PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Commerce Corp. has authorized incentives to encourage several employers to expand operations in the state, as well as tax credits for developers to convert vacant buildings to new apartments.
The largest project is in Pawtucket, in an area known as the Conant Thread District, for the construction of a new 150,000-square-foot building that would support 150 apartments and up to 25,000-square-feet of retail space.
The project qualified for $2 million in Rebuild Rhode Island tax credits and another $1 million in sales tax rebates for construction materials and furnishings.
The project is put forward by a New Jersey investment team, Peyser Real Estate Group LLC. Its founder, Lee Peyser, said in a statement that the team was excited to build on the site. “My team and I are very enthusiastic to develop a ground-up, high-quality, market-rate apartment building with desirous amenities and retail options,” he said, “the first of its kind in recent memory in the city of Pawtucket, that will both complement the residences and energize the transit district.”
The Commerce RI board on Wednesday also approved up to $480,000 for Change Healthcare Operations LLC, a Nashville, Tenn.-based healthcare technology firm, to expand its support services center in Pawtucket.
The expansion will allow the company to add 27 more workers over the next two years, according to the paperwork released by Commerce. The median salary for the positions is $59,635, according to an analysis for Commerce by Appleseed, its consulting firm.
The company provides services including patient scheduling, insurance verification and on-call physician services. Its clients are hospitals and physician groups.
In other business:
- The board authorized up to $815,000 for Mearthane Products Corp. of Cranston, which will consolidate the operations of two buildings totaling 41,000-square-feet in Woonsocket. The company will complete the acquisition of the company at one site.
- Blount Fine Foods Corp. will receive up to $1 million in Rebuild credits for the expansion of new production lines at its 38,000 square-foot plant in Warren. The manufacturer will hire an additional 20 jobs.
- A conversion of the former Park View Nursing Home, at 31 Parade St., Providence, will be facilitated with $1 million in Rebuild credits. The project will be converted to 12 new apartments.
- Strive Lofts, a 56-unit residential project, will receive Rebuild tax credits of up to $750,000. The conversion of a vacant building at 556 Atwells Ave. in Providence will involve a 70,000-square-foot project.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
