PROVIDENCE – Tesla Inc. is planning to establish a regional hub at the Mashapaug Commons Plaza in the Reservoir Triangle neighborhood in the city’s southwestern end.
The service and retail facility is set to open next year at 77 Reservoir Ave. the site of a former Stop and Shop grocery store that closed a decade ago. It will be one of the largest Tesla locations in New England, according to a Monday press release by Paolino Properties LLC., which owns the lot.
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A press conference is scheduled Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at the plaza, where Paolino Properties will host a “Plug Into Providence” event featuring Gov. Daniel J. McKee; House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi; Providence Mayor Brett P. Smiley; and Ward 3 city council member James Taylor.
On Monday Paolino, who purchased the property in 2012, said Tesla “is taking over the entire facility.”
Tesla real estate brokers reached out to Paolino’s company to negotiate a lease to bring a facility to Rhode Island, he said, which he hopes will help revitalize the area, a longtime goal of concerned city and state officials.
“It’s a great addition,” he said.
Emails to Tesla’s North American office were not immediately returned. But Paolino credited the state’s push toward increasing EV ownership and infrastructure as one factor in its decision to come to Providence.
“A lot of what the state has done with putting up charging centers and providing tax credits was an important factor for Tesla,” he said.
There are currently more than 500 EV charging ports in the state, according to Rhode Island Energy. Part of mandatory emissions reduction goals within the Act on Climate legislation passed in 2021 was the DRIVE EV program launched in 2022 that provides rebates to customers who purchased or leased electric or hybrid vehicles.
Over half of the more than 500 applications approved were for Teslas, according to a breakdown on the R.I. Office of Energy Resources website. There is currently $130,250 remaining of the $1.25 million in federal funds allocated to the state.
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.
Kudos and congrats to Joe Paolino!