PROVIDENCE – The chairman of the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission, Robert Davis, confirmed on Monday he will be resigning from the board on Dec. 31.
First appointed to the commission as vice-chair by then-Gov. Gina Raimondo in 2015, Davis was made chairman in 2017. His current term expires in Oct. 2023.
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Before joining the commission, Davis, of South Kingstown, was a real estate attorney and partner for 35 years with the Boston-based law firm Goulston & Storrs.
Davis in a statement said he is stepping down to focus more time on his limited law practice and to serve as guest lecturer in two courses at Brown University focused on entrepreneurship, including “a study of the concepts and principles that have underlain the development in the district as a teaching tool for young people interested in urban development.”
The quasi-public commission oversees the sale, marketing and redevelopment of the 26 acres of land in the Providence Innovation & Design District made available by the relocation of a portion of Interstate 195.
Current Vice-chair Marc Crisafulli, whose current term also expires in Oct. 2023, will serve as interim chairman, according to commission spokesperson Cara Cromwell. Davis’ replacement to the committee must be nominated by Gov. Daniel J. McKee and confirmed by the state Senate.
“This is an opportune time to transition leadership,” said Davis. “The commission has strong, committed and talented leadership that will insure a successful transition.”
Davis praised the multiple projects either completed or in the works since he joined the commission, including the Innovation District Park located on two sides of the Providence River and connected by the pedestrian bridge, and the Wexford Science and Innovation center, the 200,000 square foot commercial office building that houses the Cambridge Innovation Center, Brown University’s School of Professional Studies, and Johnson & Johnson.
“When I joined the commission in 2015, neither the garage nor the pedestrian bridge was under construction, none of the parcels in the district had been developed and there was limited interest in them,” he said. “During the last [seven] years the commission has brought the district to a much different place.”
Joseph R. Paolino Jr., a former Providence mayor and current managing partner of Paolino Properties LP, said the vacancy is an opportunity for state leaders to refocus their energy on what he feels was the initial vision for the I-195 land, cultivating and promoting the life sciences and biotechnology sector, rather than other commercial operations and residential apartment units.
“That land should be used to grow the economy in Rhode Island, and life science is the best way to do that,” he said.
Sharon Steele, president of the city’s Jewelry District Association, hoped the vacancy will jump-start a “reboot” of the I-195 commission’s work.
While she was complimentary of Davis’ legal knowledge and “measured” approach, she faulted him for what she viewed as a deference to developers, lack of communication and transparency with local stakeholders, and a penchant for granting unwarranted deadline extensions.
“I found him to be a leader [who] did not discharge those responsibilities evenly,” she said. “We need a change. [The commission] has been given enormous opportunity, but with that opportunity comes extraordinary responsibility. And they have not delivered that to the neighborhoods.”
According to the 2022 Executive Director’s report shared during the Dec. 14 commission meeting, there has been more than 2.6 million square feet of development in the design district totaling $1.2 billion “completed, planned or under construction.”
There are currently nine uncommitted parcels supporting 3.7 million square feet of development, “nearly double [the] existing [square footage] in Providence’s downtown core,” states the report.
(Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com)
Bob Davis did an amazing job. Worked tirelessly and transformed the Jewelry District. Volunteered his time to make RI a better place. We will miss him.