Representative Peter Kilmartin has submitted legislation which would allow Johnson and Wales University and Brown University to buy 6 of the 19 acres which will be made available after the relocation of I-195.  The bill stipulates that each University would pay market value for the land.  JWU would use their portion to expand their campus by building a hospitality college and two dorms, while Brown would build research facilities near the Warren Alpert Medical School.  It sounds like a good idea to me, but of course, David Cicilline doesn't think so:

Cicilline says that the General Assembly should first pass legislation his administration developed that would allow municipalities to collect up to 25 percent of the value of taxes that nonprofit universities and hospitals otherwise would have paid. Cicilline is also pushing a bill that would assess a $300 annual fee on out-of-state students attending private universities.

“The larger issue at hand is that we as a community must resolve the issue of private universities and colleges paying their fair share to their host community,” the mayor said. “Any conveyance of this I-195 land to these two tax-exempt institutions will limit the city’s ability to generate local tax dollars that are badly needed to support essential services.” 


     Where do I start?  First of all, David Cicilline seems to view colleges and universities as leeches.  Brown and JWU plan to open facilities which I assume will create new jobs.  Won't they need researchers, professors, assistants, janitors, etc?  Won't new students also be attracted to Providence?  Won't these new people shop in our stores, eat in our restaurants, and contribute to our community?  This activity will help local businesses, which will probably drive demand for local real estate.

     That brings me to another point: If a glut of property is made available at the same time, will people be scurrying to develop it?  If you think they will, just look at Capital Center.  It was originally conceived more than 30 years ago, and it still isn't fully built out, and a majority of the property was developed in just the past five years.  Having JWU and Brown purchase property will anchor the area.  JWU will be able to expand their downtown campus, while Brown's new research facilities and the medical school will have a natural synergy with nearby hospitals.  I'm no medical/biotechnology expert, but I would think that having a major hospital complex, along with an Ivy League medical school and research facilities in such close proximity would attract a lot of scientific  talent, and possibly some spin-off development.  Wouldn't this more than make up for any taxes lost from the Universities?

     I normally favor competitive bidding in these circumstances, but since the universities will pay market value and enhance the value of the remaining acres, I think it's a great idea.  Of course, we could just let the land sit vacant for 30 years.