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About Providence |
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2006 EPpy Winner -- Best multimedia Providence, R.I., Overcast 35° |
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6.15.2001 00:05
With tenant, way is cleared for Providence office building • The law firm of Edwards & Angell will occupy Nine WaterPlace , the first new office structure to be build downtown in the past 11 years. BY GREGORY SMITH Journal Staff Writer Officials say the corner of Francis Street and Memorial Boulevard, across the street from the Providence Place mall, is a gateway to the capital city and the most prominent unused building location left downtown. It has the pedigree. Its designers are the award-winning architectural firms Robinson Green Beretta, of Providence, and Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, of New York City. It has a seal of approval. The Capital Center Commission, which oversees land use and design issues in a special development district that partially rings the State House, has given it a conditional certificate of approval for construction. And now the first new office building to go up downtown in 11 years has tenants, too. Edwards & Angell, one of the nation's larger law firms, will become the anchor tenant in the new building, relocating its headquarters from the former Hospital Trust Tower in the Financial District, it was announced yesterday. The new building, to be called Nine Waterplace, would be the first new office structure downtown since the opening in 1990 of One Citizens Plaza. The developer, Starwood Wasserman, of Providence, says it has enough tenants committed to lease space to begin construction of the $65-million to $70-million building in November. It would be ready for full occupancy in the second quarter of 2003. Codeveloper Bernard Wasserman also announced that four upscale restaurants have agreed to take space at Nine Waterplace: Flemming's Steakhouse, which is owned by the company that owns the Outback steakhouse chain; Roy's, which features Asian food; Buca Di Beppo, a family-style Italian restaurant; and Calvados, a French restaurant. The first three are chain restaurants but Wasserman said Calvados would be operated by Rhode Islanders Jaime D'Oliveira and Morris Nathanson. As for Edwards & Angell, it is "a huge decision on their part to leave Westminster Street and come in to what will be, and is, the new focus of downtown" in Capital Center, declared Jay Fluck, a partner in CB Richard Ellis, leasing agent for Nine Waterplace. Founded in 1894, Edwards & Angell has spent about the last 87 years in either the old Hospital Trust Building or the tower, which now carries the name of One Financial Plaza. "You want to capitalize on your distinctive culture and history but you always want to be forward-looking," said Charles Rogers, managing partner of Edwards & Angell's Providence office. The firm wants to move to offices that are more efficient and technologically advanced than what it has now, he said. Nine Waterplace would have 215,000 to 220,000 square feet of leasable office space, 50,000 square feet of retail space and 100,000 square feet of indoor parking capable of accommodating 500-plus cars. That parking capacity -- mostly by valet -- would be 200-plus spaces in excess of what was approved by the Capital Center Commission, so the developer must ask the commission to allow a change in plan. Andrew Jaffe, of Starwood Wasserman, said the names of a couple of retailers that would use storefronts across the street from the mall will be announced in 30 to 45 days. Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. joined Starwood Wasserman for the announcement at Bella Vista restaurant, on a patio overlooking the basin at Waterplace, directly across from the building site. "With the growth and expansion of MBTA commuter train service and Amtrak's Acela service, the easy accessibility and location of Nine Waterplace will serve as a catalyst in the ongoing business expansion of Providence," Cianci said. He called it "a finishing touch to the gateway intersection of Francis Street and Memorial Boulevard." Starwood Wasserman expects to receive financial help for the project from the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. The state agency would grant a waiver of the state sales tax on construction materials. Among the new building's selling points are its large open floors -- 36,000 square feet per floor -- which are more attractive to larger businesses than the constricted spaces in older urban buildings. It will have fiber-optic cable throughout, allowing high-speed Internet access, and tenants will have the option of installing electrical generators on each floor to give themselves backup in their power supply. Edwards & Angell currently occupies about 70,000 square feet spread out over five-plus floors at One Financial Plaza, and employees frequently take the elevator to see one another. The firm would lease about 90,000 square feet at Nine Waterplace, requiring only two-plus floors and leaving room for expansion. Edwards & Angell would be able to reconfigure its space for the way it does business today, by reducing or eliminating its library and creating more conference rooms, Rogers said. When a business can have more of its people on one floor, it reduces the need for receptionists and support personnel and minimizes the physical infrastructure that must be maintained, explained Richard Wasserman, a codeveloper of Nine Waterplace. Edwards & Angell has 625 employees, including 265 lawyers, in its entire firm, which, according to American Lawyer magazine, makes it the 160th largest firm in the United States. Most of its clerical and administrative staff are in Providence, where 250 employees work. Its move, however, would help one part of downtown while hurting another. The mayor and officers of Starwood Wasserman nevertheless predicted that the owner of One Financial Plaza, an affiliate of Fleet Financial Group, won't have much trouble filling the space when Edwards & Angell leaves at the expiration of its lease in May 2004. "We think that that building will backfill very quickly" with replacement tenants, said David Wasserman, codeveloper of Nine Waterplace. It remains attractive to firms smaller than Edwards & Angell, he said. Only 1 percent to 2 percent of the office space in Providence is currently available for lease, Cianci said. Digital Extra: You'll find more on Providence's resurgence at: http://projo.com/aboutprovidence/boomtown/ 
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