Joe Paolino has a habit of correctly diagnosing Providence’s problems while sometimes sounding out of touch about the solutions.

He knows this. But at 71, the former mayor-turned-real-estate mogul seems comfortable ignoring critics who view him as a figure from another era, because he still has the money, influence, and ambition to shape Providence’s future.

That dynamic was on full display in 2017 when Paolino proposed converting St. Joseph’s Hospital in South Providence into a social service center and housing complex for 300 homeless residents. Neighbors immediately revolted, viewing the plan less as an act of compassion than another top-down decision imposed on their community. The proposal collapsed. The property has since been sold to developers now building — wait for it — affordable housing.

The same tension has played out for years in Kennedy Plaza, where Paolino has long pushed to clean up the area and move RIPTA’s central bus hub away from the buildings he owns nearby. He’s not wrong that the plaza often functions as an open-air drug market that many families actively avoid. But his preferred solutions routinely collide with advocates and residents who distrust both his motives and his old-school approach to public order.

In both cases, Paolino identified real civic failures that others were unwilling to confront directly. In another context, a developer willing to invest money, political capital, and personal credibility into difficult urban problems might be celebrated. But Paolino is often treated as more villain than visionary.

Which brings us to the Providence Place Mall.

You can read my full column here.