Copyright 1994 The Providence Journal Company  
Providence Journal-Bulletin (Rhode Island)
December 8, 1994, Thursday, ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 1A

LENGTH: 858 words

HEADLINE: Providence mall lauded, lambasted

BYLINE: WILLIAM J. DONOVAN; Journal-Bulletin Staff Writer

DATELINE: PROVIDENCE

BODY:
If city and state economic development officials want to return excitement to downtown, there is a simple way to do it: hold frequent public hearings on the Providence Place mall.

In a sometimes raucus, even comical forum on one of the most controversial issues in Rhode Island, about 200 people chose sides last night, arguing over whether the proposed 150-store mall should be built.

Proponents of the project, including business associations, labor representatives and government officials, said the estimated $ 348 million retail center would create jobs and ignite economic revitalization in Providence.

Opponents, including environmental groups, retailers and citizens who voiced their distrust of government, denounced the proposed use of public funds to build a garage for the project and called for a full study of its environmental impact.

"The mall will bring major retailing back to downtown Providence," said John Palmieri, director of the Providence Department of Planning and Development. "It is in the best interest of the city."

"The question of the day is, 'How can attracting 36,000 cars per day to the city reduce air pollution?' " said Jeff Johnson, of the Green Party of Rhode Island.

The purpose of the hearing, held at the Rhode Island Convention Center by the state Department of Transportation, was to gather public comments as part of an environmental assessment being conducted on the project.

Providence Place would be built next to Route 95 between the State House and the new Westin Hotel. As part of the financing, the City of Providence and the state have agreed to post $ 94.5 million to pay for the construction of a 5,000-space parking garage.

The city plans to raise its half, $ 47.25 million, by selling bonds. The state has applied to the Federal Highway Administration to use federal highway funds for its half.
 
The state's argument

State officials argue that the garage, which would be built beneath the mall and would serve as its foundation, would help reduce air pollution downtown, because 2,500 of the spaces would be used for cars with two or more passengers, also known as high occupancy vehicles (HOV).

The availability of those spaces will encourage car pooling, which will reduce the number of vehicles traveling to downtown, the state argues.

Opponents of the project, including the advocacy groups Save the Bay, the Conservation Law Foundation and DOT Watch, say spending federal funds on a parking garage is an inappropriate way to use highway funds.

Other critics were against the use of public money in what they consider a private project. The developer of the mall is Providence Place Group, a partnership that includes the Pyramid Cos. of Syracuse, N.Y.

The proponents spoke about the 3,000 construction jobs the project is expected to create over 30 months and how the mall would become an attraction for people outside Rhode Island.

The opponents, sometimes in theatrical fashion, ridiculed those claims.

Ross MacTaggart, executive director of the Newport-based Atlantean Project, labeled the garage the "solid gold garage." As he spoke, an assistant stood mutely next to him, holding a large white sign bearing the words "solid gold garage."

"I keep hearing that (the mall) will revitalize downtown Providence. Well, those same powers-that-be built this," said MacTaggart, referring to the Convention Center.

Several of the supporters of Providence Place were heckled by the crowd. Ronald Coia, representing the Rhode Island Laborers District Council, an organization of 2,000 construction workers, said the mall is "vital to the rebirth of downtown Providence."

As he walked from the microphone, one member of the audience booed him. When Coia looked at the man and said "Thank you," the man yelled "You jerk."

Eric Anderson, president of Eastern Construction Co. in Providence, asked the crowd to consider whether an outsider would rather hold a convention in Providence or Syracuse.

But before he could make his point, a man nearby said, "How are the hookers?"

Anderson, who was representing the Rhode Island Chapter of Associated General Contractors, a trade association that supports the mall, said, "Walk the side streets between Weybosset and Washington (Streets) after 5 p.m. It's dismal."
 
Full study urged

Many of the critics said the environmental assessment the state was conducting was not thorough enough for a project as large as Providence Place. Arguing that a mall will attract more vehicles to Providence, despite an HOV garage, they called for a full environmental impact study, which is a more exhaustive process than the environmental assessment.

"This project will end up choking Providence with congestion and pollution and make it a city people want to escape," said Elizabeth Thagard, a lawyer with the Conservation Law Foundation.

But Susan LaRose, director of legal affairs for the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, called the mall plan an "environmentally friendly proposal."

"We want Rhode Island to be a nice place to live and essential to that is having a good economy," she said.

GRAPHIC: Photo: MALL OPPONENT Aram Garabedian, an official of Bliss Properties, which owns the Warwick Mall, speaks against the proposed Providence Place mall at last night's hearing.; Journal-Bulletin; RACHEL RITCHIE