Illustration of proposed waterfront in Providence Comprehensive Plan

Providence 2020

OVER THE LAST several decades, Providence city planners and others developed a courageous and carefully crafted plan that has made Providence a celebrated, vibrant and desirable destination in which to live, work and play.

No doubt there are dozens of cities envious of Providence’s revitalization. The people responsible for this rebirth concentrated on our city’s underdeveloped resources and found unique ways to make them cornerstones of our “new” city. The river, the architecture, the performing arts and the universities are a few examples of those resources. Today, our city planners have been working to develop a Comprehensive Plan for Providence.

Unfortunately, as it relates to the newly coined “working waterfront,” the Comprehensive Plan does not exhibit the forward thinking that characterized our past visionaries. Initially, this “comprehensive” plan may look like a creative vision: mid-rise condominiums, hotels, restaurants and marinas along the one-mile strip of Allens Avenue between Thurbers Avenue and the new Route 195-East overpass.

It sounds colorful. It sounds glamorous. But after some reflection, one sees that it is actually nothing more than an overworked, monotonous variation of what has become a tedious theme in Providence. Do we really need even more condominiums? As of April 2007, more than 1,000 apartments and condominiums were planned or under construction in the city. Do we really need this kind of development on Allens Avenue, an area isolated from the city by the highways?

Absolutely not. This area is a unique and valuable resource, and must be developed around those features that make it unique. If done astutely, the “working waterfront” could become a location that could generate hundreds of additional jobs and much needed revenue for the city and the state.

For decades, manufacturing has been leaving our region and our shores, most likely not to return for a long time, if ever. Along with manufacturing went well-paying jobs that promoted the growth of a strong middle class and allowed the fulfillment of the American dream for many.

Today, we struggle to bring new businesses into Rhode Island; we even struggle to agree on how to develop Quonset Point, with its unique characteristics, farther to the south. The Allens Avenue area from the Port of Providence to the Route 195 overpass has been stable for a long time. It hosts long-established companies, not just those requiring the river, whose activities cannot be scooted off to China, India or any other low-cost labor supplier — companies that employ hundreds of people.

Furthermore, the docks, the Providence River channel and the railroad spurs are resources that will no doubt be needed in years ahead as the cargo and freight industries in the U.S. continue their rapid growth. Indeed, the Port of Providence, including Allens Avenue, already has what we are trying to create in other parts of the state with enormous difficulty.

Why give that up? Why chase those jobs away? Why run the risk of pushing these companies out of Providence and the state? Can Providence really afford to lose jobs and businesses that could otherwise remain or be attracted to this area?

Not easily, I suspect. Worse, for those of us along the “working waterfront” who do not specifically need the Providence River for our business, we would have little incentive to relocate in Providence if this ill-conceived plan displaced us. Why? Because there is very little city space zoned for our type of industry.

Sadly, last Thursday night, the Providence City Council voted to pass the new Comprehensive Plan, even before all of the charrettes were held. While many council members believe that the plan has adequate protections for existing businesses, they are relying on well-meaning language that will have no legal significance. Once the plan is officially passed, the plan for Allens Avenue and the existing zoning will be at odds. This could invite condo developers to seek zoning variances to the existing zoning, asserting that their plans are supported by the new Comprehensive Plan. Legal battles may ensue but, regrettably, this is likely to be the first step to moving industry out of Allens Avenue and possibly the state.

This reality is terribly unfortunate, because to grow our state’s revenue base, we have to protect existing companies that provide well-paying jobs while we also work to bring in new businesses. Knowing this, doesn’t it make sense that the city planners of Providence should have tried to ensure that Allens Avenue and working-waterfront businesses not be pushed out of the city or the state? That did not happen.

Doesn’t it make sense that the city planners should have tried to bring together these companies with Rhode Island economic-development officials before the city continued to unilaterally go off in its own direction and risk the state’s losing critical industries? True, Providence and the state are two different governmental entities, but each one needs the other. We are too small a state to ignore that, and we need to preserve and nurture the industry we already have.

The Providence City Council and Rhode Island economic-development officials need to understand that we cannot truly grow our economy with condos, hotels and marinas. Instead, we need an economic policy that protects and encourages well-paying industries.

I hope that these officials will join together and come to the realization that, above all, we must protect Rhode Island’s “working waterfront” and manufacturing industries along Allens Avenue.

Ellis Waldman is president of Walco Electric Co., a Providence firm since its founding in 1931. It is based at 303 Allens Ave. ( ellisw@walcokip.com).