A visit to Providence RI
Some real estate development that I noticed
I spent the past weekend in Providence RI, roaming the city with my college buddies, back in the area for a reunion. I attended Brown University, nestled on College Hill, part of the city’s “East Side”. We spent most of our time on campus and in Fox Point, a neighborhood to the south / southeast of the university.
While the trip had some very memorable events I could write about, this post is going to focus on some of the real estate development that has occurred since I graduated in 2016. I’ve returned to the city a number of times since then, and have of course noticed changes, but on this visit the new buildings particularly struck a chord with me.
Lindemann Performing Arts Center
As a student, I never really thought about the planning of Brown’s physical campus. I recall thinking “Wow, it’s pretty nice that all of these beautiful pathways connect to each other. How lucky!”
That campus connectivity is of course not luck at all. “The Walk” is a north-south campus connectivity network that was first conceived of over a hundred years ago. I was unconsciously recognizing a very intentionally planned result.
One of the new projects I noticed while wandering campus was directly along The Walk, and was also very intentionally planned - the Lindemann Performing Arts Center.
My favorite part of the development is actually the planning that came before construction.
Specifically, the preservation of the building that formerly stood in it’s place, the Sharpe House. Part of the university’s history department, Brown saved the building by literally lifting it up and moving it down the street, connecting to the Peter B. Green House, unifying the department’s physical footprint. I think this is brilliant - preserving history, connecting the department, and opening up space for Lindemann.
Sternlicht Commons and Wellness Center
Keeping my focus on the university and the redevelopment of underutilized space, the next notable building from my weekend was the recently constructed “Sternlicht Commons and Brown University Health and Wellness Center”.
Back in my day, this block was filled with old houses. Due to their proximity to Brown’s athletic facilities and gym, they were all filled with athletes. I remember my first night of college, partying in the back yard of one of those houses, maybe the soccer teams’s, having a great time, but also being sort of unimpressed by the party itself.
Apparently, the buildings were all demolished right after I left school, and turned into a parking lot.
A few years later the Wellness Center was built, housing 162 students, and various university services.
Brook St. Dorms
The final university project that stood out over the weekend was a pair of new structures, the Chen Family and William and Ami Danoff Residence Halls.
Again, what really touched me personally was the previous structures that stood in their place. In this case, a small strip mall owned by the university, with two tenants that were mainstays of my college career - Bagel Gourmet, and East Side Mini Mart.
Of course housing roughly 350 students is a better use of space, and I love the new dorms, but a part of me can’t help but feel bummed out that other students won’t experience campus the same way I did.
The most powerful memory from that location was my freshman year, where it served as the meeting location for my very first frisbee tournament. Waking up early on a Saturday for the first time at college, yawning my way down the street, and going on an adventure for the weekend with a bunch of people who were ostensibly strangers. It was incredible, so much fun, and has always stuck with me. The new dorms make me wonder where the current team meets up for a weekend trip.
Other Projects
I had originally planned to write about the countless other projects I saw, but I find myself getting a bit bored of this post. As such, I’m going to wrap things up, and just provide links to a few of the more notable non-university developments:
Archive
There were a few nice sources I found while working on this post.
I appreciate anyone who made it this far! I am just writing for practice and for fun, but I appreciate any feedback. Here is a picture of my dogs:
