Once per decade, the city planners and lawmakers in Providence get a chance to rewrite the plan that guides how neighborhoods are shaped, efforts to control housing costs, and where commercial real estate can be built. That once in a decade opportunity is now. The City of Providence’s Planning Department is beginning to release parts of a draft comprehensive plan that will dictate how the city is developed over the next 10 years. Olivia Ebertz sat down with Deputy Director for Planning and Development Robert “Bob” Azar to find out how the planning department is thinking about growth.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Olivia Ebertz: Last week, your team released the first draft of a map for the city’s growth strategy that’s going to kind of set the tone for the new Comprehensive Plan. It also seems like the way the city grows is really going to set the tone for Providence over the next decade.
What are some of the major takeaways from this map that people should know about?
Bob Azar: This map talks about where we think growth will happen and where we think it’s most appropriate. It also reflects areas where we think growth should be managed much more carefully, such as in our traditional residential neighborhoods and especially in our historic districts.
Growth, we think, is most appropriate in areas like downtown along the Woonasquatucket River in the Valley, into Olneyville, and then some of the neighborhoods close into downtown where we feel that there could be more higher density housing, such as Federal Hill and parts of the West End.
Ebertz: Which parts of the city do you think are set to kind of change the most? Which will look the most different in 10 years from now based on this map?
Azar: Well, I don’t know that we’re necessarily going to see fundamental change.
I think a lot of what we’re trying to do is ensure that growth will fit in with our existing development patterns … that it’s not too jarring or too extreme. In some cases, buildings might be a little taller.
Ebertz: How did the Comprehensive Plan released 10 years ago end up shaping this city in ways that we can see walking around today?
Azar: It’s interesting that there are some areas that we called out as “Growth Corridors” that ended up seeing a fair amount of growth, particularly in Federal Hill, in the West End. Atwells Avenue has seen some new development and not just Atwells, but areas close by. Likewise, on Westminster Street, Cranston Street, we saw a fair amount of new apartment buildings being built in that area. Broad Street into upper Upper South Providence, there’s a fair amount of development that’s happened in there.
So those areas that we designated as “Growth Corridors” absolutely saw a fair amount of growth. A lot of that growth was spurred by market demand, but the regulations enabled that to happen.
Ebertz: Were there any parts of the Comprehensive plan released 10 years ago that just ended up not working or not working in the way that you intended?
Azar: North Main Street is an example of a place where, even though you may plan for growth, sometimes it doesn’t happen. That has a lot to do with market forces and who owns the properties and what they’re being used for today.
Ebertz: And finally, according to this map, neighborhoods on the East Side, like Fox Point, College Hill and Blackstone, are not set to grow as dramatically as other neighborhoods in Providence. Yet, this is where rent and homes cost the most. Does this map address the high costs of living over there at all, or will the Comprehensive Plan do that?
Azar: Well, it’s a good question and I think this map doesn’t have the kind of nuance that you’ll see in the coming weeks with our future land use map that actually lays out the land uses that will lead into zoning. What this talks about when we talk about managed growth, it doesn’t say no growth. What it means is growth at a scale and density that is similar to what exists.
I would say that, yes, there are areas, including substantially large areas of historic district zoning, where growth will be very heavily managed. But the East Side definitely needs to do its part with respect to the housing crisis. And we expect that the Comprehensive Plan will provide ample opportunity for a new development on the East Side.
Ebertz: Bob, thank you.
The City Planning Department will be taking feedback about its growth strategy map, and other parts of the Comprehensive Plan over the next few months. The Comprehensive Plan and the zoning that comes out of it must be approved by the City Plan Commission and the Providence City Council before it can take effect.
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