King honored for public service

STEVEN KING, managing director of the Quonset Development Corp., was honored by the R.I. Public Expenditure Council with the Gary S. Sasse Distinguished Public Service Award for his superior performance in service to R.I. taxpayers, fiscal responsibility and business acumen, record of integrity and devotion to public service, personal initiative and resourcefulness, and overall diligence and productivity in his career.

How has Quonset Business Park grown under your leadership?

The progress we have seen at Quonset has been a team effort between the governor, [R.I.] Commerce Corp., General Assembly, federal delegation, our partners in North Kingstown and the outstanding QDC staff and board. With more than 200 companies, nearly 11,000 workers and the Port of Davisville being one of the top 10 auto-importing sites in North America, Quonset is now seen as a key driver of R.I.’s economy. Since 2007, private-sector employment has increased by over 25 percent; new-building construction has exceeded 1.8 million square feet; port cargo volume has increased by nearly 150 percent; rail cargo volume has increased nearly 200 percent; and corporate revenue has increased by over 75 percent. And there is much more growth ahead.

What’s on deck for Quonset Development Corp. as we head into 2017?

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Voters recently approved a $50 million bond to invest in the success of the Port of Davisville, a key component of Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s $90 million modernization plan for Pier 2. We look forward to moving that project into the engineering phase in the year ahead, and potentially beginning construction in late 2017. We also announced a 50-year lease with Finlay Extracts for a two-phase, 93,000-square-foot research and manufacturing facility, which should be underway in the next month.

What has been the greatest challenge to expanding and improving the Quonset Business Park?

Quonset Business Park encompasses more than 3,200 acres of space. Of the roughly 1,300 acres of land that can be developed at the park, only 275 acres remain available for lease. Finding the tenants to utilize that space is a challenge we look forward to tackling. •

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