R.I. Infrastructure Bank to talk local, state needs at summit next month

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank will host its third annual Infrastructure Summit on Sept. 26 at the R.I. Convention Center in downtown Providence.

The eight-hour summit is intended to bring together hundreds of public- and private-sector professionals to tackle state and local infrastructure needs, discuss innovative solutions and connect with project partners.

The bank said the keynote address will be provided by Brown University President Christina Paxson and former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros.

Following opening remarks, participants will attend “breakout” sessions in which they will have an opportunity to discuss various approaches to problems regarding infrastructure projects. The topics for each session are as follows:

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  • Green Infrastructure and Resiliency: “Climate Resilience as Economic Development” and “A Watershed Moment, Managing Stormwater at the Regional Scale”
  • Economic Development: “Maximizing Equitable Development in Opportunity Zones” and “Wind as an Economic Development Opportunity”
  • Clean Energy: “Saving Green by Going Green: Clean Energy Case Studies in the Hospitality Industry” and “Completing the Capital Stack with PACE and State Incentives”
  • School Infrastructure: “Investing in School Infrastructure, Investing in Our Future”
  • Resilient and Sustainable Economic Development: “Rhode Island’s Food Economy, What’s Next?”

The event, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., will end with a plenary discussion titled “Resilient Infrastructure, the Final Frontier.” The slated panelists are Louis Gritzo of FM Global, Elle Hempen of The Atlas, and Robert Zarnetske, town manager of South Kingstown.

Scott Blake is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Blake@PBN.com.