Commerce RI approves $9M in incentives and credits

PROVIDENCE — The R.I. Commerce Corp. authorized more than $9 million in state development incentives on Monday, including $5.5 million in tax credits for the construction of 160 apartments near the Providence Amtrak and MBTA station and $2.7 million for new construction at the former Louttit Laundry site in the West End.
The state real estate tax credits authorized for The Commons at Providence Station, to be developed by John M. Corcoran & Company LLC and Trilogy Development, will facilitate new construction on a 2.85-acre site at Canal and Smith streets, according to documents prepared by Commerce RI staff.
The $54 million project will respond to growing demand in Providence for rental housing, and provide a taxable use for vacant land, according to documents prepared as part of an economic impact analysis. The 145,000-square-foot project would include underground parking for tenants.
A second project awarded tax credits under the state’s Rebuild Rhode Island program would involve construction of a mixed-use development at Hoyle Square, including two buildings with 39 multifamily apartments, which will be leased to low- and moderate-income families under deed restriction, as well as 8,000 square feet of commercial space on Cranston Street.
The commercial space is expected to be operated as a retail grocery store. The $10 million project is expected to develop a site vacant for 20 years, according to the application.
The developer is 93 Cranston LLC, which is owned and controlled by the principles of the Bourne Avenue Capital Partners, D+P Real Estate Advisors LLC and Truth Box Inc., according to the state’s analysis. The principals together have previously developed more than 600 units of housing and 200,000 square feet of commercial space in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts, according to the documents.
The tax credits provided under the Rebuild Rhode Island program are intended to promote economic development in the state by helping to make up financing gaps in qualifying projects. The tax credits are released once a project has an occupancy permit.
In other actions, the Commerce board authorized an application by the city of Providence for reimbursement of 10 percent of a tax stabilization agreement to be provided to the Procaccianti Group, which has received city permission to build a $40 million extended-stay hotel on the site of the Fogarty Building, at 111 Fountain St. The Fogarty Building is to be razed. As part of the state reimbursement, called the Tax Stabilization Incentive program, Providence will receive $246,597 from the state over 12 years.
The commerce board also approved $451,897 in innovation vouchers for small businesses to pursue research and development.
In a statement, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said the programs are intended to re-energize vacant sites and bring more high-skill and high-salary and wage jobs to the state.
“We provided vital funding for three construction projects that wouldn’t have been able to move forward otherwise,” she said, “and awarded almost half of a million dollars in [research and development] grant funding, which will strengthen our growing innovation economy.”

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