After years of uncertainty for the former Urban League building in Upper South Providence, the Providence Redevelopment Agency (PRA) has selected a contractor to demolish the site later this year following remediation to the building.
The building, which was on the Providence Preservation Society’s Most Endangered Properties List in 2022 and 2023, was home to Rhode Island’s chapter of the prominent civil rights organization.
The building is on a parcel of 18 acres which was one of the earliest urban redevelopment projects in Providence, which resulted in the displacement of an estimated 200 families from the area in 1954. The area was redeveloped again in the early 1970s, when the Urban League building was constructed where a shopping mall previously was.
The organization was part of the broader national movement to uplift Black communities and underserved populations, address socioeconomic inequity, and ensure access to crucial services such as education, housing, and more.
The Urban League building sits at the intersections of the city’s complex history of redevelopment and displacement and was also a touchstone for local African American and immigrant populations throughout its history in Providence. PRA board members said they hope to bring about the start of a new chapter for the area that will benefit the entire community.
The demolition and remediation process is set to be completed by late December, while in the coming months community outreach and engagement will begin to “devise what might come next at that site, which will be a much longer lived process than than the site prep,” Nick Cicchitelli, the City’s director of real estate and secretary for the PRA, said at the agency’s Aug. 14 meeting.
“We’re expecting the fall is going to start with community meetings, community outreach, engaging stakeholders of all kinds, and then bringing that information back and advising on what an RFP for development partner needs to improve,” Cicchitelli said.
In 2022, the building “was turned over to the Providence Redevelopment Agency with promises that whatever the new revitalization plan, the Urban League and surrounding community would be involved in deciding its future,” according to the PPS Guide to Providence Architecture.
Remediation required prior to demolition includes lead and asbestos abatement, typical for a building built in the early 1970s. The remediation will be conducted inside the building prior to demolition later this year.
The PRA has “issued an RFP for architectural design consulting services to bring in an individual or a team that can help interpret the community desires for use on that site,” said Director of Planning and Development Joe Mulligan.The agency is also collaborating with a team from the University of Connecticut that “that works with municipalities regionally on brownfield reutilization strategies,” Mulligan said.
The City is working with interns from Harvard University to research the social and demographic history of the area, while also “identifying existing resources … [and] where there might be voids and deserts” of particular services, Mulligan continued.
He added that Councilor Mary Kay Harris has been “fully integrated into discussions” with the agency and providing guidance throughout the process.
PRA Chair Manuel Cordero said he was excited to see redevelopment of the site after it has sat vacant for so many years. He hopes the City and Planning Department will use “processes including the City Plan Commission and the Comprehensive Plan” to spur community engagement and buy-in from nearby entities like the Rhode Island Hospital and “create a more healthy neighborhood in that area.”
This story is part of ongoing coverage of how the former Urban League Building site will be redeveloped. The Providence Preservation Society wants to hear from community members about their memories and experiences at the Urban League builkding, as well as their hopes for the site after the building is demolished later this year. Please email kpickens@ppsri.org. The Providence Redevelopment Agency is soliciting suggestions and questions about the redevelopment here.
By Katy Pickens / Planning and Preservation Writer