Ongoing Advocacy Efforts

The JDA is actively engaged with the following projects:

Fane Tower

Proposed 50+ story apartment tower on Dyer St. adjacent to the new riverside park.

The JDA joins many other organizations and individuals in opposing this project because it exceeds the 100-foot zoning for the site by hundreds of feet. A classic example of spot zoning — extraordinary privilege illegally granted to a single user for a single project — the Fane Tower would rise to six hundred feet and substantially alter the character of our neighborhood.

Action: The JDA endorsed a lawsuit against the project. We spoke out at Planning Department hearings and other related public forums. And our efforts paid off. This monumentally bad idea was finally abandoned by the developer.

Intermodal Transit Hub

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) has proposed a major restructuring of public transportation in downtown Providence. The plan includes relocating the transit hub from its current location at Kennedy Plaza. After considering relocating the intermodal hub to a location on the edge of the new waterfront park in the District, and then to a vacant lot on Dorrance St., RIPTA has now proposed a location in the Jewelry District between Friendship and Clifford Streets. The JDA believes that the plan is ill-conceived for a number of reasons, including its distance from the Providence Railroad Station over a mile away, the lack of a north-bound exit from I-95. Another fault in the location is the constricted street grid in the Jewelry District, with ts narrow 19th-Centruy streets — hardly navigable by cars and deliveruy trucks, much less the additional traffic of numerous RIPTA buses.We are also concerned that implementation of the plan is being rushed simply to take advantage of previously allocated funding, a hastening of the process that skips proper public input for this very public service.

Action: Participation by JDA members in demanding further public input as well as a study of service impacts before RIDOT moves ahead with the plan.

Waterfront Park

We continue to participate with the Downtown Providence Parks Network (DPPN) in the development and programming of the evolving park along the West Bank of the Providence River. The most recent development has been the completion of the River Walk. This great public resource is a walkway that begins at Waterplace Basin and runs along the river past RISD and the Supreme Court House to the Waterfront Park and, as of early 2024, to Point Street.

Action: We continue monitoring the design process of a dining pavilion proposed for a site in the park at the end of the Van Leesten Pedestrian Bridge.

Pedestrian Bridge

When opened in August 2019, the Van Leesten Pedestrian Bridge over the Providence River was an instant hit with the public. It has been the scene of picnics, gatherings, family fun and at least one funeral. A great public space, the bridge attracts tourists and serves as the east-west connector for people living and working on opposite sides of the river.

Unfortunately, as a wide-open public space it has attracted graffiti, strewn trash and out-of-control nighttime behavior, including a careening car which severely damaged the railing on this pedestrian-only bridge at 3:30 am one nitght.

Action: At our insistence, the management of the Pedestrian Bridge was removed from City Administration and transferred to the Providence Parks Department. The Parks Department has responded day and night, with crews removing graffiti, repairing other acts of vandalism, and have secured surveillance cameras which will be installed shortly. Similarly, the Providence Police Department has been adding patrols to prevent further incidents.

Things have improved. And the bridge continues to attract tourists and residents alike. And, along with the surrounding park it has become the focal point of special events and family activities year round. 

Development in the District 

With the removal of I-195 and the continued conversion of factory buildings, development opportunities abound in the District. Exciting projects such as South Street Landing, Wexford, Chestnut Commons and the Aloft Hotel are transforming the area. New projects proposed or in the works include 33 Bassett Street, and a major apartment complex on Parcel 28.

Action: JDA committees review all new projects to see how they fit into the District. We attend I-195 Commission meetings and zoning and design review hearings, encourage developers to present their projects at our monthly meetings and testify on a case by case basis to get what we believe is best for the District.

Currently, Brown University has begun work on a major new building between Richmond and Chestnut Streets. University representatives have shared their plans and listened to public comment at JDA monthly meetings over the past year. Several other new development projects are underway and we are working with the developers to keep disruption at a minimum for motorists, pedestrians and bikers, as well as the residents of the District.

Greening the District

When the District was transformed from a jewelry manufacturing hub to today’s mix of business, residential, medical, institutional and hospitality uses, its greenery disappeared. Over the years, the JDA has actively worked with the City Forester to restore street trees. More than 60 new trees have been planted in the past three years.

Action: Organize community volunteers and institutions for clean-up days to remove trash and weeds from around our young trees. We continue to work with the City Forester to monitor the condition of our trees, provide regular watering and pruning and mulching, and install protective bollards for street trees. 

Bicycle and Pedestrian lanes

The City of Providence has embarked on a major project called the Great Streets Initiative. The program seeks to increase pedestrian and bicycle safety and slow vehicular traffic. Expansion of protected areas has been interrupted by major, ongoing building construction over the past four or five years.

Cooperative Efforts with Other Neighborhood Associations

Many of the issues in today’s Providence are shared in all neighborhoods. The JDA attends monthly meetings at other associations as a way to build citizen involvement in confronting controversial issues. Together our voices can reach out to city officials more powerfully. 

Action: The JDA has joined the Coalition of Neighborhoods in support of the campaign to stop the installation of a liquified natural gas terminal abutting a residential neighborhood on the South Side. Similarly, we are working on a citywide initiative to force RIDOT to abandon its current proposal which would negatively impact transit riders and our neighborhood (see RIPTA Intermodal Hub above.)