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PROVIDENCE — A local real estate firm is proposing a 30-story apartment tower next to the Hilton hotel on Atwells Avenue — a project that has been nearly two decades in the making.
PRI I LP, a firm that also owns the Hilton hotel, submitted preliminary plans to the city to demolish the hotel’s parking garage and a one-story function room attached to the building in order to construct a residential building with 216 units with an eight-story podium parking deck with 248 spaces.
The hotel building at 21 Atwells Ave., which was formerly the Holiday Inn, is not part of the new construction, according to the plans. First constructed in 1966, the former Holiday Inn was the first new hotel in Providence since the Biltmore (now known as the Graduate Providence Hotel) was built in 1922.
According to PRI I’s plans, the apartments would consist of a mix of 18 studio, 108 one-bedroom units, 82 two-bedroom units, and eight three-bedroom units, according to plans unveiled during a Downtown Design Review Committee meeting on Monday night. The committee approved the preliminary plan stage of review for new construction; final plans will need to be submitted to the city for review and approval.
PRI I is a subsidiary of The Procaccianti Group, a Cranston-based real estate investment and management company. The company has been involved in the development of several key properties around the state, including the new Neon Marketplaces and the Renaissance Providence Hotel. In the plans, PRI I has dubbed the proposed building as the “TPG Tower.”
If PRI I’s plans become reality, the tower would stand more than 300 feet above Atwells Avenue, and 326 feet above the dead-end street that connects the hotel with the Amica Mutual Pavilion. It would also become a prominent piece of Providence’s skyline along Interstate 95.
This isn’t the first time Procaccianti has proposed a residential tower at the site.
Around 2005, Procaccianti had proposed “The Power Block,” a nearly $1 billion real estate investment that reached from the former Westin Hotel (now the Omni Providence Hotel), past the Rhode Island Convention Center and the AMP, and up to what is now the Hilton hotel. At the time, Procaccianti executives said the “power block” would connect a corridor of shops, restaurants, hotels, and event spaces in order to attract large conventions to Providence.
Of that hefty proposal, $150 million would go to renovating the Holiday Inn to become a Hilton, add a nationally-known steak restaurant and coffee shop, and to construct a 27-story tower with 150 condominiums. Procaccianti did renovate the hotel around 2006 and added a Starbucks store on the ground floor. The Vig, a sports bar, currently serves burgers and wings in the hotel’s lobby. But the residential tower was never constructed.

Both of the existing structures that would be demolished were built in the late 1960s and early 1970s and do not have any historical significance. The company also deemed that rehabilitation or adaption of the structures was “infeasible.”
“Given the housing shortage in the Providence area, the residential component was more viable than commercial, retail, or other types of uses,” wrote Ron M. Hadar, Procaccianti’s general counsel, in the plans filed to the city.
It’s not yet clear when the company plans to begin the demolition. Ralph Izzi, Procaccianti’s vice president of public affairs, said the firm is still in its pre-development phase. In an email to the Globe on Monday night, he declined to say what the project will cost.
“Safe to say this will be one of the most substantial developments in the last 50 years in downtown Providence since we built the 32-story residential (The Residences Providence) tower in 2007, which — at the time — was the tallest high rise built in the prior 34 years,” said Izzi.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.
Local News
A Rhode Island husband and wife in their 50s were identified as the two people killed in a Swansea car crash Friday night.
Carlolyn Carcasi, 54, and James Carcasi, 53, of Bristol, Rhode Island, were killed in the Feb. 27 crash, the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a press release Monday.
The crash occurred at the intersection of Route 136 and Route 6 in Swansea, Quinn’s office said.
Police in Cranston, Rhode Island identified the driver who allegedly hit the couple as Demitri Sousa, 28. Sousa allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island nearly four hours before the crash, Cranston police said.
At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said previously.
The couple was driving southbound on Route 136 when the Sousa crashed into the side of a Subaru Ascent. Both cars had “catastrophic damage,” and the Subaru was engulfed in flames, Swansea fire and police officials said.
Both occupants of the Subaru were declared dead at the scene, Swansea officials said.
Sousa was transported to a local hospital, where he is being treated for serious injuries. He is expected to live and will be held in Cranston police custody until he is medically cleared, police said Sunday.
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CRANSTON, R.I. (WJAR) — Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed celebrated Women’s History Month in Cranston with a panel discussion on Monday.
The event was held at the Cranston Public Library at 9 a.m.
Reed and other leaders of WFRI hosted a panel discussion with women leaders in environmental and agricultural advocacy, education, community resilience, housing, finance, workforce development, and more, officials said.
Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed celebrated Women’s History Month in Cranston with a panel discussion on Monday. (WJAR)
“Women have played a critical role in this process, most often without any recognition,” Reed said. “Today’s panel brings together an extraordinary group of women who are addressing the challenged of sustainability from various angles and I want to thank you all for your great efforts.”
The panelists highlighted their experiences, shared insights and tips on lifting up women’s voices, provided strategies for sparking change and more.
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According to officials, some of the panelists included Executive Director of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council Nessa Richman, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at Rhode Island College Kim Bright, Newport Housing Authority Executive Director Rhonda Mitchell and more.
Local News
A Seekonk man is accused of murder after he allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island before causing a car crash in Swansea that killed two people last week, police said.
Demitri Sousa, 28, is charged with murder, using a firearm while committing a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license, the Cranston Police Department said.
The shooting occurred Thursday night in Cranston, police said in a press release.
That night, Sousa allegedly arrived at the Cranston home of Javon Lawson, 35. Sousa began banging on the side door of the home, police said.
When Lawson approached the door, he was hit by gunfire from outside, police said.
First responders transported Lawson to the Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Cranston police said.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, the motive is believed to be a dispute between the suspect and the victim over a mutual female acquaintance. Detectives are continuing this investigation to gain more insight, as well as to collect and analyze evidence,” Colonel Michael Winquist, Chief of Cranston police, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Neighbors gave police video footage that “showed a male subject wearing dark clothing and a mask walking toward the residence moments before the shooting and fleeing immediately afterward,” Winquist said.
The suspect was also seen running to a white Infiniti sedan which then drove off, the Cranston police chief said.
Shortly after the shooting, a license plate reader captured the vehicle driving southbound on Route 10, and then later in Fall River and Westport, Massachusetts. The sedan’s license plate was registered in Sousa’s name, Winquist said.
At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said.
Just moments later, Sousa allegedly “crashed into the side of another vehicle, a blue 2022 Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136,” Swansea Police Chief Mark Foley and Fire Chief Eric Hajder said in a joint press release.
Both vehicles had “catastrophic damage,” and the struck car was engulfed in flames, the Swansea officials said.
The driver and passenger of the hit car — a man and a woman — were declared dead at the scene, they said.
“Swansea Police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect vehicle. However, Swansea Police were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the crash,” the Swansea chiefs wrote. Swansea official have not announced charges related to the fatal crash.
Sousa had been driving the Infiniti and appeared to be suffering from serious injuries, Winquist said. Inside the car, police found a pistol and “additional .22 caliber ammunition was recovered” from Sousa at Rhode Island Hospital, Winquist said.
Police arrested Sousa and transported him to Rhode Island Hospital. Sousa is expected to survive, Winquist said. Sousa will be held in Cranston police custody until he is conscious and medically cleared, Winquist said.
“On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Javon Lawson and the two individuals who were killed in the crash in Swansea,” Winquist said.
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