Manual illuminates vision for City Centre

Warwick Beacon ·

What should the future downtown Warwick look like?

Developers have provided architectural renderings of possible developments in City Centre and there have been some developments, most notably the conversion of the former Malleable Iron Works property as the Hilton Garden Inn (bricks from the former industrial building were used on its façade) and the Iron Works Tavern, that saved portions of the former factory. There’s also the most dominate feature of the City Centre space, about 100 acres sandwiched between Post Road and Jefferson Boulevard across from the Sundlun Terminal at TF Green Airport. That’s the shiny steel skin interlink and the interlink garage used by rental car companies and for commuter parking for the station and its MBTA service.

The space has a commercial/industrial feel with a few spots of relief like the Iron Works Tavern and Radisson. It doesn’t invite strolling or, in good weather, sitting at an outside table to meet with friends or simply take in the fresh air. It’s sterile. For the most part, it’s not a destination. Traffic is passing through it whether from north to south on Jefferson Boulevard or east to west using Coronado Road and Kilvert Street.

But that’s changing, and one of the first alternations has been to Coronado Road connecting Post Road and Jefferson Boulevard in the shadow of the rental car garage. With an $800,000 grant, the road has been repaved, but more significantly the sidewalks, plantings and lighting have been designed to be pedestrian-friendly.

This is not happenstance, and the changes that have taken place and the vision for the future will be topics of Mayor Scott Avedisian’s presentation today at the national spring conference of the Community Leaders of America in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Coronado Road became a target after City Planner William DePasquale and members of the planning department watched passengers arriving from the airport walk the span from the terminal to the Hilton Garden Inn. They tried it themselves. The uneven sidewalks made it difficult to pull along suitcases and the sidewalks were flush with the street, putting moving cars and people close to one another. There wasn’t a secure feeling to walking the road. Now the sidewalks are away from the street with a divider of plantings and custom streetlights. There is a clear definition between the road and the sidewalk.

Coronado Road is an example of what other streets in City Centre could become. That vision is further defined in a recently completed 106-page design manual assembled by VHB, Ferrell Madden and ASF Planning. According to the guide’s introduction, it is a tool “that will assist in articulating goals for the entire district.”

DePasquale sees the manual as gaining support for the vision of the center and a “performance measurement tool” developers can use in evaluating a proposed project. Avedisian is enthused by the physical improvement and the manual.

But will it move Warwick any closer to the center Warwick has never had?

DePasquale said interest in City Centre has doubled since the City Council designed the area for a tax stabilization agreement. In order to qualify for a TSA, a developer has to develop a project with a value greater than $5 million. With a TSA the value of the property for tax purposes is frozen at its current assessment for five years, after which the improved value of the property is applied over 10 years.

Also, DePasquale said there has been an uptick in interest since Michael D’Ambra moved ahead with construction of a 150-room Hyatt Hotel next to the Interlink station.

“We’ve seen a lot of activity,” said DePasquale. What he calls “City Centre East,” the six acres that was Pre-Flight Parking and later Lars Airport Parking that was brought by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation and is now being sold by the agency as potential game changer. A significant development there could be the catalyst needed for other projects.

DePasquale said residential development is an essential component to City Centre. He imagines 300 to 400 units of housing, a combination on rental and condominiums in City Centre East and an equal, if not greater, number on the west side of the tracks. One- and two-bedroom units of about 1,000 square feet, he said, would be an attraction to younger people without cars and dependent on commuter rail service to get to work.

“We really have to start thinking of being an urban area,” he said.

The design manual promotes a center that is intimately connected to the station and minutes from the airport as well as Route 95.

The manual is divided into four sections. They are a definition of character and building standards; overview of block structure and massing; summary of street types and an outline of buildings to be retrofitted and/or renovated. The manual is highly visual and using pictures from other communities contrasts the dos and the don’ts of features from storefront design to window configuration, signage, sidewalk treatment and parking.

DePasquale appreciates the manual’s appeal. Unlike building codes that are wordy and can be obscure, the manual’s photographs illustrate the impact of distinguishing between lower and upper levels of a building as compared to having blank facades for distances of 30 feet or more. That is just one comparison for perimeter areas. Using the dos and don’ts photo technique, the manual compares signage, use of plantings, buffering of dumpsters and recycling facilities and parking areas.

“People see it right away,” said DePasquale.

The manual outlines a system for development of the City Centre so that it engenders a feeling of place that will bring people in by the placement and assembly of buildings. It takes into consideration there are a number of smaller lots mixed in with larger parcels and that not all development will occur through the aggregation of lots as was sought in the early phases of creating the district.

Buildings are situated on sidewalks with service easements and parking behind them or instances where they cover an entire block with parking in the middle. Other options include parking between buildings on either side of a lot or a zigzag structure providing public space on a corner and off street parking behind.

BEFORE AND AFTER:

While it remains a major thoroughfare, Coronado Road has been transformed to a pedestrian-friendly connection between Post Road and Jefferson Boulevard. THE DOS AND DON’TS:

The design manual for City Centre provides illustrations of developments and features aimed at promoting an attractive and comfortable environment.