Providence seeks to seize control of Arnold Building
“The Providence City Council is set to give Mayor Angel Taveras the green light to seize a landmark downtown building that’s been decaying for years.
The council’s Ordinance Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow the Providence Redevelopment Agency to take over the George C. Arnold Building on Washington Street – potentially by eminent domain, a legal option that’s been rarely used in Providence in recent years.
The full council will vote Thursday on the measure, which would allow the agency to acquire the narrow, three-story structure by purchasing it or exercising its power of eminent domain. Taveras recently singled out the Arnold Building as a property that may have to be seized.
“I would like to see it done as fast as possible so the property can be protected from the elements and rehabilitation can be started and the building can be put back into productive use,” Donald Gralnek, the newly appointed executive director of the quasi-public Providence Redevelopment Agency, told WPRI.com.”
McGowan, Dan. WPRI 5 June 2013.