Controversial Wickenden Street development to move forward

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A controversial housing project in Fox Point has expanded from 62 units up to 75 units.

When the project at 269 Wickenden St. was heard back in August, developers were told their proposal was acceptable, but needed to address five things; landscaping, drainage, signage, parking for deliveries, and taking another look at how they could reduce the size of a proposed fifth floor.

Tuesday night, the board decided the project could move forward. The new design for the proposed apartment building saw a number of changes, including an increase in housing units, a decrease in parking spots, and a decrease in the commercial space at the site.

Dozens of community members also came out to speak, on both sides of the issue.

A resident in support of the project said, “Hopefully with the approval of this project, this can be one area where those who work in our thriving small business community can also live.”

A resident who opposed the project had this to say, “The applicant is working for himself, and he’s out to make a buck, well god bless him. But you work for the city, a city of neighborhoods and taxpayers. You need to be safeguarding those neighborhoods.”

The Fox Point Neighborhood Association also spoke against the project, saying it would break the character of the neighborhood.

“The CPC (City Plan Commission), I think, is trying to work with the neighborhood. I know the zoning laws have been changed, for the last five years, dramatically, but the neighborhood plan has not been revisited, so it needs to catch up.” said the president of the Fox Point Neighborhood Association, Lily Bogosian.

On the other side of the argument, a group called the Providence Urbanist Network says what matters most is bringing housing to the community.

“High earners are already bidding up existing housing, anybody who’s tried to buy a home in Rhode Island knows that’s happening. These people are going to find homes, so if we don’t build more homes for everybody, what’s going to happen is the people who can afford to put down more and more and more down payments are just going to bid everybody else out,” Providence Urbanist Network member Ian Saxine explained.

With Tuesday’s approval of the project’s master plan, the development will move onto its next step, preliminary planning.

The developer of the project, Fox Point Capital LLC told ABC 6 News, it may be some time before anyone see that at a meeting.