Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien says the merits of the financially troubled Tidewater Landing project should be enough to persuade the R.I. Commerce Corp. to approve $30 million in tax increment financing, but he also feels state leaders owe it to the city to keep the development alive.
It was four years ago when Rhode Island legislators failed to reach a financing deal for a new ballpark to keep the Pawtucket Red Sox in Pawtucket. Instead, the PawSox left their longtime home at McCoy Stadium in 2020 for a new arena in Worcester, Mass., and Grebien acknowledges a lingering feeling that the state can’t let another opportunity for Pawtucket evaporate.
“There’s probably a little bit of, ‘I owe you,’ ” Grebien said during a June 6 news conference. “It’s that fairness.”
That said, Grebien has argued that the R.I. Commerce board should approve $30 million in added support through the state’s tax increment financing program based strictly on the quality of the mixed-use proposal that would include a riverfront soccer stadium. Developer Fortuitous Partners recently revealed that rising construction costs are driving up the price of the project from $284 million to $344 million.
Grebien says Tidewater Landing, which would feature a flagship 10,000-seat United Soccer League stadium, event space, 435 housing units, commercial properties and a parking garage, “is truly the most important economic development project in the city and maybe the state’s history,” and is a better deal than the $83 million proposal for a new PawSox stadium that failed to gain support in the R.I. House in 2017.
“I hate comparing this to the PawSox development,” Grebien said. “This is truly a much better proposal and project.”
The $30 million in additional state financing was originally requested through the tax increment financing program, which allows communities to establish a district where a portion of property tax revenue is collected to support development.
Gov. Daniel J. McKee, who serves as R.I. Commerce board chairman, wasn’t immediately sold on the need for more state financing, expressing concern for Rhode Island taxpayers during a meeting on June 6 about the project costs. McKee’s office said board members want developers to bridge the funding gap using “nonstate” revenue streams.
On Friday, a spokesperson for McKee’s office said that the governor called for a meeting of the R.I. Commerce Corp. Board of Directors at 2 p.m. on June 14 to further consider investment in the Tidewater project, noting that there’s been “progress” on negotiations since the previous meeting on June 6.
“We’ve made progress this week moving the Tidewater Project forward while potentially lowering state taxpayer exposure,” said Matt Sheaff, a spokesperson for the governor. "We will continue dialogue with the parties between now and then, aiming for strong taxpayer protections and a sound agreement.”
Fortuitous founder Brett Johnson issued a statement late Friday afternoon, saying the Commerce board will be asked to consider a new $30 million proposal that includes $20 million financed by the state and $10 million by Pawtucket.
“We look forward to continuing to act in good faith … and ultimately receive a vote to continue the progress and make Tidewater Landing a reality,” he said.
Jan Brodie, executive director of The Pawtucket Foundation, which represents businesses and nonprofits while advocating for development in the city, shies away from characterizing the tax financing request as a favor owed to the community for the state losing the PawSox to Worcester.
“I’m not sure anything is that linear,” Brodie said. “It’s not an owing. … [The Tidewater Landing property] is an incredible site. It is ripe for opportunity, not just for Pawtucket but the state will benefit tremendously from the soccer stadium. A few dollars now will come back three-, five- or 10-fold in the years coming up.”
Grebien compares the tax increment financing sought for the Pawtucket soccer stadium to the state support for the $223 million “Superman” building project in downtown Providence, which was recently granted $20.7 million from R.I. Commerce on top of another $5.5 million sought through the R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp. Grebien also notes that the TIF program wasn’t available five years ago to help finance the PawSox deal.
“[The failure of the PawSox stadium project] was gut-wrenching. They let us down,” said Grebien, blaming “a lack of leadership” for the departure of the Triple-A baseball team. “Now we have this tool [with tax increment financing]. This is not about them being obligated to us. This is a great development.”
(SUBS paragraphs 11-12 with comment from Fortuitous founder Brett Johnson; minor edits.)
Pawtucket’s version of 38 Studios.