EAST GREENWICH – New England Institute of Technology announced plans Wednesday to build a $40 million Innovation Center for Building Sciences, a major campus expansion aimed at addressing growing regional and national demand for skilled trades workers.
The 53,000-square-foot facility will be constructed on the school’s East Greenwich campus, with groundbreaking expected in spring 2026 and completion anticipated by the end of 2027. The center will be designed to support hands-on learning with modern laboratories, industry equipment and flexible training spaces modeled after real-world job sites.
Demand for trained professionals in construction, electrical, plumbing and building engineering fields continues to outpace supply, according to the university. NEIT has engaged Neil Steinberg, former CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation and Fleet Bank, as an adviser to support philanthropic development and expanded scholarship opportunities for the project.
“We need plumbers, electricians and construction workers,” Steinberg said. “Parents love it, students love it and employers love it.”
The innovation center will be funded through institutional resources and private philanthropic support, requiring no state funding, according to the university.
The project comes as the university has
reduced tuition for skilled trades programs and expanded partnerships with employers, part of a broader effort to elevate the trades as essential, future-focused careers.
The new center is expected to expand NEIT’s ability to prepare job-ready graduates to meet workforce needs across the construction and building systems industries.
“Across the country, there is growing recognition of how vital the skilled trades are to our communities – something New England Tech has embraced for more than 80 years,” said Amy Grzybowski, vice president of workforce development and community relations. “Our innovation center will expand opportunity for the next generation of skilled trade students while ensuring our region has the workforce needed to meet labor demand.”
Once completed, the innovation center will increase NEIT’s total skilled trades training capacity to approximately 1,000 students annually from across the United States.
Programs housed in the facility will include building construction, electrical technology, plumbing, architectural building engineering technology, interior design and construction management. The center will offer associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree pathways, with accelerated options and access to state-of-the-art technology labs.
Graduates are expected to benefit from strong career prospects and earning potential tied to demand in the skilled trades sector.
“New England Tech launched my career in the skilled trades and set me on a path to build my company into Rhode Island’s largest electrical contractor,” said Vin Rossi, president of Rossi Electric. “The new innovation center will ensure more students gain the same life-changing opportunities while helping Rhode Island lead the nation in skilled trades education.”
NEIT is Rhode Island’s only institution designated an Opportunity College by the Carnegie Foundation, recognizing colleges that deliver strong economic returns for students.
Veer Mudambi is the special projects editor at Providence Business News. He can be reached at mudambi@pbn.com.
