And like Providence, Woonsocket has experienced a downtown renaissance. Not that Main Street has yet become the sort of retail mecca that Providence’s Westminster Street likes to think it is. But Woonsocket’s mayor can claim some credit for improvements there.
Woonsocket’s location in the far northern reaches of the state makes it our most proximate suburb of Boston. Bay Staters fleeing the high cost of housing in the Boston metro area — and to a lesser extent in Providence itself — have been a blessing to Woonsocket, which has some pleasant residential neighborhoods nestled amid the city’s enchanting hills. Out-of-towners have stoked a downtown and riverfront condo boom in recent years.
Pardon me, but, WTF?
Let's start with the "downtown renaissance." Westminster Street has upscale clothing and furniture boutiques, trendy Irish pubs, bookstores, restaurants, million dollar lofts, weekend farmer's markets, The Hotel Providence, and the surrounding area is crowded with the same. Main Street in Woonsocket has tattoo parlors, second hand junk stores, ethnic convenience stores, many empty, run down spaces, boarding houses for single men and drug addicts, and Hanora Lippitt apartments for the elderly.
Next up, I want you to show me a couple from Boston who chose to move to Woonsocket. I'm gonna need to see proof.
Enchanting hills? Ok, who got paid to write this?
And those condos? Empty. Why? Because they've taken ancient, gasoline-soaked mills in the middle of the city slums and turned them into insanely expensive lofts and penthouses. The old Rosecraft Mill on Social Street (excuse me, Gateway Commons now) is a perfect example, smack in the middle of the ghetto (if the picture of the building's exterior on the website had gone to the right, you'd see what I mean).
Woonsocket may seem nice on paper and city websites, but you need to see it for yourself to get the whole unfortunate picture.
No comments:
Post a Comment