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Providence Place debuts under deadline

By Jon Springer

Less than 24 hours prior to the opening of Providence Place, director of leasing Peter C. Steingraber led a tour through the building. The group, visiting Providence, R.I., for an ICSC luncheon on a pleasant August afternoon, sidestepped ladders and construction debris, climbed nonoperating escalators and was outnumbered by sales associates unpacking boxes and construction workers hustling to finish their work.

Considering it had been more than 15 years in the making, it was no surprise that Providence Place's opening came down to the wire.

But the 1.4 million-square-foot mall indeed opened as advertised Aug. 20, albeit with just 40 of its eventual 160 shops operating and one anchor store, Nordstrom. Exhausted but satisfied, Steingraber said, "We made it."

Developed by Commonwealth Development Group of Providence at a cost of $460 million, the four-level mall, built atop five parking decks, is designed to complement the architecture surrounding the nearby state capitol. The architectural highlight is a magnificent glass-enclosed atrium overlooking the Woonasquatucket River and Amtrak rail lines running beneath the mall.

Ownership changes, funding difficulties, tricky land assembly and numerous design reviews made the development one of the most lengthy and costly of any regional mall ever built, Dan Lugosh, senior partner of Commonwealth, told visiting ICSC members. Lugosh said the process began in 1983 when he was then working with Syracuse, N.Y.-based Pyramid Management Group.

Commonwealth, a private group including several former executives of Pyramid, bought out majority owner Robert J. Congel of Pyramid in 1996. In 1997, Commonwealth settled an ownership dispute with Alex J. Conroy, who said he initiated the project in 1985 while working with Melvin Simon & Associates of Indianapolis.

"Everything has been hard," Lugosh said, "and we're still racing to get the items done. But it will be well worth our effort."

Land assembly, which required ground and/or air rights to 21 separate parcels, a river, and railroad lines, was also a difficult process, said Alden S. Raine, a private consultant who served as public-approvals coordinator for Providence Place.

Surrounded by existing buildings, a river, a highway and rail lines, the mall was a design challenge as well, said design architect Freidrich St. Florian. "It was a very complicated footprint," St. Florian explained, adding that for the design to be appropriate for the city, developers had to "get out of the suburban thinking" typical of most mall designs.

St. Florian, an instructor at Providence's Rhode Island School of Design, said he worked to design the building so that it would not look out of place among neighboring buildings -- including the historic state government headquarters.

"This is a new concept for an urban shopping center, and it's been a fascinating process," St. Florian said. "In 50 years, I think this design will stand up as one that fits with this city."

Steingraber, who is also a partner in the project, said he expects the mall will draw 15 million to 20 million visitors a year and achieve sales figures of more than $400 per square foot. By late September, the tenants that were open were exceeding their expectations, but still more than half of the mall's stores had yet to open.

"Business has been fabulous," he said, citing a recent weekly sales report.

"Talbot's says they're 200% above plan. Nordstrom is exceeding its goals, which I know were pretty aggressive. Guess is up 46%; Children's Place, 40%; J. Crew, 31%; Restoration Hardware, 25%." At press time, an additional round of store openings was set for October, when second anchor Filene's opens its doors. Third anchor Lord & Taylor is set to open next spring.

As for Commonwealth, it will now turn to Cranberry Crossings, a proposed mall in Cranberry, Pa., northeast of Pittsburgh. Steingraber said it could open in 2001.