Canonicus Square, anchored by the former Citizens Bank Building, built in 1921
The former Citizens Bank property at the intersection of Cranston and Westminster Streets, also known as Canonicus Square, is one of the most significant properties slated for redevelopment in the neighborhood, but its fate remains at a crossroads.
In December of 2019, WBNA joined with neighbors and abutters, business owners, and the Providence Preservation Society (PPS) to fight for a more appropriate, holistic, and forward-thinking development plan for this historically and geographically important site after we witnessed a very concerning preliminary approval of the project by the Providence City Plan Commission (CPC).
Among other issues, WBNA and stakeholders find The Omni Group’s proposal to be ill-suited to the site’s urban context, while it disregards the community and its input (CPC required the developer to come before the community and present their plans which they have yet to do), and ignores best practices for urban development on commercial corridors – our city’s “main streets.”
On the last point, the plan as proposed sorely diminishes the potential of prominent sections of Westminster and Cranston Streets to bring positive and lasting social and economic benefit to two Providence neighborhoods.
We filed an appeal to the Providence Zoning Board of Review. In addition, we expressed our concern to the RI Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) because the property has an Environmental Land Use Restriction attached to it and the CPC-approved plans did not account for the prohibition of ground floor residential for health and safety reasons.
In March, the Providence Zoning Board of Review rejected our case against the CPC for its decision to grant preliminary approval to The Omni Group’s proposed redevelopment of this six-parcel site. The CPC’s treatment of this large area of land as a “Minor Land Development” instead of what we believe is a “Major Land Development” is problematic, as it reduces the amount of review, allows piecemeal site planning, and negates the requirement to inform direct abutters.
In April, The Omni Group officially became the owner of the parcels.
Earlier in June we submitted an appeal to Rhode Island Superior Court against the Zoning Board of Review’s decision to reject our earlier appeal. We expect this new case to be heard in the next few months. We have not yet received an update on the filing with RIDEM. We continue to fight for fair and transparent public process and a plan for redevelopment at this site that would best serve the long-term health and viability of Federal Hill and the West End.
A vision for something great
So…WBNA is standing up for beneficial neighborhood development at the former Citizens Bank properties at Canonicus Square. But what does “good development” look like?
Thanks to the winners of PPS’s West End Gateway Design Competition, we can show you two exemplary design proposals that offer an alternative vision for what is possible at this critical site. These plans contain many elements of great urban design and a sensitivity to context and neighborhood needs.
We congratulate the winning teams of ONE Neighborhood Builders/Haley Hardwick-Witman and Jack Ryan/Michael Clouse for producing comprehensive and feasible development plans to improve the project site through mixed-income housing, green space, public amenities, and a focus on rebuilding Cranston and Westminster as fully realized “main streets” that would fuel local economic vitality by providing jobs and services to neighbors.
Both winning project proposals also retain the Georgian Revival bank and 1978 annex buildings.
The ONE Neighborhood Builders team imagines transit-oriented development with 3-5 story multi-family dwellings. The proposal is a mixed-use, mixed-income development designed to serve the neighborhood with pedestrian-scale residential and commercial buildings. A public market occupying the 1921 bank building was featured in this proposal, and in many others, and was applauded by the jury.
The Ryan/Clouse team anchored their mixed-use design with a hotel and restaurant in the existing buildings. This thoughtful and comprehensive submission is recognized for its impressive detail, particularly the sensitive treatment of the annex to provide first-floor storefront entrances for small, local businesses. The jury was pleased to see adherence to first floor commercial use as prescribed in the zoning ordinance.
A total of 14 teams submitted creative and thoughtful designs to this competition. A blind jury chose the winning teams, but appreciates the talent and inventiveness of all those who participated.
Jurors were Maria Carvalho, executive director of the West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation; Kari Lang, executive director of West Broadway Neighborhood Association; Brent Runyon, executive director of Providence Preservation Society; and Joel VanderWeele, neighborhood resident and architect with Union Studio | Architecture and Community Design.
WBNA is grateful to PPS for the resources it dedicated to the West End Gateway Design Competition, an event that has brought local creative energy towards finding development solutions for Canonicus Square that are both realistic and inspiring.
The purpose of this design challenge was to reimagine the potential of the site. We are hopeful that the ideas and designs generated will provide tangible and beneficial alternatives to what is currently proposed. We invite the developer to adopt ideas within these two winning projects, and for local officials to be inspired by a greater vision for the neighborhood and our city, as decisions are made during this once-in-a-century development opportunity.
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