Developer Dezube Wants to Carve Up Historic Goddard Estate on College Hill
GoLocalProv News Team
Developer Dezube Wants to Carve Up Historic Goddard Estate on College Hill
Dezube bought the historic property in October of 2023 via a corporation he controls for $1,425,000. The home sits on a lot that is nearly 30,000 square feet.
The main home at 64 Angell Street would remain, but the carriage house would be torn down as part of Dezube’s plan, and four new homes would be constructed.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Brown University medical school-educated Boston-based developer has been under the microscope for a series of proposed projects in the city.
“I love Providence, its historic charm and its creativity," Dezube told GoLocal.
Dezube has been a lightning rod in the past year. His proposed apartment complex on Wickenden Street drew dozens in opposition last summer. “Wickenden Street [has a] unique neighborhood character,” said Fox Point Neighborhood Association President Lily Bogosian at the packed meeting at the Joseph Doorley Municipal Building in July. "This complex is the antithesis of everything that represents Wickenden Street.”
Bogosian contended the construction of an “oversized structure lacking in neighborhood character” is not in compliance with the city’s comprehensive plan.
That Wickenden Street project continues to move forward, says Dezube.
This winter, Dezube proposed a 58-unit project in the Mount Hope section of Providence. That project drew fierce neighborhood criticism, and Dezube withdrew the proposed development.
"I am going to be doing a single-family home development on Evergreen," he said.
Dezube is also involved in ongoing litigation for control over another estate on Rochambeau Avenue.
He says he has many other projects around the city that don't get attention and that are positive for the city.
"We have committed to a project on Tobey Street, which is 100% affordable," said Dezube.
Goddard Property Is a Historic Icon
On Wednesday, Dezube's Angell Street plan went before the city's Historic District Commission. Dezube tells GoLcoal that the property is R-1 residential, but by right, he can subdivide the property.
"At a special meeting of the Historic District Commission (HDC) regarding a potential administrative subdivision of 64 Angell St., which is the site of the 1794 Captain George Benson House, the HDC provided an advisory opinion to the City that the proposed five-lot subdivision of the property would be inappropriate, citing that it would have "significant negative impacts to the built environment, the resulting buildings that could be built on the property are not likely to meet all required conditions for approval, and the proposal is inconsistent with historic preservation goals stated in the City’s Comprehensive Plan," said Michaela Antunes, the Director of Communications for the City of Providence's Economic Development office.
Description:
Captain George Benson House 1794: This 5-bay, 2½-story Federal house has splayed lintels with carved keystones over the windows, a central entrance with a segmental arch Doric portico, a dentil-and-modillion cornice, a deck-on-hip roof capped by a balustrade with urn finials, and pedimented dormers.
The first-story portion on the western side is a later addition: while it simulates the articulation of the main block, its paneled balustrade is closer in style to those popular in the 1820s and 1830s. The wooden fence is similar to the balustrade on the main block of the house. Benson was allied in business with Nicholas Brown, and this well-preserved late 18th-century house recalls Providence's heyday as a shipping center,” wrote Wm McKenzie Woodward for the RI Historic Preservation Commission.
