CITYWATCH Armory Revival’s new project faces mixed reception BY ALEXANDER PROVAN

One homeowner lauded the Armory Revival Company, endorsing any development that would "get rid of the junkyards, whorehouses, and tanning salons." Another West Side resident assailed two of Armory Revivals partners, Mark Van Noppen and B.J. Dupré, during the same September 13 meeting of the West Broadway Neighborhood Association’s development committee, asking, "When does it end? When will you have made enough money?"

The sharply mixed reaction was in response to Westminster Crossing, Armory Revival’s latest project. Construction of 73 for-sale lofts, with street-side storefronts and two concealed levels of structured parking at 383 West Fountain St., could begin as early as March 2006, to be completed nine months later, if the city approves the effort.

Armory Revival wants to start by demolishing part of the former Combination Ladder Company complex, majestically tarnished red brick edifices dating to 1895. Although they plan to preserve other historic buildings bought by their company in the same area, Van Noppen and Dupré say, the cost of replacing these particular properties’ gigantic roof precludes adaptive reuse. "These buildings are really marginal and at the end of their useful life," Dupré says.

Supporters of the WBNA’s vigilance regarding preservation and architectural conformity were well represented at the meeting. While ambivalent about the size of the project and the destruction of a historic landmark, many welcomed a development that might improve the image of the old industrial area at the Armory District’s eastern tip.

But as Providence’s wave of gentrification continues to spread, many residents are skeptical, even indignant. Judith Reilly, 37, who has lived in Providence for 11 years, the past eight in the Armory District, notes the irony of Providence’s simultaneous affordable housing crisis and luxury loft boom. "If the project goes through," she predicts, "it will be another nail in the coffin of a formerly affordable neighborhood."

Dupré and Van Noppen disavow the "luxury loft" tag, saying that 10 percent of the Westminster Crossing units would be affordable, selling for $159,000 and under, and 57 percent would be moderately priced, selling between $160,000 and $299,000. (The rest would sell for more than $300,000, with four topping $400,000.) They characterized the units as "workforce housing," a designation that rankled many residents who would be priced out of the neighborhood if such housing costs were the norm.

The WBNA, a reliable ally of Armory Revival, offered candid opposition to the initial plan, calling it a "threat" that could be eliminated only if the company "incorporated the existing Combination Ladder Company buildings," and reduced the project’s height. Over recent months, Armory Revival has scaled back its plans slightly.

While few at this meeting were about to blame a private company for failing to create truly affordable housing, the prospect of another outpost of what Dupré repeatedly touted as "hip places to live" feeds mounting frustration for some about the West Side’s ongoing "revitalization." Van Noppen acknowledged the skeptics’ frustrations, allowing, "We’re not pretending to attack the hardest parts of this problem."