BRISTOL – Gathered at Unity Park on Wednesday morning, state and business leaders recalled a much different picture of the business center.
Outgoing R.I. Commerce Secretary Elizabeth M. Tanner recalled the space as a once dilapidated industrial area in her hometown.
"I remember lots of broken windows," Tanner said. "I remember leaky roofs. I remember walking through here when there were broken down boats in there, and it was very wet on the floor. You could see the animals flying through the building."
The space, which launched less than three years ago, now hosts a variety of businesses, including a restaurant, cafe, brewery, offices, and the focus of Wednesday's event – companies that fall under the "blue" or "ocean economy umbrella," such as electric boat producer Flux Marine, and underwater autonomous vehicle manufacturers Vatn Systems and Saab, the latter of which will soon open its second Rhode Island branch in the space.
On Wednesday, Tanner and other officials, including Gov. Daniel J. McKee and Joseph M.
Brito Jr., president and CEO of Unity Park LLC, announced
$9.7 million in "Innovation Campus" grants toward efforts to bolster this broader economic sector. The funding is being split between Unity Park's upcoming Blue Robotics Lab and the Ocean Technology Innovation Center at the University of Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay Campus.
The Blue Robotics Lab, which will receive $4 million, is a planned co-working and light manufacturing space intended for robotics entrepreneurs and startups, developed in partnership with MassRobotics. The project is one of seven initiatives that Rhode Island and Massachusetts, working in partnership as the Ocean Tech Hub, proposed in an application to become one of 30 Biden-era federally designated regional technology hubs.
While the Ocean Tech Hub earned one of 30 spots in the competitive process, the initiative did not receive a cut of $504 million in grants awarded to a dozen other tech hubs nationwide.
Meanwhile, the Ocean Technology Center will receive
$5.7 million in support of collaboration and maker spaces to serve ocean technology companies within and outside of the URI Research Foundation.
During Wednesday's event, state officials expressed optimism for Rhode Island's ocean technology sector despite the previous federal funding snub, highlighting growth such as an anticipated 700 new jobs over the next several years between Flux Marine, Vatn and Saab, Brito said.
Of the seven proposals, Rhode Island and Massachusetts officials detailed in the tech hub application, six are actively moving forward, said Daniela Fairchild, chief strategy officer at the R.I. Commerce Corp..
"We're moving, and we're being as resourceful as we can be," Fairchild told PBN, drawing from various state, federal and private funding opportunities.
McKee, who Brito credited as an early proponent of Unity Park, said that the grants will support the state as a growing force in the blue economy.
"Rhode Island is where innovation thrives," McKee said. "These Innovation Campus grants represent a strategic investment in our blue economy – creating jobs, expanding opportunity, and positioning Rhode Island as a national leader for ocean tech development."
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
