CRMC to celebrate Metro Bay SAMP with sign unveiling

Tuesday, July 31 at 11 a.m. at American Locomotive Works

July 26, 2007, WAKEFIELD – To celebrate the creation of its Metro Bay Special Area Management Plan and model program components, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council will unveil its new public access sign at a ceremony on Tuesday, July 31 at 11 a.m. at the American Locomotive Works site in Providence.

The CRMC will unveil a sign that will be posted throughout the Metro Bay region at all points of public access as part of the SAMP’s Urban Coastal Greenway (UCG) program. The sign was a result of a design contest the CRMC conducted late last year, and the design winner is Grady Peck, a landscape architecture graduate from the University of Rhode Island. The CRMC’s partner in this event is Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, which is developing the American Locomotive Works site into a mixed-use complex with commercial space, retail shops, restaurants, residential units and public parks. The site will also feature public access and an urban coastal greenway along the Woonasquatucket River.

The Metro Bay SAMP is the fifth to be developed, and encompasses the cities of Cranston, East Providence, Providence and Pawtucket. This region is a largely untapped natural resource and economic engine. It was the site of industrialization and progress and over the years has become outdated and underutilized. The cities are now acting to make this region of Narragansett Bay a more appealing place to live and work by improving the economic, social and environmental resources of the working waterfront; attracting major developers with more predictable and efficient permitting; and providing recreation and access to the water.

The Metro Bay Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) aims to accomplish these goals and provide a functional framework for future environmentally and economically sensitive redevelopment of the SAMP boundary encompassing most of the waterfront in the four cities. The CRMC is coordinating with the cities, government agencies and community organizations to prepare the SAMP.

The UCG is a new regulatory approach for coastal vegetative buffers in the urbanized environment of northern Narragansett Bay, and is intended for projects bordering the Providence, Seekonk, Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket Rivers. The purpose of the UCG is to provide a mechanism to redevelop the urban waterfront of the Metro Bay region in a way that integrates economic development with expanded public access along and to the shoreline, as well as the management, protection and restoration of valuable coastal habitats. It is also in keeping with the goals of the CRMC’s Marine Resources Development Plan, which utilizes SAMPs as a regional environmental management tool. Since its adoption as a formal policy in November 2006, the UCG has generated 7,050 linear feet of new shoreline in the SAMP area.

“The Urban Coastal Greenway policy is a vital part of the ongoing update of the Metro Bay SAMP, and will serve as the impetus for billions of dollars of redevelopment in the four cities,” said CRMC Chairman Michael M. Tikoian. “This policy will allow for a more predictable, flexible process by which developers will be able to redevelop Brownfields sites and a formerly industrial waterfront in major urban areas. This tool is vital to the economic success and environmentally-sensitive re-use of the urban waterfront.”

The SAMP will also update and revitalize the Providence Harbor SAMP that the CRMC developed more than 20 years ago. Since that time, the cities of the upper Narragansett Bay have prospered from economic growth and cultural renewal, as well as a renewed appreciation for the waterfront and its natural values.

“The Metro Bay region is an important natural resource for Rhode Islanders,” said Tikoian. “The CRMC is committed to creating a SAMP that protects this important natural and economic resource and honors the upper bay’s special history and heritage.”

“All of us at Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse are proud of our partnership with the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council in the creation of its Metro Bay Special Area Management Plan and our collaboration on the public greenway at American Locomotive Works. This is an incredible undertaking for the State of Rhode Island and a fantastic new public amenity for the Valley neighborhood of Providence,” said John Sinnott, Struever Bros.’ Managing Director.

American Locomotive Works is located at 315 Iron Horse Way in Providence, at the corner of Valley and Hemlock Streets. A light lunch will follow the ceremony.