"Hope" for a New Plaza near Woonasquatucket River
Preparing a site reuse plan for Providence, Rhode Island
Project Summary
Community: Providence, Rhode Island
Technical Assistance: Site Design
Former Use: Industrial Corridor
Future Use: Multi-Use Event Plaza
The plan established a central multi-use parking lot and
events space with creative landscape features, traffic flow
improvements, and green infrastructure opportunities for
stormwater management.
The City of Providence will use the Charlotte Hope Plaza
reuse plan to help realize the community-desired
improvements while accommodating the needs of new and
existing businesses in the area.
Following World War II, advancements in technology reduced
reliance on the power and transportation provided by the
Woonasquatucket River. As a result, several industrial sites in
Providence were abandoned, leaving behind contaminated
soils and hazardous chemicals in the river.
The Woonasquatucket Vision Plan, prepared under a 2017
U.S. EPA Brownfields Area-Wide Planning grant, identified
six catalyst brownfield sites within the Woonasquatucket
Corridor. These sites could bring about transformative change
to the Corridor, especially if redeveloped in line with the
community priorities identified through the area-wide planning
project, including improving sustainability and resiliency;
creating affordable space; supporting the arts, food, and
crafts; improving connectivity; and enhancing and maintaining
public spaces and the Woonasquatucket River.
Community's Land Revitalization Challenge
Keeping the community's goals in mind, the City of
Providence sought help with implementing a site-specific
reuse vision for the Providence Redevelopment Agency
(PRA) site, a catalyst site located between the
Woonasquatucket River and Downtown Providence,
EPA's Land Revitalization Technical Assistance
In 2018, EPA's Land Revitalization Program provided
contractor technical assistance to help the City visualize the
redevelopment of the PRA site and the surrounding
alleyways. The assistance resulted in the Charlotte Hope
Plaza Plan.
For more information, contact Jessica Dominguez, EPA
Region 1 Brownfields Program, at
dominquez.iessica@.epa.qov.
Vegetatiye-\-
ireepr Infrastructure &
Stormwater
Management Area
Farm Fresh Truck
Loading Area
Buffer
18,922 SF
46 Parking Spaces
BUILDING #10
Expansive Public Plaza and Event Venue
61,529 SF
156 Parking Spaces
Stage &-
Bandshell Area
-Vegetative
Green Infrastructure &
Stormwater
Management Area
42 Parking Spaces
LOT 292
United States
Environmental Protection
# * Agency
Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
560-F-19-005-C

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