Tempo & Tandem

About this Property

#Proposal

The I-195 Commission considered two different proposals in 2020 for the oddly shaped Parcel 9 on the edge of the Wickenden Street commercial district and interstate 195. One was by a local non-profit, One Neighborhood Builders, with a good track record of building workforce and affordable (Federal standard) housing. Another was an out-of-state developer with similar experience. From what we can tell, they chose the out-of-state developer who proposed a larger project.

One Neighborhood proposed 58 apartments with 29 affordable units (<$40,000 for two people), 17 workforce units (<$80,000 for two people), and 12 market-rate units. 32 would have been one-bedrooms, 21 two-bedrooms, and 5 three-bedrooms. An anchor tenant would have been a 8,500 sf childcare center. The scale and the mass would have been very similar to the chosen proposal. The two distinct building styles were joined by a glass atrium.

One Neighborhood Builders is based in Olneyville and is currently developing apartment buildings at the corner of Knight Street and Atwells Avenue.

Pennrose is a much larger firm with 260+ developments in its portfolio across 16 states and the District of Columbia. This is its first development in Rhode Island. Pennrose had previously gone before the Commission to bid on Parcel 28 which went to the Exeter Property group and their Emblem 125 project.¹

Their proposal was for 131 units in two buildings, east and west (later finalized as 127 units). The affordability mix was proposed to be equal affordable and market rate (54 units each) and 23 workforce units. Units size would include 16 studios, 71 one bedrooms, and 44 two-bedrooms. The first floor or each building would include space for parking garages fronted by commercial spaces. The environmental target was LEED Silver, “solar-ready” (not sure what this means), with Energy Star appliances in units. Proposed amenities like a fitness center, club room, pet spa, indoor bicycle storage, a co-working space, and a café were proposed.

#Design Reception

While the One Neighborhood proposal was a better design to our eyes, with subtle nods to maritime themes and Cape Verdean history, the Pennrose project on paper was more exciting. More units! A fitness center! Roof deck! A café! But who knows if a business wants to move in and compete with the shops steps away on Wickenden Street.

The Pennrose website page about Tempo & Tandem now lists a childcare center as an amenity, while their proposal made no mention. Children’s Friend was the organization that was to work with One Neighborhood Builders for their proposal, but it seems like a deal was struck between the developer and the childcare center to keep that amenity in the new building and provide it to the neighborhood. We are happy to see that.

The design is just ok. Its not winning many awards, but it is good, new housing at an affordable rate. This parcel was unbuilt and the city needs more apartments. This is a great place to add it, adjacent to amenities and businesses that could use the foot traffic.

We agree with architecture critic William Morgan’s view that the developable land under the purview of the I-195 District Commission presented a unique opportunity to do something unified and grand. At the same time, he is also correct in saying that it is very, very difficult to get a development done in the City. There are political hurdles, public feedback meetings, design reviews, zoning, not to mention the perils of financing. While we applaud the idea that we deserve more and better (we do, we know), we might also argue that we already got it in the form of Waterplace Park and the programming of the riverfront and Pedestrian bridge. Isn’t that what government can do that private investment won’t typically do? Public amenities and public green space. That took a unified vision, that took dedication, and that took long-term investment from the City to make it happen.

If those investments are why an out-of-state developer wants to plunk their “anywhere” building in Providence to provide affordability that allows more people to live here, we’ll take it.

#In the News

Pennrose, partners break ground on 127-unit Parcel 9 apartment project

by Marc Larocque
Providence Business News | August 2, 2023 (abridged)

Philadelphia firm Pennrose LLC recently celebrated a groundbreaking for the first phase of construction on Parcel 9 in the Fox Point neighborhood, kicking off plans to transform the vacant 1-acre property between Our Lady of The Rosary Church and Interstate 195 into a 127-unit, mixed-income, mixed-use apartment development.

The first phase of construction, including 66 apartment units, is on track to be completed next summer and the building will be open in September 2024, according to Pennrose.

The first phase includes a five-story apartment building with ground floor retail space, a child care facility and a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, available to residents making between 30% to 120% of the area median income, along with market-rate apartments, according to Pennrose.

The Parcel 9 property is part of the I-195 Redevelopment District, the former highway land that’s been built up for the past 12 years with the oversight of a quasi-public state agency, the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission.

“It was important to the I-195 commission to provide affordable housing and child care options within the Innovation District and we look forward to fulfilling that mission with a completed complex,” said Charlie Adams, regional vice president at Pennrose. “We are thrilled to be here today alongside project partners and the community’s many advocates to celebrate the exciting first step in transforming I-195’s Parcel 9.”

The I-195 Redevelopment District Commission approved a final overall design for the $48 million Parcel 9 redevelopment project in September 2021, including the $25 million, 66-unit building referred to as Fox Point West in its project renderings.

The child care facility planned on-site is being operated in partnership with the Providence-based Children’s Friend, the longtime local nonprofit child care provider offering affordable care for infants, toddlers and preschool-age children within a 6,800-square-foot space in the Fox Point West building.

“We are thrilled to be bringing a new option for early education and family support services to Rhode Island families,” said David Caprio, CEO and president of Children’s Friend. “We are excited to incorporate feedback from our teaching staff across our sites to inform the design of this new space.” […]

— Larocque, Marc. “Pennrose, partners break ground on 127-unit Parcel 9 apartment project.” Providence Business News, 02 August 2023. Accessed 28 August 2024 from https://pbn.com/pennrose-partners-break-ground-on-127-unit-parcel-9-apartment-project/