The Public Subsidies for the “Superman Building” Deserve More Public Benefits - Robert McMahon

The Public Subsidies for the “Superman Building” Deserve More Public Benefits - Robert McMahon

If you walk or drive in Downtown Providence these days, you will notice that work is slowly beginning on the conversion of the Industrial National Bank building, aka the Superman building, into a residential super tower.  After sitting empty for eleven years, the former 26-story bank building will be home to 285 residential units in a couple of years.

The public is pumping upwards of nearly $100 million in tax credits, cash dollars, and tax stabilization benefits.

Why not also include one or more of the top floors for a public viewing area to enable spectacular views of Providence and upper Narragansett Bay?

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Say what? Isn’t this going to be a privately owned building for swanky, high-priced residential units?

Let’s consider the rationale for this idea.  While the Industrial National Bank building sat empty and began to slowly deteriorate, some folks began to whisper the unthinkable idea: “Maybe the building should be demolished.”

The 1927 Art Deco building is a signature building in the Providence downtown landscape. GoLocal’s own architecture critic, Will Morgan, made the best case in 2021 for re-purposing the building: “A city that cannot save its most important mercantile tower needs to ask itself what it really cares about. The Industrial Bank is not only one of the great American skyscrapers, but it is one of the enduring symbols of Providence.”

With the promise of 285 residential units, with 57 of them deed restricted with “affordable rents,” the developer High Rock Westminster is proceeding with federal and state subsidies in the neighborhood of $50+ million and with city subsidies of $40 million ($30 million in property tax breaks and $10 million in loans) on the $223 million renovation — which has now ballooned to $315 million.

Many of us taxpayers cringed about shoveling those amounts of public subsidies into the building. But the alternative of demolishing the building was too disheartening to let happen.

Yes, most of us taxpayers will eventually feel good about the public benefits of the building being saved. And yes, 57 families will have “affordable rent.”  But still, I can’t help but think of over 220 very wealthy families enjoying the good life and laying their heads down on soft pillows each night in swanky units in the Industrial Trust Tower, thanks to our very generous taxpayer subsidies.

Here’s an idea that might rally Providence and Rhode Island residents to feel less pain about our public subsidy of the Superman Building renovation.  It’s based on the novel concept that the private use of the public’s money should sometimes provide direct benefit to the public.  And the uniqueness of the building provides a unique opportunity for direct public benefit.

Instead of providing luxurious residential space at astronomical rental prices on one of the top floors of the Superman Building, let’s develop one of the upper floors for public viewing of Providence and upper Narragansett Bay.  This public viewing area would be loved by Rhode Islanders and tourists alike. The educational benefits to Providence student groups looking at views of the Providence, the State House, the former port area, the Hurricane Barrier, and upper Narragansett Bay would be enormous.

The demand to go to the top of the Superman Building and enjoy spectacular views would be irresistible, particularly if the admission prices are kept reasonable, and the operator of the public viewing area is a local non-profit organization.

The Superman Building would not just be an iconic 26-story building for us to admire from the street level, but an iconic destination for Rhode Islanders to actually experience.

Not only would the public benefit directly from a public subsidy for the building renovation, but the increased foot traffic to the building will have a positive economic multiplier impact on downtown restaurants and parking garages.

The developer will likely provide lots of reasons why this can’t work. The ship has sailed—the upper floors are crucial to the economic success of the building. In reality, though, there is no additional capital cost to the developer for the public viewing area.  A few hundred thousand dollars of the City of Providence subsidy will be used to renovate one of the upper floors into a public space instead of a residential unit. There would also be no loss of rental income, as the annual admission fees for the public viewing area would offset the loss of rental income for the residential unit. 

The Providence Foundation or the Providence Preservation Society, for example, could be hired to operate the public viewing area, providing interpretive graphics of what the public is viewing.

Is Providence still the “Creative Capital?” Well, let’s live up to our name. Before we gift wrap all the Providence taxpayer subsidies to High Rock, let’s attach a few strings to require a public viewing space to be built in the Superman Building. The Mayor should meet with the developer High Rock to begin preliminary negotiations to make this concept a reality.

Mayor Smiley and City Council members here’s an opportunity to be good stewards of the people’s money, to provide a win for historic preservation, to provide economic development in Providence, and to provide Rhode Island families with memorable and proud opportunities to enjoy views of their city and state.  It’s a win-win for everyone.