Commerce RI approves $12.7M in incentives for three Prov. projects

PROVIDENCE — The R.I. Commerce Corp. authorized state incentives for three companies on Monday that promise to rehabilitate vacant office buildings and build new housing, create high-salaried, high-tech jobs or move manufacturing operations to Rhode Island.

The Commerce RI board considered the following in quick succession:

  • $4.35 million in Qualified Jobs tax credits for Johnson & Johnson, which plans to bring 75 jobs to a new Health Technology Center at 1 Ship St. in Providence. The company will also be eligible for up to $250,000 in First Wave Closing Fund grants to offer new hires a reimbursement for student loan expenses.
    Johnson & Johnson, which is a multinational consumer health care, pharmaceutical and medical technology company, is moving to a building that will be renovated as part of the Wexford Science & Technology campus in the Interstate 195 Redevelopment District.
    The funds will help the company create jobs that are anticipated to have a median salary of $137,000, which is more than double the Rhode Island state median.
    According to a Commerce RI document, the company’s operations over the next 12 years are expected to result in a net increase to Rhode Island of $6.1 million in personal income, sales and business corporation taxes.

  • $7.5 million in a Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credit Fund loan and $300,000 in sales tax reimbursements to Cornish Associates LP, which will redevelop three historic buildings on Westminster Street in Providence for apartments, and as a second phase, develop a new mixed-use building over a parking lot on Fountain Street.
    The first phase, renovating the historic buildings, will generate about 65 new apartments and 25,000 square feet of commercial space at street level. The new construction will tentatively result in 93 new apartments, with 22,000 square feet of structured parking and 16,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.
    The total project cost is estimated at $29.5 million, according to Commerce RI.
    Cornish, a Providence real estate development company, has already renovated more than 10 buildings downtown, centered along Westminster Street.
  • $255,221 in Qualified Jobs incentive tax credits to Whiting & Davis LLC, which plans to move its manufacturing operations from Attleboro to East Providence, and bring 20 existing full-time employees to the Ocean State. The company would receive tax credits for 15 full-time employees, who earn a median annual salary of $36,889.
    Because the company is a manufacturer, it is eligible for a reduction in the qualifying wage threshold for the credits. It plans to purchase its East Providence building, a 20,000 square foot space that was not identified on Monday.

In other business, the Commerce RI board approved Innovation Voucher awards to five companies, which will use the funds to acquire research and development assistance from state hospitals or universities. The companies were among 31 who applied. They are:

  • FS Maritime LLC
  • Phoenix Medical Technologies LLC
  • Prisere LLC
  • Siren Marine LLC
  • X Mark Labs LLC

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