GoLocalProv | How Did 195 Innovation District Become a Collection of Apartment Buildings
Friday, September 24, 2021
195 Land – a promise to transform the RI economy with high income jobs, now an upscale apartment strategy
Moving Interstate-195 in Providence and the creation of the 195 Innovation District was designed to be a game-changer for Providence and the Rhode Island economy.
The project, which began in the 1990s, was the second phase of transforming Providence. It was to build off the success of moving the rivers and the creation of Waterplace Park.
The 195 district was to be the economic engine. It promised new companies in key growth sectors like technology and biotech, but now decades later the development to date — and the newest proposals — have been primarily residential upscale apartments — with average rents of $2,000 for a one-bedroom apartment.
The latest proposal this past week was more of the same – retail on the first floor and tony apartments above.
The New York Times hyped the impact of how the new land opportunity would transform Providence in 2009.
“The surplus parcels are situated between the city’s hospital district, its downtown and its educational institutions, and the vision is for a mix of uses that will foster a new ‘knowledge-based economy’ centered on Providence’s educational and medical institutions.
The then-Mayor talked about the 195 land being a game-changer for the future of Providence.
“‘This is an extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our city,’” said Providence’s mayor at the time, David Cicilline, in an interview with the Times.
Exeter Property Group is developing Emblem 125, a mixed-use project on Parcel 28 that includes 248 residential units and 22,700 SF of retail space.
There is no official list of the costs to move I-195, the remediations and the creation of the 195 Innovation District, but the best estimates total around $800 million to $1 billion.
Now, the 195 project looks more and more like a housing development — a hodgepodge of apartment buildings targeting college students, primarily Brown, and commuters for jobs in the Boston market.
In 2011, when the Rhode Island State Senate was confirming the initial slate of appointees to the 195 Commission, then-Senate Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio promoted the opportunity to create innovative economy jobs.
“The availability of this reclaimed land presents an exciting opportunity to attract new, high-quality jobs and bolster the economy of the city and the state,” said Ruggerio in 2011. “This redevelopment district is a key advantage for our state. It bodes well for our ambitious goals that this collection of exceptional individuals will guide the development of this vital district.”
In 2014, the 195 Commission marketed the project under the name of “The Link” and hyped the business opportunities.
“Rhode Island is home to many internationally-recognized industries, including marine sciences, manufacturing and tourism and hospitality, has financing programs for businesses in all phases of development,” said the website.
“From microloans, to incentives, to taxable bonds, a wide array of business financing solutions are available for all organizations looking to move into The LINK,” was the promise.
“Life sciences, information technology and digital media are currently the fastest-developing sectors in the state, with enormous potential for even more growth. Rhode Island offers business development assistance for these companies, including tax credits, as well as assistance with site selection, relocation, and workforce training,” wrote “The Link.”
“The Slater Technology Fund and Science and Technology Advisory Council provide funding for tech-based ventures, implement programs supporting R&D, and promote collaboration across these innovative sectors,” wrote the commission.
And in 2014, frustration was building at how little of the land had been developed. “They are taking forever, aren’t they?” Joe Paolino, a former Providence Mayor and a local real estate developer told GoLocal. “My frustration with it is they already have so many good developers that want to develop there. Why do they have to waste time?”
The former Dean of the University of Rhode Island’s Business School was even more critical of the failures of the Commission.
“The Commission is an example of the ‘theory of creeping meat-ballism’—bring together a group of individuals with little or no experience in economic development, give them a budget and some authority, let them meet for a few years and get little action other than what would have happened anyway without them,” Ed Mazze said.
In 2014, then-Governor Lincoln Chafee defended the speed at which the 195 lands were moving toward development.
“The site is very busy with activity as we ensure the construction of good solid infrastructure—roads, utilities, sewers, drainage among other groundwork. The 195 land has been branded, the LINK, and implementation of a marketing plan has started. This has been a thoughtful project and smart decisions have been made by members of the Commission,” Chafee said.
“Five years after the creation of the 195 Commission, jobs and construction have been limited to nonprofit Johnson and Wales’ new science building so far, the first and only project completed to date on the former interstate highway land. Current commission Chair Joe Azrack, however, is defending the speed of development, and future prospects for the more than 26 acres of land in Providence,” reported GoLocal in 2016.
“’Whether it’s Providence or Boston, or really any metropolitan area when you’re talking about urban redevelopment of large scale – and 27 acres is a large scale redevelopment – it’s complicated,’ said [then-195 Chair Joe] Azrack. ‘It takes a long time to do everything from various legislative steps that have to happen at state or city level, to clearing the site to putting utilities and infrastructure in and then getting interest.'”
Over the decade the senior staff and the board have been in near-constant flux.
Tech jobs were the promise. It is hard to find any new net growth on the 195 land
Now, seven years later the Link has had changed its name again, but hopes of attracting significant life sciences, information or digital media companies seems to have bypassed Providence. Instead, the 195 lands are now primarily being developed for apartments, a supermarket, and there is a hotel.
Not on a 195 Innovation District parcel but adjacent was the state-subsidized building of the state’s nursing school. Developer CV Properties LLC, of Boston, transformed the South Street Station (former power plant) for $220 million.
This week, Saul Kaplan, the founder of the Business Innovation Factory, tweeted after the Amazon distribution warehouse won approval in Johnston, RI about the lack of progress in the development an innovation economy in Rhode Island, “We wanted an #innovation economy, instead we got an Amazon Customer Fulfillment Center. #RhodeIsland.”
To date, according to the Commission, four projects have been completed, three projects are in construction, and two others are in development.
Completed are a parking garage, apartments at Chestnut Commons, a Johnson and Wales classroom building, and the Wexford Building which houses shared office space, Brown University, and an office for Johnson and Johnson – approximately 100 jobs.
Under construction are a hotel, an apartment building on Emblem 125, and another apartment building with a grocery store on parcel 6.
The two projects pending are the Fane Tower (apartments and condos) and a project on parcel 9 for an additional 130 apartments.
Combined, the 195 Commission has approved more than 1,000 new apartments, and functionally has developed no project that creates any new innovation economy jobs. The Johnson& Johnson jobs were moved from another location in the city.
The 195 Commission, state and city officials hired a top-tiered planning group to develop a master plan for the use of the land.
195 Land developed for upscale housing and a supermarket
Nearly every tenet of the recommendations of the report has been scrapped. “Regulate height by stories, rather than feet, to allow for flexibility for developers and variation in the skyline. This will also be beneficial for research and development uses, a use that is encouraged on some of the parcels. Research and development facilities typically have higher floor-to-floor heights than do office buildings,” stated the report in guidance of the development for research space.
The spokesperson for the 195 commission, Cara Cromwell has repeatedly refused to respond to questions about the strategic shift from a jobs-focused strategy to a housing-based strategy.
In that 2009 story, the Times reported, “The city has already claimed eight acres straddling the Providence River. This is to become a new city park featuring a sculpture garden and a terraced amphitheater, among other design elements. Construction will begin in another year or two.” Twelve years later, there is little public art in the district, no public amphitheater, and the long-promised pedestrian bridge, (now named the Michael Van Leesten Bridge) was completed years later and at a budget-breaking cost of $22 million — more than $18 million over the initial budget.