PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A City Council committee has approved a zoning change that could clear the way for the controversial 46-story Hope Point Tower proposed by New York developer Jason Fane.

The Committee on Ordinances voted 3-1 Thursday night to recommend approval of a height-exemption requested by the developer of the proposed luxury apartment tower on former Route 195 land, according to Bill Kepner, City Council spokesman.

The City Council will vote on the matter at its regular meeting on Thursday. The zoning change will need two votes before it can be passed or denied.

The 540-foot tower proposed by Fane has stirred up passionate opinions on both sides.

The labor and trade unions want the construction jobs it will bring, and some residents say it will give Providence a much-needed economic boost. But neighbors say they don’t like the design, and community activists say the last thing Providence needs is a luxury apartment tower when it’s starving for affordable housing.

Dante Bellini, spokesman for the Fane Organization, said the group was happy with the ordinance committee’s vote and hopes that the full council will support the project.

But it’s unclear whether the full council will get behind Fane’s request for a height exemption, which would free him from the 100-foot height limit of the zone and allow him to build up to 600 feet.

Several council members have said they plan to vote no, including Ward 1 City Councilman Seth Yurdin, Ward 2 City Councilman Samuel Zurier, Ward 13 City Councilman Bryan Principe and Council President David Salvatore.

Others have said they support it, such as Ward 6 City Councilman Michael Correia, Ward 8 City Councilman Wilbur Jennings and Ward 10 City Councilman Luis Aponte.

Ward 5 City Councilwoman Jo-Ann Ryan, who serves on the ordinance committee, and Ward 12 Councilman Terrence Hassett, who is chairman of the committee, both spoke favorably of the project at the committee meeting Thursday night.

“We need the development in the city of Providence,” Ryan said at the meeting. “We need to say to other developers that we are here, we’re open for business.”

Hassett, Ryan and Ward 9 City Councilwoman Carmen Castillo, who also serves on the committee, voted to recommend the height exemption to the City Council. Principe, who is vice chairman of the committee, voted no, and Ward 11 City Councilwoman Mary Kay Harris, who serves on the committee, abstained.

Principe said during the meeting that he would be in favor of the tower if it were proposed for a different location. He doesn’t like the idea of spot-zoning and betraying a comprehensive zoning plan that city officials worked hard on with public input.

"What’s next?" he said at the meeting. "Are we going to get a developer who comes to town to say, 'Hey, I want to put a 600-foot building in the middle of Roger Williams Park. You know why? It’s a great place for people to live ....' Are we going to approve that too?”

If the height exemption passes the City Council, the project will move on to design review.

—mlist@providencejournal.com

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