Pawtucket-Central Falls Train Station
PADS
Letter to the Mayor regarding
the current status of the trainstation available here. Train
Station Agreement between the City of Pawtucket and SMPO
has been announced. To download and read
the agreement, click here.
Brief
Summary of Events
What You Can Do
Pawtucket Times Article PDF 06.05.07
Pawtucket Times Article PDF 12.18.06
Providence
Journal Article PDF 12.19.06
Open
Letter to Tom Ryan, CVS CEO - January 1
CVS Reponse to PADS Letter - December 15
Open
Letter to Tom Ryan, CVS CEO - December 11
Open Letter
to Tom Ryan, CVS CEO - November 22
Brief Summary of Recent Events
The Pawtucket-Central Falls Train Station site is currently owned
by Oscar Seelbinder who intends to develop the site into commercial
real estate, including a new CVS Pharmacy. The Pawtucket Office of
Planning and Redevelopment has sought to reclaim this property through
eminent domain to facilitate the restoration of the historic facility
into a new train stop along the commuter rail lines that connect
Pawtucket-Central
Falls to Boston and Providence (and soon T.F. Greene Airport). This
effort is supported by a study undertaken by VHB, transportation
design specialists, who worked with local and rail-related stakeholders
and announced in October 2006 that this would be logistically feasible.
However, due to Federal historic property regulations, if demolition
of the station occurs, the site will no longer be eligible for significant
matching funds from the Federal Government to develop a train stop.
Seelbinder has suggested a stop might be possible in his development;
as well, an alternate site for a station on Goff Avenue has also
been suggested and studied. Representatives of the Barton Street
neighborhood have voiced concern about how any development on the
site will directly affect them.
On December 5th, Mr. Seelbinder applied for and was granted a demolition
permit by the City of Central Falls to begin removing over 9,000
square feet of the Station including its primary historic facade
for the purposes of expanding parking options for the CVS. Bilray
Demolition immediately began this action, an effort halted by a temporary
restraining order by the City of Pawtucket, which will be in effect
until a hearing on December 13th. On December 6th, while the majority
of residents, state-wide preservation, institutional and development
experts, and the mayor urged the Pawtucket City Council to support
the Planning Office during a four-hour-long, standing-room-only public
meeting, the Council narrowly defeated the motion. On December 7th,
Mr. Seelbinder unsuccessfully applied for a demolition permit from
the City of Pawtucket.
The most recent information indicates that CVS does not require the
demolition of the Station for their parking needs and that they support
a positive outcome for both their development and the community's
desires for a rehabilitated train station and stop.
PADS is concerned about the future of this property because of its
direct impact on the redevelopment of downtown Pawtucket and its
residents.
What You Can Do:
1. Please read the PADS Open Letters to Tom Ryan below.
2. Write
a letter to CVS:
Thomas
M. Ryan
President & CEO
CVS Corporation
Corporate Headquarters
One CVS Drive
Woonsocket, RI 02895
3. You can also forward your thoughts through their website:
http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/corp_helpContact.jsp
01.01.07
An Open Letter to CVS
CEO Tom Ryan, the cities of Central Falls and Pawtucket, and all Pawtucket-Central
Falls Railroad Station Stakeholders:
The Pawtucket Alliance for Downtown Success (PADS) thanks CVS for their
response from Robert Nault, Regional Vice President, Real Estate, to our
December 11 open letter regarding
SMPO’s demolition of the Pawtucket-Central Falls Railroad Station
(Station) for a CVS Store.
Responses to Points Made by CVS:
Mr. Nault notes that CVS will not own the property, but will be a tenant
of SMPO. It is clear to PADS that demolition is driven by CVS parking
preferences and associated lease terms. According to the CVS website, “New
Store Location Criteria” include
75–80 parking spaces. SMPO’s lawyer, Thomas Moses, stated
in reference to the demolition that “We have an obligation to prepare
the site for them” under the lease terms
(Pawtucket Times 12/05/2006).
Nault states that SMPO had assurances that
Pawtucket and Central Falls support the project. Through its due diligence
process, CVS should have known of the ongoing, well-publicized events
of the last two years, including planning for commuter rail, and the
disputes over eminent domain and demolition.
Nault asserts that if CVS decides not to pursue the Station site, SMPO
will find a replacement tenant. PADS will continue to protest SMPO’s
or any plans that include demolition or which
threaten eligibility for federal transportation funding, and will continue
to support plans that include retention and adaptive reuse for thoughfully-designed
transit-oriented development.
