There are new hotels and condos sprouting up all over Providence’s downtown – anyone can see that. But recently, there have been subtler changes: new plantings and an extra effort to beautify and clean up the streets to make them more appealing to visitors.
Last Wednesday, flanked by 10 members of the “Yellow Shirt” street team, Frank Latorre, director of public space for the Downtown Improvement District, showed off some of the new additions, which include hanging baskets and planters with dahlias, sunflowers, daffodils and 13 other types of flowers.
“There are a number of ways to bring life to downtown, and one of those ways is to bring plants into downtown,” he said at a ceremony also attended by Mayor David N. Cicilline and City Councilor John Lombardi.
DID was started in 2005 as a partnership with the city. Board members initially invested $53,000, followed by a $5,000 investment – matched by the city – to plant a total of 46 trees.
Private donors have also paid for many of the 94 hanging plants, 30 planters and five small gardens, including the Emmett Square traffic island and median strip on Memorial Boulevard near Capriccio’s restaurant.
While the first phase of planting focused mostly on the area bordered by Queen Street on the west and Kennedy Plaza to the east, the second phase should push plantings outward to include the entire downtown, according to the new Master Landscape Plan prepared by Gates, Leighton & Associates Inc.
That new effort is already up and running, with some funds in place to pay for a first round of plantings – though Latorre is urging local businesses and residents to help out.
The list of plants offered for sponsorship range from $450 hanging flower baskets to $2,250 four-foot steel planters, which were commissioned through The Steel Yard. Donors can also pay for an additional year of upkeep for $300 to $900, depending on the size of the planting.
Cicilline said downtown beautification has been one of his priorities, and he hopes the program will spread to other parts of the city through his Neighborhood Market Program.
During the past year, the 17-member street team has picked up more than 400,000 pounds of garbage and cleared graffiti from 80 spots around downtown, said Board Chairman Evan Granoff, of Granoff Associates. And that’s not their only function. They’re also there to make sure the city is safe – they give directions to visitors, walk people to their cars at night and add familiar faces to downtown, he said.
Along with visitors, downtown business owners will also benefit from approachable streets, said Robert Gilbane, chairman of The Providence Foundation’s board. “The business community recognizes how important a good design is,” he said. “This is the type of walkable city that’s going to attract and retain businesses.”
Lombardi said the program has become a vital part of downtown’s changing landscape.
“Since the creation of this in 2005, one can’t travel far without making a positive comment about what they see – the changes they see,” said Lombardi. “Certainly because of them, this city is safer and cleaner.” •
