1 The City Council recently received a report on economic-development clusters that look promising. What happens now?
We’ll work internally to develop working groups to better understand what the city’s role can be in moving the report’s most promising recommendations forward. The goal is to create fertile ground for development.
2 Were any of the identified clusters surprising?
The piece about manufacturing as a viable growth sector was surprising. The common narrative is that manufacturing is gone and never coming back, but the report shows that small-business manufacturing is very much alive and is an important sector for growth that can put a dent in our high unemployment rates. … I’m excited to look at ways to support small manufacturing, and to utilize our port and unique geographic location to get solid workforce growth in this area.
3 The city last summer approved a neighborhood tax-stabilization program. What has happened since?
We’re very excited about the Neighborhood TSA program. Not many people know about it yet, but we have plans to do a real rollout [in the] spring, to go into communities, hold workshops, and talk to business owners about how they can benefit.
4 Have standardized tax-stabilization agreements made Providence more attractive to new business?
The council passed an ordinance that created a special administrative tax-stabilization process that allows access to 15- or 20-year programs within the I-195 and Capital Center districts. I’ve been told that it has generated interest and could prove to be an important tool in attracting new development.
5 What are your economic-development goals for the new year?
I hope to use the cluster analysis as a guide to really pinpoint what sometimes gets overlooked in the Providence development conversation. The report shows that young people are moving out of the city and commuting in to work because we don’t have an adequate stock of available rental housing. I’d like to look at ways to identify parcels of land for moderate-income rental units so we can keep people living here. I’d also like to look more closely at the port to see how we can incorporate refrigeration units in order to serve as a hub for food distribution. •