PADS was encouraged by the CVS commitment to request that SMPO delay
demolition until January 15, 2007, in order to investigate an alternate
site plan that retains the train station in
cooperation with Pawtucket and Central Falls officials. PADS understands
that these parties plan to meet this coming Wednesday, January 3rd for
a critical discussion.
PADS Position:
Do Not Demolish the Train Station or its Façade.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), a private, nonprofit
organization dedicated to saving historic places and revitalizing America's
communities, has a written commitment with CVS not to demolish sites
individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NR).
Unlike Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966,
this agreement does not extend to properties that have been determined
eligible for listing.
Although the Station is not listed, it was formally determined eligible
by the Keeper of the NR in 1997. This distinction does not diminish the
importance of the Station to our history; indeed, its preservation is
vital to our future. PADS urges CVS to act in the spirit of Section 106
to protect the Station, the physical integrity of which is key to federal
transportation funding. According to the NTHP website, when it learns
of proposals that threaten historically significant buildings not NR
listed, NTHP representatives discuss the plan with designated pharmacy
company staff “to
allow the Trust to work with the chain and the community to help find
alternatives to the proposed demolition process…before a major
fight erupts at the local level.” There
has been communication between NTHP and CVS at the regional level, the
outcome of which is not known to PADS.
Consider the Urban Surroundings.
Central Falls and adjacent downtown Pawtucket is one of the most densely-populated
urban areas in the U.S. CVS’ site plan calls for 73 parking spaces
and a double automobile drive-through. With such a large potential walking
clientele, this site does not appear to demand a prototypical, suburban-style,
automobile-oriented store model. New CVS stores require an 18,000-person “
Trade Area,” which is surely met by the population of the surrounding
neighborhood.
Explore Alternate Site Layout Options.
A typical CVS requires 75-80 parking spaces. The proposed Station site
plan includes 73 spaces, with the area of proposed Station demolition
occupying 18 of those spaces. The City of Central Falls requires only
41 spaces for the proposed CVS. Considering the density of the neighborhood,
and the availability of at least 18 on-street spaces on Broad and Clay
streets, CVS
should explore the viability of this store with 55 on-site parking spaces.
Recognize Other Successful Examples.
The NTHP web page on chain drugstores presents numerous examples of CVS
and other pharmacies that were built in or integrated into historic properties
in urban areas:
http://www.nationaltrust.org/issues/chain_drugstores/. These examples
prove that with patience, negotiation and vision, such integration can
be accomplished with no loss to the investors.
Acknowledge, Study and Use Existing Expertise and Analyses.
PADS urges CVS to include outside expertise in developing site plans.
Nationally-recognized transportation design specialists Goody Clancy and
VHB have already prepared designs
incorporating future commuter rail. Most recently, RISD President Roger
Mandle has offered cost-free design and planning expertise. To date,
SMPO and CVS have ignored this valuable input.
In Conclusion:
Demolition of the Pawtucket-Central Falls Railroad Station is totally
unacceptable to this community organization. CVS is a major RI corporation,
with roots in the state since the 1960s,
and world headquarters in Woonsocket. It is No. 53 in the Fortune 500,
and according to its own website, had 2005 revenues in excess of $37
billion. CVS is the largest pharmacy retailer in the U.S., the 7th largest
retailer in the nation, and the 24th largest in
the world. CVS posted revenues of $3.5 billion in October 2006 alone.
Surely a corporate neighbor with such impressive earnings has the resources
to put the time and thought into a plan that avoids demolishing our historic
train
station. Can CVS really justify demolition of an NR-eligible, local landmark,
key urban gateway building over just EIGHTEEN parking spaces?
PADS hopes
CVS' consideration will result in a viable revised site plan before additional
demolition occurs. However, PADS hopes that if CVS cannot retain the
Station and
make their project work in that location, CVS will do the right thing,
and walk away from the Station site, rather than pursue the unpopular
and potentially devastating demolition.
According to CVS’s website, the company offers “Flexibility
in site selection,” stating that “With sites in freestanding
locations, downtowns, college towns and multicultural neighborhoods,
we
are very flexible and adaptable to all types of locations.” PADS
urges CVS to exercise that flexibility to include a new site plan that
saves the Station. CVS’s motto as displayed below its logo is “Expect
Something Extra.” CVS’s values as expressed
on its website include “Openness to New Ideas” and “Commitment
to Flawless Execution.” PADS
insists that CVS to take a little
bit of extra time and thought, open its mind to the new ideas manifesting
themselves in Pawtucket, and to withdraw its seriously flawed plans for
demolition of the Pawtucket-Central
Falls Railroad Station.
Respectfully submitted,
Steering Committee
Pawtucket Alliance for Downtown Success
Click here to download the
PDF of this letter.
CVS Reponse to PADS Letter:
December
15, 2006
Pawtucket Alliance for Downtown Success
Re: Proposed CVS Store to be located at 305 Broad Street, Central Falls/Pawtucket,
RI
Dear Members of the PADS Steering Committee:
We are in receipt of your December 11, 2006 correspondence to Tom Ryan.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the concerns of the Pawtucket
Alliance for Downtown Success
(PADS) set forth therein.
Initially, it is important to note that the proposed development of
the subject property is not controlled by CVS, nor is CVS purchasing
the property. A developer (SMPO) is developing the property and CVS
will be its tenant. Most importantly, CVS agreed to be a tenant at
this location after the developer repeatedly indicated to us that it
received assurances from Pawtucket and Central Falls that both municipalities
were in support of the project.
In response to recent concerns brought to the attention of CVS, CVS’ Senior
Vice President of Real Estate and its Regional Vice President of Real
Estate met with Mayor Doyle last week to discuss the project and his
concerns. During the meeting with Mayor Doyle, CVS committed to the
Mayor to request that the developer delay any further demolition at
the site for four (4) weeks so that an alternate site plan that would
preserve the train station, while at the same time providing for adequate
traffic flow and parking, could be investigated. The feasibility of
such an alternative site plan remains unknown at this time, but CVS
agreed to request that the property developer, CVS’ prospective
landlord, investigate such an alternative in cooperation with both
municipalities. It appears that such alternative site plan would require
the closing of a portion of Clay Street and the relocation of the Broad
Street property line, requiring the cooperation of both municipalities.
CVS has subsequently learned from Mayor Moreau that he and Mayor Doyle
had a productive meeting and that both mayors would cooperate in attempting
to facilitate the alternative site plan.
As a further update on this matter, this week’s scheduled court
hearing on whether to vacate or extend the temporary restraining order
on the demolition permit was delayed due to the fact that both municipalities
and the developer are now working cooperatively in developing and investigating
the alternative site plan.
We respectfully ask that your organization recognize that the aforementioned
positive recent developments with respect to the investigation of an
alternative site plan are a direct result of CVS’ intervention
in this matter, notwithstanding the fact that CVS is not developing
nor will CVS own the site.
Moreover, should CVS decide to not proceed with its plan to lease space
at the property, it is reasonable to assume that the developer will
merely find a replacement tenant. CVS strongly believes that its continued
participation in this matter will promote the dialogue necessary to
address the concerns contained in PADS’ letter to Mr. Ryan. CVS
further believes that its actions in this matter are consistent with
CVS’ continuing reputation for acting in a socially responsible
manner in working with local community leaders and groups such as PADS.Very
truly yours,
Robert Nault
Regional Vice President – Real Estate
CVS/pharmacy
12.11.06
An Open Letter
to CVS CEO Tom Ryan, the cities of Central Falls and Pawtucket, and
all Pawtucket-Central Falls Railroad Station Stakeholders:
The Pawtucket Alliance for Downtown Success (PADS), a neighborhood
association formed to unite and represent business and residential
stakeholders, is writing regarding the plans for the Pawtucket-Central
Falls Railroad
Station (Station) and site and to emphasize the importance of CVS's
response to these concerns.
Community Concerns
PADS sent a letter to the addressees shown below on November 22,
2006 that indicated our great concern about SMPO’s plans
to demolish a large portion of the west side of the Station, including
the grand
entrance facing Broad Street, in order to construct a prototypical
CVS Pharmacy. The letter emphasized that retaining the existing
Station
is critical for preserving the historic and unique character of
Pawtucket and Central Falls and that we feel development of the
site must reflect
its surrounding urban character and context to create economic
and social vitality.
Strong Voices at City Council Meeting
Our views are shared by many others. On December 6th, during a standing-room-only,
four-hour meeting, the Pawtucket City Council voted on a motion to
include the Station property in the City of Pawtucket's Comprehensive
Plan that would allow the City to acquire the property through eminent
domain and control its future development. Nearly every speaker and
attendee indicated the necessity of preserving
the Station as part of a larger plan for transitoriented development
and city revitalization. The list of more than thirty speakers included:
• City officials, such as the Mayor of Pawtucket and the Director of
the Pawtucket Department of Planning and Redevelopment;
• Historic preservationists such as: Karen Jessup, Chair of the Board
of Advisors, Northeast Region, National Trust for Historic Preservation;
and Edward Sanderson, the Executive Director of the Rhode Island
Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission;
• Institutional leaders, such as Roger Mandle, the President of Rhode
Island School of Design; Richard Davis, the Executive Director
of the Pawtucket Foundation; Scott Wolf, the Executive Director of Grow Smart
Rhode Island; and Robert Billington, the Executive Director of
the
Blackstone Valley Tourism Council;
•
Developers and architects, such as a Development Director at Struever
Brothers; Buff Chace, the President of Cornish Associates; the developer
of Riverfront Lofts in downtown Pawtucket; and a Partner at Durkee
Brown Vivieros & Werenfels Architects; and other architects
residing in Pawtucket;
•
Community representatives, including two PADS steering committee members;
Richard Kazarian, Pawtucket’s most distinguished historian, antiquarian
and Pawtucket Foundation’s
Person of the Year; and over twenty residents of both cities.
Additionally, reporters from The Providence Journal, The Pawtucket
Times, together with crews from Channel 6, Channel 10 and Channel 12,
were all in attendance.
While a majority of the City Councilors voted in favor of the measure
and five of the seven voting members indicated their hopes that the
Station would be preserved, the motion did not pass on a technicality.
Misinformation from the Developer
In light of this vote, we have renewed our efforts and determination
to urge the developer, Oscar Seelbinder, to accommodate the needs
of both CVS and the restoration of the Station. However, we remain
concerned
about a positive response as Mr. Seelbinder’s past intentions
for the site have been misleading, as shown by the example statements
and the actions below:
•
Statement 1: In an August 22, 2006 letter to Pawtucket City Council
President Donald Grebien, Mr. Seelbinder stated “Our concept
at this time does not include tearing down the old train station.
We will
make modifications to the building that will enhance the property
value.”
Visible Action 1: On December 5, 2006, Mr. Seelbinder applied for and
was granted a demolition permit, from the city of Central Falls, and
immediately began demolishing a 9,000 sq ft portion of the train Station.
•
Statement 2: In an article in The Pawtucket Times on September 28,
2006, Mr. Seelbinder indicated that the historic facade of the station
would be "dismantled," bricks
numbered for reuse, and kept in storage for future possible restoration.
Visible Action 2: In the initial demolition on December 5 and 6, architects
observing the site indicated that no measures were taken to remove building
materials with care for future use.
•
Statement 3: In the same September 28th article in The Pawtucket Times,
Seelbinder claimed that the façade removal is necessary
because currently under-review plans by the pharmacy tenant require
the additional
space for traffic and pedestrian flow on the site.
Understood Condition: We have learned that CVS is not, in fact, driving
the demolition of the Station, instead it appears to be an initiative
of Mr. Seelbinder.
CVS Indications of Support for Community Goals
We are aware that there was a meeting with City officials and a representative
of your regional real estate office on December 8th that indicated
that CVS would like to:
• Encourage Mr. Seelbinder to preserve the building for the community,
• Halt further threats to the existing building and preserve the opportunity
to obtain the train stop at this site (demolition of any part of
the building may eliminate any eligibility for future federal transportation
and historic rehabilitation funding), and
• Engage with the community for the benefit of both cities.
We are very encouraged by the spirit of Friday’s meeting, and
hope that these positive indications will lead to a satisfactory
outcome. We strongly urge CVS, as a corporate citizen and neighbor,
to work
for a more socially responsible, historically
rich and economically successful site for all, as is indicated
in your mission statement on the corporate website.
Respectfully,
Members of the PADS Steering Committee
Click here to download the PDF of this letter.
11.22.06
An Open Letter to CVS CEO Tom Ryan, the
cities of Central Falls and Pawtucket, and all Pawtucket-Central Falls
Railroad
Station Stakeholders:
The Pawtucket Alliance for Downtown Success (PADS), a neighborhood
association formed to unite and represent business
and residential stakeholders,
is writing to express its great concern about CVS’s
plans to demolish a large portion of the west side
of the Pawtucket-Central
Falls Railroad
Station (Station), including the grand entrance facing
Broad Street, and to construct a prototypical CVS Pharmacy.
We are concerned because the plans to do not address the
following two issues:
• the Station is a critical resource for preservation of the historic and
cultural character of Pawtucket and Central Falls
• the site must reflect its surrounding urban density and context to enhance
economic and social vitality
PADS urges CVS, the cities of Central Falls and Pawtucket,
and other stakeholders to work together to develop a viable
alternative
site
plan that preserves the entire Station, intact, for reuse.
Historic and Current Significance
The Pawtucket-Central Falls Railroad Station was completed
in 1915 by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. At its peak, in 1921,
the Beaux Arts-style station serviced 79 trains a day with over 70,000
passengers per month. The Station building was closed in 1959 and the
last passenger trains stopped there in the 1970’s. The Station
was a civic gift and economic partnership between its railroad owner
and the people of its two namesake cities. Today, it is the second largest
of Rhode Island’s three surviving historic urban
train stations. The two others, in Providence and Woonsocket,
have
been restored
and successfully adapted for commercial reuse. If restored,
this property
would be Rhode Island's only urban historic train station
that would retain its original use.
The Station was determined eligible for listing in the
National Register of Historic Places in 1997, qualifying
it for state
and federal financial
programs for transportation improvements and historic preservation
and rehabilitation. To assure this funding, the physical
integrity of the
building must be retained. A recent engineering study by
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB) has determined that
the building
is a physically
sound candidate for repair and restoration. The site is
second on the list in Rhode Island for federally-funded
commuter
rail improvements.
Neighborhood Density and Context
PADS sees the Pawtucket-Central Falls Railroad Station
as a key gateway for the downtown and a critical physical
and
symbolic
link between
the two communities. The City of Pawtucket has focused
on downtown economic
revitalization by establishing a 307-acre Arts & Entertainment
District, and offering tax incentives for creative
businesses. Two formerly vacant
mill buildings have been rehabilitated into residences
for more than 100 people. Entrepreneurs are taking
advantage of historic
preservation
tax credits and beginning to rehabilitate downtown
commercial buildings.
In these revitalization efforts, we support quality
future development that involves clearly defined public
spaces
and continuous street
facades to foster social energy, economic exchange,
and a sense of neighborhood.
Future development of the Station site must reflect
and enhance the dense and pedestrian environment surrounding
the Barton
Street neighborhood
and Broad Street’s linking of the two cities.
Stated Plans for the Building
•
In an August 22, 2006 letter from Station property owner Oscar “Ike” Seelbinder
to Pawtucket City Council President Donald Grebien, Seelbinder stated
that “Our concept at this time does not include
tearing down the old train station. We will make modifications
to the building
that will
enhance the property value.”
• In October, engineers filed Station building and site plans with the
City of Central Falls showing demolition of the entire
western portion of the train station east to the retaining wall demarcating
the Amtrak rail corridor.
•
On November 9, Bilray Demolition of Cranston approached the Pawtucket
Planning & Redevelopment Department to obtain a demolition permit.
Newspaper articles in the November 7th and 8th Pawtucket Times and November
9th Providence Journal indicated that 18 feet of the Station would be
torn down for parking for CVS, and the masonry would be placed in storage
so the façade could be restored at a later date. It was also stated
that CVS’s parking needs were permanent and there
was no mention of when, or under what circumstances,
the building
could
or would
be reconstructed. CVS has offered to paint a mural
of the station on the
new blank concrete wall it will erect to cover the
hole in the side of the building.
• The newspaper articles do not reveal the full extent of the demolition.
Examination of the plans, available to the public at
Central Falls City Hall, indicate that the entire western third of the building,
a width of 32 feet that includes the grand entrance facing Broad Street,
will be demolished, the railroad retaining wall will be raised,
and the entire void thus created will be filled in for parking.
Recommendations
Within the last decade, Pawtucket’s historic Leroy Theater was
demolished for a Walgreen’s pharmacy just down the block from the
proposed CVS. The loss of the Leroy is popularly considered a serious
and local historic preservation and urban planning tragedy. We do not
want to that tragedy repeated. The demolition of the Station’s
grand Broad Street façade is a major threat to one of Pawtucket’s
most important surviving historic buildings, to the
image of the city as a progressive place, and to its
future.
Therefore, PADS strongly urges
CVS to:
•
Research this site more fully. The proposed "prototypical CVS" represents
an inadequate plan for two cities in need of economic revitalization,
by perpetuating generic franchise design that will undermine their beauty,
history and character. While CVS is a Fortune 50 company, the largest
pharmacy retailer in the U.S. with posted revenues of over $3 billion
in the month of October alone, it is also a local Rhode Island company
with world headquarters in Woonsocket. As in other historic urban environments,
CVS could choose to build in a way that preserves and enhances the existing
train station or incorporates adaptive reuse of the historic building
itself. According to CVS’s website, it offers “Flexibility
in site selection,” stating that “with
sites in freestanding locations, downtowns, college
towns and
multicultural neighborhoods,
we are very flexible and adaptable to all types of
locations.”
•
Examine options already prepared by nationally-recognized transportation
design specialists Goody-Clancy and VHB, and
•
Partner with both communities to develop an historically sensitive,
unique, urban response to the site. Rather than destroying
heritage, we strongly urge CVS, as a corporate citizen
and neighbor, to work with both cities
for a more socially responsible, historically rich and
economically successful site for all.
Respectfully,
Matt Kierstead
For the PADS Steering Committe
Click here to
download a PDF copy from its 11.28.06 publication in the Pawtcket Times.
Letter recipients:
Mr. John J. Barry III
Councilor
City of Pawtucket
Ms. Mary E. Bray
Councilor
City of Pawtucket
Mr. Donald R. Grebien
Council President, City of Pawtucket
Mr. Robert E. Carr
Councilor
City of Pawtucket
Mr. James Chadwick
Councilor
City of Pawtucket
Mr. David P. Moran
Councilor
City of Pawtucket
Mr. Henry Kinch, Jr.
Councilor
City of Pawtucket
Mr. Paul J. Wildenhain
Councilor
City of Pawtucket
Mr. Thomas E. Hodge
Councilor
City of Pawtucket
The Honorable James E. Doyle
Mayor
City of Pawtucket
Mr. Michael Cassidy
Director, Dept. of Planning & Redevelopment
City of Pawtucket
The Honorable Donald L. Carcieri
Governor
State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
The Honorable Elizabeth Roberts
Lieutenant Governor-Elect
State of Rhode Island
Secretary Matthew A. Brown
Secretary of State
State of Rhode Island
The Honorable Elaine A. Coderre
Representative
Rhode Island House of Representatives
The Honorable Daniel DaPonte
Senator
Rhode Island State Senate
The Honorable Elizabeth M. Dennigan
Representative
The Honorable James E Doyle II
Senator
Rhode Island State Senate
The Honorable Joseph L. Faria
Representative
Rhode Island House of Representatives
The Honorable Daniel J. Issa
State Senator
Rhode Island State Senate
The Honorable Peter F. Kilmartin
Representative
Rhode Island House of Representatives
Attorney General Patrick Lynch
Attorney General
State of Rhode Island
The Honorable John F. McBurney III
State Senator
Rhode Island State Senate
The Honorable William J. McManus
Representative
Rhode Island House of Representatives
The Honorable Joseph A. Montalbano
Senate President
Rhode Island State Senate
The Honorable Joseph P. MoranIII
Representative
Rhode Island House of Representatives
Mr. J. Patrick O'Neill, Esq.
Representative
Rhode Island House of Representatives
The Honorable Henry C. Rose
Representative
Rhode Island House of Representatives
The Honorable William SanBento, Jr.
Representative
Rhode Island House of Representatives
Senator Lincoln Chafee
Senator
United States Senate
Senator Jack Reed
Senator
United States Senate
Senator-Elect Sheldon Whitehouse
Senator-Elect
United States Senate
Representative Patrick Kennedy
Congressman
US House of Representatives
Mr. Tom Ryan
President & Chief Executive Officer
CVS Corp.Bob Billington, Director
Blackstone Valley Tourism Council
Larry Gall
Interim Executive Director
John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission
Scott Wolf
Executive Director
GrowSmartRI
Janet Zwolinski
Executive Director
Preserve Rhode Island
Edward Sanderson
Executive Director, Deputy SHPO
Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission
Wendy Nicholas
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Northeast Regional Office
Sandra Newcomer
Office of Policy
US Department of Transportation
Federal Railroad Administration
J. Hogue
Highchair Design
The Honorable Charles D. Moreau
Mayor
City of Central Falls
Ricardo Patino
Councilor
City of Central Falls
Jason R. Leger
Councilor
City of Central Falls
Don Klima
Director
Office of Federal Agency Programs
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Oscar Seelbinder
c/o SMPO
Arthur Hanson
Director, Planning Department
City of Central Falls
