City, Brown, CHNA, Thayer Street District Management Authority Collaborate to Bring improvements to Thayer Street

City of Providence Mayor Angel Taveras

College Hill Neighborhood Association President Allison Spooner

Thayer Street District Management Authority Executive Director Donna Personeus

Brown University President Christina Paxson

Thayer Street Parklet

Sidewalk bumpouts

Fones Alley Gateway Plaza & Transit Hub Before

Fones Alley Gateway Plaza & Transit Hub After

Providence, RI;  City of Providence, Brown University, College Hill Neighborhood Association and the Thayer Street District Management Association celebrated their collaborative efforts and partnerships today as they collectively announced the Thayer Street Improvements that will start this spring and continue into the summer. 

In 2013 the City of Providence - Department of Planning and Development worked with a consultant team and members of the Thayer Street DMA to prepare a plan for the future of the District. This plan is a collaborative effort by all involved with its recommendations supported by the Thayer Street District Management Authority. 

The Thayer Street DMA will be making investments recommended by the study that will dovetail with City and Brown investments. One of those investments is in the Parklet. Donna Personeus, Executive Director of the Thayer Street District Management Authority stated it was her pleasure to announce "the parklet is now fully funded and will leap off the planning study page into reality thanks to the lead investments from the City, Bob Gilbane and the Thayer Street DMA. These investments are so important to the businesses and the economic vitality of the area." 

Special thank was given to the following: Mayor Angel Taveras, Bonnie Nickerson and Emily Kish of City Planning, Bob Gilbane and the architects of the parklet (Tim Brown and Art Eddy of Birchwood Design Group, Jon Ford of Horsley Whitten) who each played an important role in the parklet’s development.

The parklet is just one of the many recommendations that the Thayer Street/College Hill community will see implemented this year and in the years to come. In celebration of all the improvement to the District, Thayer Street DMA will be retiring their logo and announced sponsoring a New Logo Design Contest awarding the winning logo designer $1000.  To continue the new vitality of the area, the Thayer Street DMA will be sponsoring a Fall festival Block Party with ribbon cutting ceremony on Thayer Street planned for the completion of these projects.

The Thayer Street District Management Authority Executive Director announced the TSDMA is looking forward to celebrating the successful outcomes of the on-going of these collaborations and partnerships.

                                        ***************************************
The Thayer Street District Management Authority (TSDMA), which is governed by a Board of Directors made up of District property owners, merchants and representatives of Brown University. The current TSDMA Board is active, committed and motivated to work in partnership with all the stakeholders and firmly committed to action and results. The TSDMA operates as a “Business Improvement District” and oversees the management and maintenance of the district. The District property owners pay an additional tax that provides the revenue to provide service to the District that include, but not limited to: Sidewalk Cleaning & Trash Removal 7 days a week; Weekly Graffiti Removal; Special Police Details; Recycling Program; Research and Implementation of Programs, Projects & Events to benefit Thayer St; Collaboration on Legislative Issues to benefit Thayer St; Communication Development: a New Website with Event Calendar, News Blog, Community Links, Thayer Street Development News, Facebook posts and “What’s Happenin on Thayer” eBlasts; and Community Outreach with Neighborhood. The TSDMA Board (Edward Bishop, Chair, Albert Dahlberg, John Luipold, Paul Griesinger, Susan Mardo, David Shwaery, Emily Kish, Dean Martineau, Steve Lewinstein) is an integral part of the oversight with the Executive Director responsible for the implementation of their decisions.

Photo credits: Josh Eisen of CHNA

#TSDMA #ThayerStreetDMA #CityofProvidence #Providence #ThayerStreet #CollegeHill #CHNA #Brown #AngelTavaras #AllisonSpooner #ChristinePaxson #DonnaPersoneus