Hope Point Tower (Fane) | 250 Dyer Street | Providence

Documents submitted, and now the local paper has a spat about getting them released. Is it really necessary to rush the release before the 195 Commission even has a chance to review them?

For you and me? Probably not. But a media outlet has an obvious financial interest in obtaining them as soon as possible.

Regardless of what standard practice is for releasing documents like this (either prior to or after the review), The Commission's response to the inquiry is pretty terrible. The documents are a matter of public record and "I'm not going to have anything to share" isn't going to cut it. I can't imagine a media relations professional clicking send on that without some other context, explanation, or additional information - i.e. "We'll release the documents after The Commission has had an opportunity to review." or "You can obtain the documents by filing an official public records request here."
 
 
Zoning challenge is currently with the Rhode Island Supreme Court. If it rules in Fane's favor this should get going by next Spring or Summer. If not then it was all just a giant waste of time and I wouldn't expect to see another major project proposed there in my lifetime.

 
Nary a chance for it in any event I’d say. With so much else going on I’m thankful to not introduce that mess of a project.
 
Zoning challenge is currently with the Rhode Island Supreme Court. If it rules in Fane's favor this should get going by next Spring or Summer. If not then it was all just a giant waste of time and I wouldn't expect to see another major project proposed there in my lifetime.


I love this quote from the chair of the 195 Commission:

“We were somewhat troubled by his reaction to the pandemic, when you contrast it to the other developers with whom we’re dealing,” Davis said of Fane last fall. “They never wavered.”

First, I’m not 100% sure if he means that Fane never wavered or the other developers never wavered. I think it’s the latter. But either way, it made me laugh. If it is the latter, why on earth would he expect Fane not to waver? It’s a historically large and polarizing project caught up in years of litigation in a market that many are not extremely confident about. Fane’s perfectly reasonable not want to plunk down $3 Million only to have a court rule that he can’t build. It’s not Boston or NY where he can just easily flip the land.

If it’s the former (and I don’t think it is) and Davis is saying that Fane is unwavering in spite of the pandemic, then isn’t that a pretty significant display of confidence in the project? That may be surprising considering the circumstances, but Im not sure how it’s “troubling.” Especially if you stand to benefit from the sale of the land regardless of what he ends up building (if anything).
 
Ruling came down today from the RI Supreme Court: the challenge against the proposal lacked the necessary merit.

Per that story, the I-195 Commission has obligated Fane to "prepare to start construction" by March 2023... we shall see!

[I'm still extremely skeptical there's a market for this such that Fane can make the balance sheet work, but who knows...]
 
Does anyone know how design changes work with the commission - like if they were to move forward but had to scale back in ways or whatever to make things work financially do they have to go back to the commission? My main concern is the current massive parking podium
 
[I'm still extremely skeptical there's a market for this such that Fane can make the balance sheet work, but who knows...]

Depends what the units fetch in this thing, but I gotta be honest, I'd be interested if there's stuff in the 800k-1mil range. Providence is a good city and easy access to Boston, Worcester and NY is a big seller for me.
 
Depends what the units fetch in this thing, but I gotta be honest, I'd be interested if there's stuff in the 800k-1mil range. Providence is a good city and easy access to Boston, Worcester and NY is a big seller for me.

For sure--but my working hypothesis is that this parcel, for its exact location, is on the wrong side of the river. If this parcel was directly across the river, on the east (College Hill) bank, then residents would be in the thick of the Brown/RISD/Wickenden St./India Point scene with its great profusion of amenities. But it's not. Again though--we'll see!
 
Amazing! This has been dragging out for 6 yrs. By some miracle, if they should happen to break ground by 2023, then I'll expect the white elephant sale by 2028. The construction costs must have skyrocketed since the first estimates.
 
Amazing! This has been dragging out for 6 yrs. By some miracle, if they should happen to break ground by 2023, then I'll expect the white elephant sale by 2028. The construction costs must have skyrocketed since the first estimates.
They'll just force the state to hand over more subsidies!
 
It looks like Jason Fane is still committed to moving forward with this project. I'm not crazy about the design but I absolutely love the ambition to get something like this done in Providence. Between this and converting Industrial Trust to residential it will bring a lot more permanent residents directly downtown.


 
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No way this tower ever gets built. I don’t even think fane has the intention of building it. Probably just wants permits to sell bc otherwise whole endeavor was a waste.
 
No way this tower ever gets built. I don’t even think fane has the intention of building it. Probably just wants permits to sell bc otherwise whole endeavor was a waste.
I agree!
 
Unbelievable. It just goes on & on & on with this project.

If they're iterating on the design still and seeking re-approval that would seem to indicate this project is likely to start at some point. They could have stopped after getting approval if they weren't intent on building this.

There's a market for this tower. I live in Boston but I'd definitely consider a move to Providence to live in this thing if the units are mid-tier floors are in that 750-1m range.
 
If they're iterating on the design still and seeking re-approval that would seem to indicate this project is likely to start at some point. They could have stopped after getting approval if they weren't intent on building this.

There's a market for this tower. I live in Boston but I'd definitely consider a move to Providence to live in this thing if the units are mid-tier floors are in that 750-1m range.
Well maybe 7 is the lucky number. That'll be 7 years that this project has been in the works if they break ground next year.
 
Well maybe 7 is the lucky number. That'll be 7 years that this project has been in the works if they break ground next year.

I know nothing about Providence development, but seven years is nothing in Boston for this kind of project. Also they spent a ton of time in legal battles which eat up time.
 

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