Tag Archives: Urban Planning

In Waterbury, a sip of Conn.

Posted on January 24, 2019 by David Brussat

Next Wednesday I’ll be visiting Waterbury, Conn., for the first time in a great many years, and even then I did not visit but passed through. For a New Englander (by choice, not by birth) I have relatively little experience … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture History, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The path now against Fane

Posted on December 14, 2018 by David Brussat

The Providence City Council has overridden Mayor Elorza’s brave veto of a bill to allow developer Jason Fane to proceed with a tower that plainly violates city zoning law. The building would no longer violate the height limit for Parcel … Continue reading →

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

Mayor Elorza’s brave veto

Posted on November 30, 2018 by David Brussat

To the surprise of most observers, Mayor Elorza vetoed the Providence City Council’s approval last week of legislation to raise by a factor of six the 100-foot height limit on Parcel 42 of the Route 195 corridor. That legislation, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development, Providence Journal | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

HQ2 twofers and Providence

Posted on November 14, 2018 by David Brussat

Two major eastern cities have won the HQ2 sweepstakes, and you have to wonder whether the twofers – Long Island City and Crystal City, outside Manhattan and D.C. – both realize they got half a loaf. How soon will it … Continue reading →

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

A little off the top for Fane

Posted on October 23, 2018 by David Brussat

Monday night’s public hearing into the Fane tower at City Hall barely seemed to push the needle one way or the other on whether to permit its developer, Jason Fane, to ignore the 100-foot height limit on the Jewelry District … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Stop Fane tower on Monday

Posted on October 18, 2018 by David Brussat

The good guys will have another opportunity to denounce the bad guys on Monday at a 5:30 p.m. public hearing of the ordinance committee of the Providence City Council. I refer, naturally, to the proposed 600-foot Hope Point Tower by … Continue reading →

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

Andres Duany: Downcity adios

Posted on September 6, 2018 by David Brussat

The following is a guest column written by Andrés Duany, a founder of the New Urbanism movement whose planning and design firm, Duany Plater-Zyberk, has been deeply involved in revitalizing downtown Providence since the early 1990s. He writes in opposition … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Lovely town main streets

Posted on August 12, 2018 by David Brussat

Architectural Digest has posted “The 30 Most Beautiful Main Streets Across America,” and they are beautiful. I examined each photo and saw no buildings identifiable as modern architecture. For while civic beauty is primarily the presence of lovely old buildings; … Continue reading →

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

Cover-up on Canal Street!

Posted on June 13, 2018 by David Brussat

Some people might think the “cover up” in the headline refers to the legally dubious swap of air rights for extra height that would have enabled 15 stories for Phase 2 of the proposed Edge College Hill apartments on Canal … Continue reading →

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

How R.I. can get Amazon

Posted on September 14, 2017 by David Brussat

Amazon wants to build a second headquarters, presumably in some part of the country to balance its megapresence in Seattle, where it was founded. So, predictably, cities are lining up to bring Amazon home. Rhode Island will submit a bid. … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments