western edge of Dwtn including the highly rated Classical High School with 1,000 students.
* Also good college presence dwtn with several satellite campus dwtn, the heart of Brown University is only a 15 min walk with several colleges located closer, and Liston Community college is located just south of Dwtn.
* Decent # of rentals but market rate is generally expensive. 1-beds lease btwn 1.8K-the low 3Ks, some 2-beds in the 2Ks & 3Ks, and some 3-bed product. Plenty of permanent affordable rentals however.
* Solid parks in Dwtn including a recreational trail running along Providence River, the new 195 District Park & Station & Waterfront Park, the Civic hubs of Burnside & Biltmore Parks, and several smaller plazas.
* Compared to most dwtn’s surface parking lots aren’t terrible. Only a handful in the core of Dwtn but they become and more and more pervasive as one heads to the southern end of Dwtn (the Jewelry District).
* Solid cultural & regional amenities including plenty of food & beverage bizs, plenty of art galleries, plenty of nightclubs & a handful of live music venues, lots of performing arts venues, (both old & modern), a cineplex, several museums & historic sites (esp. when you count statehouse and those across the river), a convention center. Excellent concentration of gov’t offices  across local and state.
* Solid retail amenities including a couple drug stores, the Providence Place Mall (which is pretty healthy with lots of clothing stores, food options, retail stores and several; dept stores) several boutiques, gift stores, book stores and churches in the Historic dwtn. Also a handful of dessert joins, gyms, home good stores but less than most dwtns. A major hospital is just south of dwtn.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

• Dwtn population is largely students and young adults.
• No supermarkets dwtn but there is a Trader Joe’s just across the river.”
• Dwtn providence is not the most vertical dwtn or extensive but a nice cluster of bldgs btwn 300-430 feet topped out by the antique Industrial Nat Bank Bldg. The modern skyscrapers that surround it a decent.
• Okay for sale product too with 1-bed condos selling btwn 250K-500, some 2-beds btwn 500k-750K, but limited 3-beds.
• Dwtn employment in Dwtn Providence isn’t great. Probably somewhere btwn 20K-30K.
• Decent but not top notch urban infill. Lots of quality urban infill for 1990s/early 2000 standards but the design is pretty bland yet with decent urban form. The modern office towers are decent but not distinctive, also some unattractive 1960s-1970s apartment bldgs surrounding the Cathedral.
• Streetscape is fine but generally pretty dated and often narrow.
• Sports amenities are limited to the Bruins hockey arena, a minor league team. # of restaurants is a bit limited for a dwtn area.