National Providence and Worsted Mills

Where Will People Live?

by Ian Donnis
Providence Pheonix | February 7-13, 2003 (abridged)

For critics, the plan to redevelop the former Providence and National Worsted Mills in Olneyville is about as natural a form of neighborhood growth as a sudden landing by a massive alien spaceship. But for proponents of the envisioned Rising Sun Mills, which is poised to offer 151 loft-style apartments, 100,000-square-feet of office space, and an ecological small-business incubator, the $45 million project represents a much-needed source of investment and stability in one of the most economically disadvantaged areas in Rhode Island.

Those critical of the development, mostly young artists and activists, cherish Olneyville’s downscale polyglot funk and fear that an influx of upwardly mobile types will raise housing costs and spark gentrification. The developers, led locally by the Armory Revival Company, cite additional housing as an antidote for rising rents and they describe the initiative as a welcome alternative to the continued deterioration of the neighborhood’s 19th-century mill buildings.

Struever Brothers, Eccles & Rouse of Baltimore, the lead developer of Rising Sun, has a well-deserved reputation for helping to reinvigorate economically blighted neighborhoods, and Bill Struever’s firm became involved in the project after emerging as a possible alternative developer for Eagle Square. Given all this, it’s slightly ironic that Struever Brothers and the three partners of Armory Revival, who helped to resuscitate the Armory District before branching into more upscale developments, are drawing criticism from a small band of idealistic critics.

Even some of those who cite the multi-million dollar investment as an undeniable positive for Olneyville – where 41 percent of families live in poverty, according to the 2000 Census, compared to a citywide average of 24 percent – describe Rising Sun as a potentially mixed blessing that could impact the largely Latino neighborhood in unexpected ways. Rents at Rising Sun will run from $600-$1400 – with most between $700-$1100 – a far cry from the luxury housing sprouting in pockets around town, but not exactly housing on the cheap, either. The development comes as Olneyville is showing some promising signs of improvement, including development of the Riverside Mills Park and the Woonasquatucket River Greenway…

The steadily increasing difficulty of finding decent, affordable, and suitable space in Providence has led some artists (and arts organizations) to set their sights for Pawtucket, Fall River, Massachusetts, and other destinations. The situation is so serious that AS220, the nonprofit arts organization, is exploring the possibility of buying another downtown building. “It is getting very expensive to live in the city,” says artistic director Bert Crenca, who sees Rising Sun as having a mixed impact. “I’m hearing that on a daily basis – ‘What’s going to happen? We’re all going to get priced out.’”

The concerns expressed about affordability are symptoms of a housing crisis that extends far beyond mill buildings and the particular needs of artists. “Housing costs in Rhode Island are just out of reach of the common family,” says Godfrey. “Rising Sun is not going to drive up the rents. Rising Sun is a symbol of what is already happening. The upward pressure [on rents], the increased demand [for housing], allows Rising Sun to happen.”…

Although the housing crunch is a national problem, it is particularly serious in Rhode Island… the average statewide rent for a two-bedroom apartment jumped to $854, from $613, over the last four years, and Rhode Island had the greatest increase in home prices over the last year (and the third highest nationally over the last two decades)…

Although a monthly rent of $2000 seems better suited to midtown Manhattan than the former site of the Silver Top Diner, an underserved market for high-end housing has triggered plans for a handful of other luxury developments in recent months, including 83 condos in Fox Point, envisioned apartments in the Capital Center, and condos across Fountain Street from the Providence Journal Building. Across town, Rising Sun marks the most ambitious project for the Armory Revival Company, whose recent efforts include upscale condos on Thomas Street (one of which sold for $1.2 million) and on Westminster Street, near the Providence School Department. Providence, a city long known for its unstudied idiosyncrasy and relatively cheap digs, is increasingly going pricey.

[…] “I think in the long run, it should prove to be a positive,” says architect Steve Durkee, since such residents can help to support restaurants, cultural activity, and other desirable elements of city life. At the same time, Durkee, who worked last year with the Olneyville Housing Corporation to develop 32 units of affordable rental housing – which attracted more than 600 applications – knows how the lower end of the market suffers from a woefully inadequate amount of attention.

Rising Sun’s most vociferous critics, who were informed about the proposal just a few days before it was presented to the city Plan Commission, remain stung by what they see as a lack of public participation in the process and the absence of dialogue with the developers. “Overall, it seems like the project was created in a vacuum and there was no intention to integrate it into the fabric of the community,” says Adriana Young, executive director of English for Action, a nonprofit that works with immigrants in Olneyville. There’s suspicion, too, about Armory Revival’s acquisition of nearby property and a fear that it will be more difficult for young artists to buy lofts in the area as a result.

Mark Van Noppen and B.J. Dupre, who, with Barry Preston, constitute Armory Revival, say they didn’t anticipate criticism from members of the local arts underground and focused their earliest informational efforts on the dozen or so businesses and artists being displaced from the mill complex. Noting that the wide swath of land from Olneyville Square to Atwells Avenue, between the Woonasquatucket and Route 10, produces less than $800,000 in annual tax revenue, Van Noppen says, “It’s like a giant whole in your wallet. We want our investment to be something that’s going to add to the long-term value of the community.” Dupre adds, “It’s really about building community,” citing an unmet demand for loft apartments in the city, as well as plans for Rising Sun to include office space and the ecological small business incubator being organized by Sara Struever, daughter of Bill Struever, whose goals include gallery space, a media center, nonprofits, and community development organizations… a new Armory Revival development on Pearl Street is due to include 18 lofts for sale and 36 apartments, with 20 percent of the housing at affordable prices, thanks to a program backed by the Providence Preservation Society’s Revolving Loan Fund…

Offering subsidies for artists is sometimes a controversial subject, but considering the benefits that Providence and Rhode Island have gained from marketing themselves as bastions of the arts, ensuring the presence of artists is a smart forum of economic development. And although even established arts organizations face difficulty during lean economic times, it’s worth noting that it’s the underground arts groups that have attracted some of the most enthusiastic out-of-town notices during recent times. The work of the art-music collective Forcefield, for example, previously included in the Whitney Biennial, was featured on the front of the Sunday arts and leisure section of the New York Times a few weeks ago. Similarly, Lightning Bolt received an enthusiastic review in the Times last year, and the alt-rock heroes of Sonic Youth performed a symbolic passing of the torch to the group during a recent gig at Lupo’s.

Godfrey still tends to get quizzical looks when he speaks about the importance of coming to terms with Rhode Island’s housing crisis. Although he has no illusions about the difficulty of changing the situation, he hopes that publicity about growing homelessness… will spark change. “The irony is that those of us who own our homes get richer every day,” he says. “To a certain extent, we like the way it is. Yet,” when it comes to buying a home, “our kids can’t afford to get in.”

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