The economy may be slowing, but Steven J. King predicts great things for the Quonset Business Park just the same.
An example: King, the chief operating officer for the Quonset Development Corporation, noted that more than 100,000 new cars were shipped to importer North Atlantic Distribution (NORAD) at the Port of Davisville in 2007, all of them destined for dealerships in North America.
“We anticipate that we will have double that this year,” King said in an interview recently.
Why? Because of a recently completed overhaul of rail lines that run through the North Kingstown business park and the port, King said.
That $6 million improvement – combined with a $225 million state and federal project that added a 17-mile dedicated freight line outside of Quonset in 2006 – now allows imported cars to be shipped in and out of the NORAD facility on cost-efficient, triple-decker train cars, not just mammoth cargo ships and trucks.
The rail upgrades are not only a boon for NORAD. Other companies inside the Quonset park are also taking advantage of rail transport, which on long hauls is much cheaper than trucking.
Seafreeze Ltd. is shipping out frozen fish in specially refrigerated rail cars; Toray Plastics Inc. has plastic pellets for its film products delivered by train; BB&S Lumber also ships its materials on rail.
King said about 4,000 freight cars are expected to arrive in Quonset this year, up from about 2,000 the year before.
In convincing new companies to move in, the new-and-improved freight tracks are a big part of the sales pitch.
“It’s a great asset to have for the tenants,” said Dyana Koelsch, spokeswoman for the QDC, a division of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation. “There are not many business parks that have an airport on the grounds, a rail line and a port all in one spot.”
And with the economic picture not exactly looking rosy, every amenity helps.
“We have seen some slowing in development interest in the last six months,” King allowed. “But we have a lot already in the pipeline and a lot going on. Hopefully, we’ll be able weather that storm and see the economy get better.”
So far, so good.
New Boston Development Partners, the developers of Quonset’s Gateway project, announced last month that a 23,000-square-foot Dave’s Marketplace outlet will join a planned Kohl’s and Lowe’s Home Improvement at the 72.5-acre development.
The developers said a supermarket was one of top amenities sought by the business park tenants, adding that Dave’s “On the Go” meals will be popular with workers in the park.
Construction of the first phase of the $144 million Gateway project began in the spring. Eventually the complex is expected to include almost 400,000-square-foot of office space and a 160-room hotel.
Elsewhere in the Quonset park, properties housing five companies on Airport Street were condemned by the R.I. Department of Transportation to make way for an expansion of the R.I. Army National Guard’s facilities.
The good news, King said, three of other businesses decided to stay with two of them – Ocean State Testing Inc. and Unetixs Vascular – breaking ground on new buildings within the park.
“It’s a painful process, eminent domain, but I think it’s a commitment that shows that companies like the facility and like the location,” King said.
Beside the railway, other infrastructure improvements at Quonset include adding 3,500 feet of new road, with another 21,000 feet planned. Meanwhile another 14,000 feet of roadway has been repaved. Outside the park, the Route 403 connector is complete, allowing for highway access for delivery trucks.
And QDC demolished 213 abandoned Navy building, opening 2.3 million square feet to development.
There are about 400 to 500 acres still left to be developed in the entire park.
“We’ve worked diligently to demolish the old buildings and improve the infrastructure, and we’re at a turning point now.”
A key to that turn was the railway improvements inside the park.
“Some of the stuff was there since the Navy days,” said Koelsch. “We needed to revamp it.”
The work came in three phases, the first two tackled replacement and resurfacing about 50,000 feet of track in West Davisville and track leading to the port. The final phase refurbished 14,000 feet of old rails from the Quonset main line to the pier.
Koelsch said some companies are installing rail spurs to their locations, including Ocean State Job Lot, according to Koelsch.
It’s NORAD that has really benefited from the improvements, both inside the park and along the freight line to Central Falls, where bridges were once too low to accommodate triple-decker trains.
King said the Port of Davisville receives shipments of Volkswagens, Subarus and Audis by cargo ship, but new cars are also carried in by train from manufacturing plants in the United States.
At NORAD, where there are about 250 employees, the cars are inspected and outfitted with upgrades such as stereos before they’re sent out again, by either rail or by truck.
With such amenities as rail, King said, Volkswagen of America is bringing more vehicles here. “They’re moving some of their imports on the East Coast and consolidating them at Davisville.”
And NORAD’s business is expanding in other ways, too.
The importer has now become an exporter, shipping used truck tractors by water to Europe. NORAD is hoping to ship about 300 a month. •
