To the editor:

I object to the developer’s petition to overturn Warren’s historic district guidelines for Water Street. This complex would upset the historic nature of 18th- and early 19th-century two- and three-story wood frame houses that the town has worked hard to preserve. Water Street has become second only to Benefit Street in Providence, as a harmonious blend of colonial period homes that take us back in time. It is a street for Warren to be proud of. 

This outsized construction is out of character with the organic flow of the existing buildings. Of the proposed 17-unit apartment building, only two additional units of affordable housing will be added, not four, as two units already in existence will be torn down.

The parking problem will exacerbate existing tight parking on this narrow street, as the owner has not provided private parking spaces.

To fulfill Warren’s 10% affordable housing requirement for new construction there is ample space in the Metacom Avenue area for a builder. There is no need to interrupt the carefully nurtured historic district of Water Street with this building which is over sized and not architecturally compatible with the neighborhood.

My family has deep roots in Warren, with the George Hail Library and the Haile Farm Preserve. I myself have been active with the Warren Heritage Foundation in helping to save historic buildings. So many of us feel very strongly about the need to keep alive Warren’s proud ties to her past. Let us be careful not to give away the historic ambience of our town for one builder’s immediate gain.

Barbara Hail
48 Bagy Wrinkle Cove