Fane Tower Debate: After 2 Years Council Pres. Salvatore Continues to Duck Taking a Stand

Fane Tower Debate: After 2 Years Council Pres. Salvatore Continues to Duck Taking a Stand

State House lobbyist for the RI Realtors and City Council President David Salvatore refuses to take a stand on the proposed 46-story Fane Tower. The project was first proposed nearly two years ago and is one of the most significant private projects ever proposed in the city.

The $3,000-a-month State House lobbyist has been on the Providence City Council since 2010 and the proposed Fane project is by far the single largest private investment into the city — the most since the Providence Place Mall was proposed in the early 1990s. GoLocal has tried to reach Salvatore repeatedly via email, phone and text as well as through his City Hall staff, but he has refused comment on the project.

During the time he refused any comment on the project, he was posting to Facebook about his campaign signs. Salvatore is seeking re-election. He has voted on Council's procedural issues on the matter.

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“It is like Salvatore is hiding under the covers hoping the big bad Fane project will just go away,” said Councilman Luis Aponte, who raised early concerns about the initial three-tower design but has said the project could have a profound positive effect of on the Providence tax base.  The project would generate over $4 million a year in new revenue for the city.

No Comment on Top Providence Issue

The debate has turned into a dialogue between two strong interests — a group of vocal East Side residents and the powerful building trades unions. Salvatore has privately voiced interest in running for Mayor of Providence in 2022.

For the opponents -- including the Providence Preservation Society -- the project is the wrong design in the wrong location. The greatest criticism is that the 600 feet in height is out of scale with the rest of the city’s skyline.

While the debate between supporters and opponents continues to rage, Salvatore continues to avoid taking a stand on the project which is estimated to cost $250 to $300 million.

On Wednesday, Brent Runyon with the Providence Preservation Society joined GoLocal News Editor Kate Nagle on GoLocal LIVE before the Providence City Council had a public hearing on the proposal to give a variance approved by the Council at it exceeds existing allowable height limits. 

“How does the City Council give favoritism to one developer for an extremely outside the zoning ordinance change?” asked Runyon, who also spoke to its potential impact on what will be an adjacent park. 

“A little outside our purview [is] the fact that developers like predictability,” said Runyon.  “The city and state have put in place process to make it predictable. Twelve projects have been approved [except this one] — guidelines have to be consistent."

“We love some of our local developers, but if they came with the same project we’d opposed on same grounds,” said Runyon. “It’s about the current proposal — not the developer.”

Strong Support

Among the strongest supporters are the building trades unions. The Fane project would keep union members working for years. 

“I think the majority of council members are vetting this process like any other process or project,” said Michael Sabitoni of the RI Building and Construction Trade Unions. “I am confident that once all the information is given on the positive impact this will have on the city of Providence — I’m confident there will be a majority who will support this.”

“I know there’s a lot of people opposed for various different reasons,” said Sabitoni. “Our support is for the positives for the taxpayers, economy construction industry, the vibrancy of downtown. I welcome the public comment but once all the positives…are on the table, I’m confident that the city will have to consider this.”

Rhode Island's most respected architect told GoLocal in May in an exclusive interview that he supports the project.

Friedrich St.Florian is the architect of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. He has done leading design work across the country and the world. His drawings are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris.

"The tower should make a statement — making a statement means having a presence — presence in a city is often height.  The height that the tower will be will be the right height. The industrial tower — Superman — is over 400 feet, and when it was built in 1928, it was the second tallest in New England. Today it’s still the tallest in Rhode Island. It’s like when the Red Sox hadn’t won in 86 years — it’s time," said St.Florian in May.