WaterFire receives $250K grant from Champlin Foundations

THE WaterFire Arts Center is slated to open in March. WaterFire received a $250,000 grant from The Champlin Foundations on Thursday to help fund its “Inspire, Imagine, Ignite – The Campaign for WaterFire” capital fundraising initiative. / COURTESY WATERFIRE PROVIDENCE
THE WaterFire Arts Center is slated to open in March. WaterFire received a $250,000 grant from The Champlin Foundations on Thursday to help fund its “Inspire, Imagine, Ignite – The Campaign for WaterFire” capital fundraising initiative. / COURTESY WATERFIRE PROVIDENCE

PROVIDENCE – WaterFire received a $250,000 grant from The Champlin Foundations on Thursday to help fund its “Inspire, Imagine, Ignite – The Campaign for WaterFire” capital fundraising initiative, the public phase of which launched Thursday evening during the second annual FireBall.

Charlie Meyers, the campaign’s chair, a WaterFire Providence board member and president of MetroPark LTD, said the nonprofit organization was “incredibly grateful” for the continued support from The Champlin Foundations.

“This is an important investment not only in WaterFire’s future, but also in the Valley/Olneyville neighborhood, the city of Providence and state of Rhode Island. I look forward to working with other community leaders in making this campaign a great success for all,” he added.

At FireBall it was announced by the organization that an additional $3.7 million over the coming five years will be needed to complete construction of the WaterFire Arts Center, as well as bolster the organization’s economic and cultural impact capacity for the coming quarter century. The initial, or “quiet” phase of the capital fundraising initiative began in September 2015, at the inaugural FireBall.

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Designed by Durkee, Brown, Viveiros & Werenfels Architects, and built by TRAC Builders with project management by The Aspen Group, the WaterFire Arts Center is slated to open in March. The 38,000-square-foot facility will house WaterFire, as well as provide a multi-use arts center and education space. It was originally built in 1929 as storage for the U.S. Rubber Corp.

The $13.7 million worth of financing for the project was assembled by Barbara Sokoloff Associates and includes Federal New Market Tax Credits, Federal and State Historic Tax Credits, Rhode Island Creative and Cultural Economy Bond funds, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and R.I. Department of Environmental Management Brownfields Remediation Grants and philanthropic support. Project funding partners include Local Initiatives Support Corp., Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the Nonprofit Finance Fund.

Created in 1994 by the artist Barnaby Evans, each year approximately 1 million visitors come to downtown Providence to experience WaterFire, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in Rhode Island. Annually, WaterFire activity creates $114 million in economic output, generates over $9 million in direct tax revenue for the state and supports 1,300 jobs for community residents.

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