Category Archives: Development

The Fane tower: It’s baaack!

Posted on June 24, 2022 by David Brussat

The Rhode Island Supreme Court has ruled that the Fane tower – a proposed 500-foot, 46-story luxury highrise in the Jewelry District of Providence – can go forward toward construction. The tower’s proposed height of five times the limit in … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Still no basis to leave plaza

Posted on May 20, 2022 by David Brussat

Not much seems to have changed from last November when I first wrote about a new proposal to replace the Kennedy Plaza bus depot with a new, indoor facility at Dorrance and Clifford streets, four or five blocks south of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

New life for Industrial Trust?

Posted on April 14, 2022 by David Brussat

On Tuesday, officials gathered in the State House to announce a plan to renovate the Industrial Trust Bank Building (ITBB), Rhode Island’s tallest tower, known also as the Superman Building. It has been vacant since 2013, and sits on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

More dishing on Brad Pitt

Posted on February 11, 2022 by David Brussat

Apparently, some media outlets have discovered the joy of dishing on celebrities who think they know best. Isn’t that all of them? At any rate, the Daily Kos and the (U.K.) Guardian both have new hit pieces out on Hollywood … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Backsliding on 67 Williams

Posted on February 3, 2022 by David Brussat

The proposal for a new house on Williams Street where no house has ever been built has, in my mind, slid in status from buildable perhaps to buildable not. I refer to my own minimal support for the design as … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Ellsworth testifies for NYC

Posted on January 24, 2022 by David Brussat

Lynn Ellsworth testified at last Thursday’s public hearing of the Empire State Development [ESD] Corporation. Ellsworth coordinates a group of organizations that opposes former Governor Cuomo’s (and now Governor Hochul’s) illegal plan to demolish the area of historic buildings around … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Best trad buildings of 2021

Posted on December 30, 2021 by David Brussat

This year’s meagre selection of new buildings designed in traditional styles came close to cancellation, not the first event to suffer that fate lately. It is depressing this year, as it was last year, to contemplate the listlessness of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Presto! Windows and doors!

Posted on December 23, 2021 by David Brussat

On Monday, Dec. 20, the Providence Historic District Commission met for a second time on the proposal for a new house at 67 Williams St. They were to consider conceptual approval that was delayed on Nov. 22, after the developer, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Albany-on-Hudson again?

Posted on December 13, 2021 by David Brussat

The capital of the Empire State hopes to do what many cities have done: rip up urban highways inflicted upon them in the 1960s and ’70s. Albany expects soon to remove its elevated eyesore, Interstate 787, which squats between the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Why no windows or doors?

Posted on November 24, 2021 by David Brussat

Not long after neighborhood opposition prevailed over insensitive development proposals for historic Fox Point and College Hill in Providence, a new developer and a different architect have arisen to propose a new house on the vacant land just east of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments