Our Streets PVD  + Keynote Lecture 
 
PPS is proud to be a founding supporter of a new city-wide alliance: Our Streets PVD. We are supporting Our Streets PVD for safer streets and more choices.
 
Transportation is such a crucial part of preserving our past, enjoying our present, promoting our future, and enhancing our city's unique character . The Providence Preservation Society is joining forces with Our Streets PVD , an alliance of nonprofits, businesses, schools, civic leaders and engaged individuals working towards safer streets and better transportation choices in Providence!
 
We believe that all people should be able to move safely and easily no matter how they travel - whether driving, walking, biking, taking buses, scooting, skating, and/or using mobility-assistance devices. Check out @OurStreetsPVD to learn more!  
 
We are pleased to partner with Our Streets on an upcoming program featuring Gil Penalosa, Founder of 8 80 Cities and former Commissioner of Bogota, Colombia, on Friday, February 21. Click here to learn more or to register!  
City Plan Commission Update 
 
The CPC meets Tuesday, January 21 at 4:45 pm (Joseph Doorley Municipal Building, 444 Westminster Street) and has a full agenda.

21 Euclid Avenue
By-right demolition is proposed for the 1896 Dewey F. Adams Colonial Revival house at the corner of Brook and Euclid for mixed-use commercial and residential construction. This house contributes to the College Hill National Landmark Historic District, but is not within a local historic district -- therefore demolition and design review are not required. The developer, who is seeking several waivers, last year demolished 15 Euclid Avenue.

134 Waterman Street
Driving east on Waterman, you can hardly miss the construction site at 134 Waterman. The owner is seeking to subdivide the property into three lots. This parcel is in the proposed expansion area of the College Hill local historicdistrict,which received unanimous recommendation from CPC in September. The expansion does not have the support of this owner. If it were under local historic district purview, new construction plans would be reviewed by HDC for appropriateness.  
 
Citizens Bank Site
The December CPC agenda included two controversial items located at the historically and geographically significant gateway to Providence's West
End.  Regrettably, the proposed development on the site of the former Citizens Bank Building (1921) at 870 Westminster Street is being considered piecemeal instead of as major land development over what are six parcels under common ownership. PPS is working with WBNA and concerned neighbors to see if the plan can be improved upon before final plan approval.
 
A Ward 11 public meeting with Councilperson Mary Kay Harris will  take place Saturday, January 25th at 11 am at the Citizens Bank Building. 
College Hill Local Historic District Expansion    

Local residents working with PPS are moving ever closer to the much needed inclusion -- and protection -- of the eastern portion of College Hill in the city's oldest local historic district. As noted above, the petition received unanimous support from the CPC last fall and is heading to City Council for approval.  PPS and the study committee are hopeful to have the support of all three candidates in the special election for the Ward 1 City Council seat, recently vacated by Seth Yurdin. 
 
A home on Cooke Street, part of the proposed LHD expansion
About the LHD Expansion 
The most important tool that planners and preservationists have is local historic district (LHD) protection. If a property is in a LHD, the commission reviews demolition proposals to make sure they are appropriate and without serious consequence to the district.

In partnership with neighborhood residents, PPS is working to expand the College Hill LHD so that buildings within the Hope Street and Power Street-Cooke Street Historic Districts on the National Register (honorary status; no local protection) are protected. If you own a home in the area and want to support this effort, please contact us. 

Click here to learn more about Providence's local historic districts.  
Join PPS in Washington, D.C. for Advocacy Week! 
 
Preservation Advocacy Week 2020 is planned for March 10-12 in Washington, D.C., and PPS will be serving as the Rhode Island  state  coordinator.  One of the most effective ways of sharing information with Congress is through direct meetings, and Advocacy Week is our annual opportunity to have a mass impact on opinion leaders and policy makers. If you are interested in joining us, please email Director of Preservation Rachel Robinson. Preservation professionals and concerned citizens alike are welcome!