PROVIDENCE — Joseph F. Azrack, the chairman of the Interstate 195 Redevelopment District Commission, announced his immediate resignation Monday.
His statement, at the end of the commission’s regular meeting, came three weeks after the groundbreaking for a signature state-supported project, the Wexford Science & Technology initial phase, on two parcels of the I-195 land.
Azrack said it was time. He’d served as chairman for nearly three years, and said he planned to increase his activity in other professional areas, including taking on his fourth seat on a corporate board. He is the founder and past president of Apollo Global Real Estate.
“The timing is right,” he said, after the meeting, of his decision to step aside so soon after the Wexford groundbreaking. “It was fortuitous the groundbreaking happened when it did.”
Replacing him as chairman is commissioner Robert Davis, previously the vice-chairman. Gov. Gina M. Raimondo announced her selection of Davis as chairman through a press release.
Davis is in front of the future location of Wexford parcel.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
Davis is a retired attorney, most recently a partner at Goulston & Storrs in Boston, where he represented clients in real estate projects for 40 years. He has a law degree from Boston College and earned his undergraduate degree at Brown University.
Michael McNally, currently a member of the R.I. Commerce Corp. board, has been nominated by Raimondo to also take the board position left vacant by Azrack. That nomination will require state Senate confirmation.
McNally recently retired as a senior executive at Skanska, where the leadership team was responsible for $20 billion in global construction. He is the former president and CEO of Skanska USA. He is of no relation to the I-195 Commission’s executive director, Peter McNally.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
