Fane Tower is Canceled

public rendering by IBI group, 2020

On March 10, 2023 after six long years stuck in the pre-development process, the Fane Organization announced that they had to cease moving forward with the project. 

“Due to recent risk factors outside of my control,” said New York real estate mogul and CEO Jason Fane in a public statement, the firm had decided to bring the project to an end. “I wish the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission, the City of Providence, and the State of Rhode Island success with their plans for further development in the I-195 District.” 

Fane provided no further explanation about the building’s cancellation.

With the abrupt termination of Fane Tower, the I-195 Commission will now have to start from scratch in its efforts to develop Parcel 42 in the city's Jewelry District, leaving the future of the site in limbo. One of the Commission’s biggest controversies to date, the failure of Fane begs the question: what will the city do next? 

The Proposal Process

In 2016 the Fane Organization submitted an initial proposal via the I-195 District Commission’s Request for Proposals (RFP) system. Tasked with overseeing the redevelopment of 19 parcels of land–which had been freed up by the relocation of Interstate 195—the Commission took interest in the firm’s ambitious proposal. The Fane Organization, a New York-based developer, proffered the design of a 46-story tower that would include 435 luxury apartments, a hotel, and ground-floor retail space. The firm imagined that Fane Tower would become a skyline icon; the building would be the tallest in the state by 20 floors and more than 100 feet—the “Superman building” at 111 Westminster would now take silver. 

The Commission chose Fane’s proposal in 2017, and the developer began the pre-development process, which included holding a series of public meetings to gauge and include community response. A divisive project from the start, Fane Tower became an enemy to a majority of local leaders, with the Jewelry District Association (JDA) leading the opposition. Many city officials and union workers, on the other hand, supported the project for its potential short and long-term economic benefits.

The Opposition

The JDA argued that the building's design was incompatible with the neighborhood's historical character and that the project would create traffic congestion and strain the area's already-limited infrastructure. “This is a city changing [project],” says Steele. “And we’re stuck with this disgusting, middle-finger phallic symbol sitting on our park and completely obliterating everything around it.” 

Opponents also raised the issue of housing, arguing that rewarding the decision to create hundreds of luxury apartments ignored the thousands of residents struggling to find affordable housing. 

Other organizations, like the Providence Preservation Society (PPS), echoed the JDA’s sentiment. In monthly online updates on Fane Tower, PPS regularly expressed how “deeply disappointed [they were] by the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission.” In their most recent correspondence, Adriana Hazelton, advocacy manager of PPS, wrote in public comment to the Commission in February that PPS “continues to oppose the proposal by the Fane Organization,” a proposal full of “controversy, poor design, and zero community engagement.”

The Advocates

On the other hand, the Fane Tower had its share of supporters in Providence, too–including members of the city and state government and union workers who saw the Tower as a means of boosting the local economy and creating jobs. “The project would have provided badly needed housing and jobs and helped to foster a vibrant downtown,” said Rhode Island Senate President Dominick Ruggerio in a public statement.

Michael Sabitoni, president of RI Building & Construction Trades Council, and other construction union leaders, demonstrated continuing support for Fane Tower in public meetings, seeing the building as an opportunity to create jobs for their members. “We need significant developments in the city of Providence,” Sabitoni said in an email. Sabitoni pointed towards Fane Tower as a fulfillment of that need.

Zoning Concerns

In early 2018, the Fane organization requested a zoning ordinance change to allow for the construction of the building.

The existing ordinance allowed the construction of buildings only under 100 feet on the site; Fane Tower was a proposed 600 feet high. The process of changing the zoning ordinance was complicated, involving multiple public hearings and deliberations by city officials and agencies. 

Ultimately, the ordinance was amended, but only after months of back and forth, including a veto from Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza followed by an override by the City Council.

Uproar ensued, with the members of the JDA raising $250,000 in order to take the Fane organization to the state Supreme Court to overrule the zoning change. The court, however, ruled in favor of Fane.

Despite winning the legal battle, the Fane organization consistently missed critical deadlines and frequently requested extensions, leading to a series of delays in the project's progress. 

“Fane has played you all like a fiddle,” said Providence resident Stewart Martin in a public letter to the Commission. “How many more extensions or waivers granted? How many more deadlines missed?” A plethora of similar comments followed every proposal meeting for nearly seven years.

Note:

The COVID-19 pandemic also affected the timeline of the building. Spurred by inflation and a recession on the horizon, financing has become more challenging with the current rising interest rates and supply chain issues. The commercial real estate market, in turn, has suffered severely.

Design Debacles

For better or for worse, community leaders also caused the delay of the project. Throughout the pre-development process, Providence residents like Steele called for multiple design changes, hoping for Fane to better integrate the Tower into the city. These concerns weren’t just about  height, although that was a huge issue. Opponents questioned the building’s ability to withstand wind, its sustainability, and its aesthetic shortcomings. Every few months, the Fane organization would come out with a new design proposal aimed to alleviate the community’s concerns. But even with each new proposal, Providence residents still deemed the overall design unsuitable for the site and the city. “The architecture is beyond god-awful but it was beyond god-awful on design one, design two, and design three, and it has gone downhill precipitously,” Steele says.

side-by-side design change rendering (latest on left, initial on right), IBI Group, 2019-2022

Utile, the I-195 Commission’s designated design consultant, also routinely called for the Fane Organization to change major elements of the building. Although in favor of the construction of the Tower overall, unlike the JDA, Utile had been very critical over the years, urging the Commission to prompt Fane to comply with new demands. Their latest comments to the Fane organization in January pertained to the alteration of the simplicity of the Tower’s podium (bottom floors); the potential wind impacts on pedestrians caused by the building’s shape; and the Tower’s poor engagement with the open park space on its site. The Fane organization released a memorandum in February in which they proposed new ways to take Utile’s suggestions into consideration.

The Beginning of the End

In the final months of the project, the Fane organization seemed hopeful, regardless that the latest design update in January once again failed to meet community support. “We believe that once completed, the project will become an iconic landmark of Providence,” the firm stated in their last memorandum on February 15th, “and those who are discussing it now, will come to appreciate it as the gateway to the future. More importantly, it will provide much-needed housing, jobs, taxes and other benefits to Rhode Island.” 

Still, Fane Tower struggled to break ground.

Fane's contract would lapse at the end of March. Cancellation of the project appeared to have been a long time coming—the nearly seven-year process flecked with setbacks—yet it came as a blow to the many stakeholders who participated in the journey. “We are given the opportunity to create a brand new neighborhood out of whole cloth,” Steel says. “But what comes along with that is extraordinary responsibility.” Responsibility, that she says, has been mishandled.

What Now?

Parcel 42 is now in limbo. Much time got lost to the Fane Tower work, leaving the future of the site uncertain. 

view of Parcel 42 and downtown from pedestrian bridge, photo by Jilienne Widener, 2023