Chelsea Siefert | Director of planning and development, Quonset Development Corp.
1. What was your previous job and how does it relate to your new responsibilities? Until recently, I served as the director of planning for South Kingstown. My favorite part of that role was guiding new development through the review process and working to improve the applicant experience without sacrificing efficiency or cost to the town. … I look forward to continuing QDC’s work to provide planning guidance that furthers the business goals of current companies here [and] prospective new ones.
2. What are your top goals for QDC? My main goal is to actively contribute to the job creation and economic investment that Quonset Business Park has stimulated over the past 20-plus years. With 246 acres of pad-ready sites, for which due diligence and environmental permitting is already complete, and an additional 46 acres … that can be developed for multiple uses, my focus will be on the day-to-day development at the park.
3. What intrigued you about working for QDC? Quonset is a real Rhode Island success story. This new role presented me with an opportunity to use my planning and development skills, honed through public-sector experience, to further the state’s economic-development goals.
4. How do you plan to keep business growth going at Quonset Point? Quonset is committed to making investments in critical infrastructure that help to attract new business and private investment. My predecessor, Katherine Trapani, laid a strong foundation that I plan to expand on. During her tenure, the park saw $757 million in private investment; an addition of 35 new companies; an increase of 2,639 jobs at the park; and nearly 2.5 million square feet of new construction.
5. What is QDC doing to meet the needs of different businesses? In 2017, Quonset broke ground on the first of three buildings of the “flex industrial campus.” The “flex” buildings are meant to be adaptive to a business’s needs – particularly in manufacturing. Each building is between 25,000 and 50,000 square feet and has three or four units that include high-bay warehouse and assembly space, office spaces and restrooms.
Our site-readiness initiative … ensures that businesses get shovels in the ground within 90 days of signing their lease. The renovation and expansion of Pier 2 will create more opportunities for businesses [that] need to utilize the [port] facilities.
Scott Blake is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Blake@PBN.com.
