On this topic generally, driving north on Pleasant Valley Pkwy recently, I had quite an eye-opening education re: the transition in socioeconomic status/quality of housing stock as you go north from the Federal Hill plateau toward PC campus and beyond... generally, it seems like Smith Ave is the transition zone. I wonder how it influences development politics overall in that NW quadrant of PVD.
(I also noticed, having not dined there for a while, that the Smith Ave Newport Creamery has now installed locks on the bathroom doors, perhaps anecdotally testifying to challenging socioeconomic conditions along the Smith Ave corridor)
My brother lives over there. Just off of Smith St. in Smith Hill, actually. Things transition pretty fast over there. I think development politics in NW Providence are probably influenced by almost hyper-local conditions and can vary over an area of even a few small blocks because the socioeconomic changes happen so quickly. For example, the development in the vicinity of PC is almost exclusively driven by the need for student housing which is why they're able to build several large units on a side street like Liege St. which is not a particularly affluent area. But if similar developments were proposed on PC-adjacent Elmhurst Streets like Huxley, Hilltop, Roslyn, etc., they'd be fought tooth and nail. Frankly, any large scale development in Elmhurst is likely to be met with opposition.
Interestingly, there's been a decent amount of infill development around the Chalkstone/Smith intersection which is one of the more glaring visual examples of socioeconomic distress in the area (open air drug dealing, congregations of addicts, etc.). There's a newish townhouse development on Danforth St., a larger apartment building that just went up on the Chalkstone/Camden corner (and another next door going through the approval process), and two new apartment/condo buildings under construction behind and across from Aldi. There are even preliminary plans for residential additions above Lopes Liquors as well as the old brick building on the corner of Danforth/Smith. I would assume it's less of a challenge to get things permitted in that area. Especially relative to suburban and more affluent Elmhurst.
Personally, I think Smith St., particularly between the Chalkstone intersection and Holden St., is bound to see some change for the better eventually. It's walkable to downtown and the train station. And, with the exception of the Chalkstone/Smith corner itself and a few side streets, it's already not
that bad. It'd be great if a developer would take a chance on something significant on the vacant lot on Smith/Orms. That could be the catalyst for more rapid change elsewhere.
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