Design panel: Reject tower

PROVIDENCE — Following hours of spirited debate, the Downtown Design Review Committee voted unanimously Monday night to recommend that the I-195 Redevelopment Commission reject the proposed Hope Point Tower in its current form.

The decision was received mostly with applause at the Joseph A. Doorley Jr. Municipal Building.

"This design as a whole is a complete departure from the character of our capital city," said Kristi Gelnett, the committee's chairwoman. "I would encourage the architect to design a building that fits in our city."

The project proposed by New York developer Jason Fane envisions a luxury condo complex that rises 500 feet above the legally zoned 100 feet in height, requiring a zoning waiver to move ahead.

While Mayor Jorge O. Elorza vetoed the zoning change, the City Council overrode his veto in December.

Fane Tower LLC applied for waivers to the city zoning ordinances on height restrictions, building ground-level facades and the building's upper-story facade.

The committee's vote — which is only a recommendation to the I-195 Redevelopment Commission — centered mostly on the building's proposed 600-foot height, though other factors, such as its shape, played a role.

"The tower in itself is not consistent with the rectangular buildings that surround it," said committee Vice Chairman Clark Schoettle.

 "Development done poorly can do more harm and hurt future development," committee member Rachel Hampton said. "We have seen it happen to Boston, and I would hate to see it happen to our lovely Providence."

The majority of the dozens who spoke during the public comment period were against the tower's construction.

"Your committee holds a key to whether this happens or not," said Len Cabral, an artistic director for Providence Inner City Arts. "This building will be detrimental to Providence."

Others were concerned about the precedent it would set.

"It might not be the Fane proposal you should worry about," said Nick Cicchitelli, president of the Fox Point Neighborhood Association. "You should be worried about the same project down the line."

Only two commenters, both with ties to the construction industry, spoke in favor of the proposal.

"When they built the Industrial National Bank Building, did that relate to the rest of the city?" John Sinnott, R.I. District Manager of Gilbane Building Company. "I think not."

Fane's group said it will push forward as planned in spite of the vote.

"Rather than weigh in on the design of the project, the DDRC chose to focus primarily on the height of the project, which has already been supported by the I-195 Commission and through a robust public process approved by the Providence City Council," said Fane spokesman Dante Bellini Jr. "Since the DDRC can only offer an advisory opinion and the I-195 Commission has the exclusive authority to grant design review, we intend to ask the I-195 Commission to approve the design."

— kandrade@providencejournal.com

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