Providence Journal: "City ups the ante in debate over Weybosset Street façade"

By Philip Marcelo

Five years ago, a developer tore down two downtown buildings between Westminster and Weybosset streets, leaving a lone brick façade standing on Weybosset.

Shorn from its supporting structure, the façade was to become part of a glittering new skyscraper, which never materialized.

Now crumbling in place, the 1940s-era façade (and the rusting steel beams that support it) has become a focal point of debate about the future of downtown.

City preservationists still advocate for its protection, saying the former frontage of the Providence National Bank Building is a vital part of the streetscape of the old Financial District, a segment of downtown adjacent to Kennedy Plaza that was once a regional financial center.

James Hall, executive director of the Providence Preservation Society, says the façade is emblematic of how the city, in the years just before the recession, allowed developers to raze historic structures even before financing for a project was in place.

“It’s become a sort of cause célèbre, a symbol of what should not happen,” he said.

But long-suffering business owners pleaded for its demolition.

They say the façade, coupled with the shuttered Arcade shopping mall next door, have dealt a blow to the Financial District, discouraging investment, attracting loiterers and, in the case of the façade, posing a safety hazard.

“Imagine this is the scene that the CEO of a big firm sees when they are driving downtown,” said Bob Burke, owner of Pot au Feu, a restaurant off Weybosset Street. “Can you imagine? That person is probably not going to even get out of the car if that’s what they see.”

The debate has ramped up in recent weeks as Mayor David N. Cicilline’s administration, prodded by business owners, has sought payment from the owners of the property, O’Connor Capital Partners, for two years’ use of the sidewalk and parking lane around the propped-up façade. Also, the city has informed O’Connor Capital that it is in violation of a zoning regulation requiring that lots vacant for more than two years be properly landscaped.

Business owners hope their discussions with the administration, as well as the debt, which amounts to more than $10,000, provide incentive to resolve the situation.

“I wouldn’t mind if it just fell down tomorrow,” says David O’Brien, owner of Picture This, an art gallery and framing business directly across the street from the façade.

Already, some improvements have been made to the Arcade and the lot holding the façade.

Granoff Associates, owners of the Arcade and a number of other properties downtown, recently removed a picnic table and bench outside the Greek Revival structure that had been a popular gathering spot.

The firm began installing exterior lights on the building last week to discourage people from sleeping in the second- and third-floor balconies. The New York-based O’Connor Capital Partners, meanwhile, has hired crews to clean up the vacant lot.

What becomes of the façade and the Arcade in the long term is less certain.

Evan Granoff, a partner in Granoff Associates, says the Arcade, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, will probably remain vacant until business picks up downtown. The firm has looked for a large company to lease the 37,000-square-foot space, but struggled to find one even before the real estate market soured.

Then there is the problem of O’Connor Capital Partners, which has yet to pay its debt to the city, let alone announce plans for the property. Brian Fallon, in charge of the property for O’Connor Capital, could not be reached for comment.

City officials say the company has not submitted any new plans since November 2009, when the company requested permission to demolish the façade to make way for a parking lot, claiming that the façade was badly deteriorated and a public safety hazard.

The city requested that the company submit more information about the proposal, including an assessment of the façade’s structural integrity. The company has not submitted the information.

Then on July 22, just days after city officials began meeting with business owners about their concerns, city Director of Inspections and Standards Sheila M. McGauvran sent a letter to O’Connor Capital notifying it of the debt and zoning-code violations.

According to McGauvran’s letter, the company had paid the city $6,912 in a lump sum in 2006 to cover the 108 weeks that the supports holding the façade were expected to block about 1,600 square feet of public right of way.

At the time, the city assessed a fee of $0.04 per square foot of roadway or sidewalk. Now, factoring in a 2-cent rate increase imposed recently, the debt amounts to $10,368 and counting.

If the company does not pay in the coming days, city officials say the city will look to revoke the company’s right to use the public access, a move that might bring the company to renew its push for demolition.

While the Preservation Society’s Hall is sympathetic to business owners’ concerns, he hopes for a more creative solution than demolition.

He says the city derives its authenticity from the fact that its residents have so vigorously preserved its past from the wrecking ball — from the historic houses along Benefit Street to the Masonic Temple by the State House, now home to the Renaissance Providence Hotel.

“Preservation did not create this problem, so it’s tough for us to say, OK, just tear it down already,” Hall said. “That’s rewarding bad policy and bad behavior.”

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