With plan for community center dropped, where does Park Theatre go from here? | Opinion
Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung represents District 15 in the Rhode Island House of Representatives.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions – a mantra found in many song lyrics and movies alike. It was also true for the Cranston mayor's plans for the Park Theatre, as revealed last week by The Providence Journal.
The Park Theatre is a lovely anchor of Rolfe Square. However, as we learned on social media and in the news, it's a building with extensive infrastructure issues forcing the postponement or cancellation of many shows, despite the owners’ best efforts. Their team has worked incredibly hard – I admire their love for the arts and our community – but they are tens of thousands of dollars behind on their taxes. While the mayor and his team were moving towards a potential city buyout and repurposing as a community center, it became clear that the proper scrutiny would render that a bad deal for taxpayers. Following intense pressure from Cranstonians and City Council members, the mayor announced he would call off the deal.
However, with the right strategic vision, all is not lost.
In Cranston, there are certain neighborhoods identified via the census and other demographics that experience the greatest degree of economic and health disparities – currently centered around Arlington and Edgewood. These are focal areas for intense improvement efforts – like economic opportunity zones and health equity zone initiatives. As this special funding from the governor is supposed to focus on education, health, and workforce initiatives, it makes logical sense that we'd look to put these centers where the people need them most. Could we adapt our senior center – conveniently in Arlington – for use in the afternoon and evening for such programs? Could we look at the recently closed Chester Barrows School in Edgewood to house similar programs? Can we repurpose buildings already owned by the city before taking on new ones, so that we don't lose any further tax revenue? There are so many questions we need to ask, and accurate and complete answers we need to have.
Back to Rolfe Square. If a community center isn't the future for the Park Theatre, how do we ensure that it doesn't become a boarded-up eyesore? Housing remains a top issue across Rhode Island. If the Park Theatre were to close its doors, could it be repurposed by an innovative developer as a mixed-use workforce housing development – perhaps even keeping the famed PARK marquee out front for nostalgia’s sake? Can we honor its creative arts legacy with a small comedy club or performing arts center inside? These are usually all answers for the private sector to answer, but the right CEO can create a vision for the neighborhood, and then attract the right private sector partners to make it a reality.
Cranston can energize three neighborhoods at once with the right vision. However, without asking all the right questions, and without a transparent review of those complete answers, we might barrel down a road to fiscal disaster. Let's work together to get this right and build a stronger Cranston.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: How do we ensure that this Cranston landmark doesn't become a boarded-up eyesore?
