It has been well more than a decade since Providence learned it was going to be repatriating roughly 40 acres of its downtown core thanks to the relocation of Interstate 195. And finally, there is activity on the land.
While no redevelopment process should happen overnight, an argument can be made that the appropriate sense of urgency about taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has been lacking.
This experience in Providence should inform a similar land windfall that could happen in Newport, the result of what is likely to be the closing of Newport Grand.
The slots parlor would be shuttered if state and Tiverton voters approve a ballot measure this fall that would allow Twin River, the owner of the Newport facility, to build a new casino in Tiverton and transfer the license there. So far, no serious opposition has appeared, and given the plans that the Twin River management team has put forward, the vote would appear to be a likely approval of the change.
The result to that outcome would be a parcel of more than 13 acres, a prize every bit as valuable to Newport as the former I-195 land is to Providence.
Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Newport, supports the idea of an innovation district there, one that would take advantage of its proximity to Naval Station Newport and the other maritime and military enterprises. That idea is a good one. The key now is to move with all due speed once the vote tally is in, if it goes the right way. Any delay would be a nearly criminal dropping of the economic-development ball. •