WPRI: Pawtucket soccer stadium developer updates project plans, striking Apex site

Updated at 1:51 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2020.

A NEW VERSION of the Tidewater Landing project proposed for the Pawtucket waterfront eliminates use of the Apex site and reduces proposed office space. / COURTESY NEW HARBOR GROUP

PROVIDENCE – The developer behind a soccer stadium project slated for Pawtucket’s waterfront has scaled back the proposal, with a new version that cuts one of three properties originally included.

As WPRI-TV 12 reported, Brett Johnson, principal of developer Fortuitous Partners, detailed changes to the Tidewater Landing project in a presentation to the Pawtucket City Council on Wednesday night. The most significant change is that the Apex site, originally slated to hold an indoor event center, hotel and conference center, is no longer used in the new site plan.

The Apex Site, which is privately owned, had previously been a sticking point in prior plans for a new PawSox stadium, and would also require significant environmental remediation to be repurposed. 

The latest version of the Tidewater site plan relocates the event space, hotel and conference center to the Division Street site, for which the City Council has already approved a long-term lease agreement with the developer. Other changes include reducing the amount of office space amid shrinking demand caused by the pandemic, and adding more multi-family residential housing, according to Johnson’s presentation, which was shared with PBN.

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The 7,500-seat soccer stadium anchoring the project remains unchanged, as do proposed infrastructure improvements and retail space.

The state, city and developer recently ended a prolonged due diligence period, signing an agreement earlier this month that gives Fortuitous exclusive development rights. The parties have another 60 days to agree upon the financial details for the project, which calls for a mix of private investment and public funding through tax increment financing.

The project was originally slated to cost $400 million, but using just two properties rather than three will “naturally lessen” that price tag, Lauren Greene, a spokesperson for Fortuitous, said in an email. The amended cost has not yet been determined, but will be part of the finalized financial agreement expected in the next two months, Greene said.

Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.

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