Shared from the 4/29/2018 The Providence Journal eEdition

PROVIDENCE

Thing of beauty? Bizarre? Or maybe both?

Latest design of proposed 46-story ‘Hope Point Tower’ elicits range of opinions

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Paige Wilson, a Johnson & Wales University student, has a suggestion for the proposed tower: Put a grocery store on the ground floor.

[PROVIDENCE JOURNAL PHOTOS/ SANDOR BODO]

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Jacky Soto says the design to the Fane tower is interesting, but also out of place in Providence.

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Marlene Kirshenbaum, of Providence, has her concerns about the proposed 46-story “Hope Point Tower,” including the height.

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Mike Brostek, of Plainville, Massachusetts, says instead of building a new tower, an investment should be made to renovate the empty Superman building, over his shoulder.

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Shae Doggett thinks the tower design is “pretty cool if you can afford it.”

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The latest design of “Hope Point Tower” proposed by the Fane Organization for construction at Dorrance and Dyer streets in Providence.

[THE FANE ORGANIZATION]

PROVIDENCE — “A pair of leggings,” is how Randy Greene, of Providence, describes the appearance of a proposed 46-story apartment tower on Dyer Street.

“It looks like Miami,” said his wife, Leslee Greene, walking with him in the Saturday sunshine near where the base of the building would be. “With the [pedestrian bridge] and walkway coming in, this is a great opportunity for the city — maybe with something more traditional.”

“I say crank it up,” Randy Greene said. “It may be a little bizarre, but will draw a lot of attention.”

There’s nothing like the Fane Organization’s “Hope Point Tower” in Providence now. If built as planned at the corner of Dyer and Dorrance streets, the 600-foot structure would look down on the 26-story Superman building, Rhode Island’s tallest, and the curving white lines shown in renderings released last week suggest South Beach more than Smith Hill.

But whether that non-traditional look is a feature of the tower design or a bug divides residents in a city and state deeply connected to the way things were.

“I like Miami architecture — in Miami,” said Marlene Kirshenbaum, a Providence real estate investor checking out the vacant former highway land the state is trying to redevelop.

“I’m concerned with the height. I am concerned with it looking out of place,” Kirshenbaum said, adding that she is still thinking about what kind of building would go best on this part of the Route 195 land. “I don’t think Providence receives avant-garde well.”

Mike Brostek, of Plainville, Massachusetts, formerly of East Greenwich, was more blunt.

“It’s disappointing,” Brostek told The Journal while walking his dog Sophie along the east bank of the Providence River. “It should be something more traditional and more sustainable. They should make that investment in the Superman building.”

But others said the building could provide a jolt of energy and activity to a part of the city with numerous unused lots.

As she waited to embark on a food tour of the city, Paige Wilson, a senior at Johnson & Wales University, said she would be happy with the design if the ground floor includes a grocery store, as has been suggested.

“Given the fact that there are a large number of students here, I think it would be fine,” Wilson said. “The modern look fits in here with this being a design district.”

Jacky Soto, a 30-year-old wardrobe stylist, said the proposal looked a little out of place along the river, but it’s not necessarily bad.

“The design is pretty interesting,” Soto said. “Makes me think of Dubai.”

“Pretty cool if you can afford it,” added Shae Doggett, 27, sitting next to Soto along the river.

The Fane Organization needs relief from Providence’s 130-foot height limit, plus General Assembly approval to redraw lot lines, to build the tower. At a City Plan Commission meeting last week, Fane architects described the design as “sensuous” and “like water carving through the stone.”

Commission member Luis Torrado likened it to an “amoeba.”

The last time Providence confronted construction of a skyscraper that would rise above the Superman building and add contemporary style to the skyline was 2006. BlueChip Properties planned a 32-story condominium tower at 110 Westminster St., but after tearing down a building at the site, the project was abandoned when the housing market collapsed. At the commission hearing last week, Fane Organization representatives suggested the design could be changed in response to feedback.

Leslee Greene, who moved to Providence from Boston about six months ago, warned against opposition to any new construction.

“I wouldn’t push too hard that they don’t build anything,” Green said. “Let them get their toe in the sand and then work on the final design.”

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