PROVIDENCE — The commission overseeing development of the former Interstate 195 land voted to spend up to $950,000 in district funds on two projects centered around a building at One Ship St., what it hopes will become the nucleus of an innovation district.
The building is part of the emerging Wexford Science & Technology campus. It’s temporary, however, intended to accommodate several tech-related businesses only until the formal Wexford campus is developed on adjoining lands.
Facing the Holidays with a Cancer Diagnosis
The holidays are often painted as a time of joy, tradition, and togetherness. But for…
Learn More
Wexford, which is nearing a closing on its initial purchase of land in the district, plans a 200,000-square-foot innovation center fronting Dyer Street.
At the adjoining One Ship St., which Wexford already owns, Johnson & Johnson has recently moved in as a tenant. In a vote Monday, the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission authorized spending up to $600,000 in a district development fund to outfit another part of the building for another tenant, the New England Medical Innovation Center.
NEMIC, founded this year, is a public-private partnership that hopes to launch new biotechnology and biomedical ventures in the state. It is a project of Dr. Peter J. Snyder and Aidan Petrie.
Snyder is the senior vice president and chief research officer at Lifespan, Inc. Petrie is the co-founder and the chief innovation officer of Ximedica.
The New England Medical Innovation Center would initially plan to occupy about 5,000 square-feet in the building. It would hire about four to five people depending on the projects, said Snyder.
The $600,000 in district redevelopment funds would be used to support capital improvements to One Ship St. for the company’s needs.
“We want to bring an energy and a vitality to that work space,” he said. “We really want to make the innovation center our home.”
In another vote, the I-195 commission agreed to spend up to $350,000 from the district redevelopment fund on place-making and programming activities in an area surrounding the building, including establishment of a temporary food concession, and installation of rooftop artwork and temporary furniture.
The project, proposed by Boston-based Utile and New York-based Zaragunda, Inc. would include five elements in addition to a pop-up restaurant, The Seafood Shack. All are intended to enliven the area around the emerging innovation district, and better attract companies, as well as younger workers, according to Peter McNally, executive director of the I-195 commission.
In a presentation to the commission, executives with Utile and Zaragunda outlined project possibilities, including movable, inflatable street furniture, programming every other Friday nights and art installations that would attract visitors. The companies collaborated on the Lawn on D installation in the Boston Seaport District.
“We need to do more,” McNally said.
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at macdonald@PBN.com.
