In the last year PBN staffers have written more than once a week about the nearly 40 acres left behind when Interstate 195's course through downtown Providence was moved.
Significant stories demand significant coverage, and the opportunity created by the moving of the highway is arguably the most important economic opportunity in Rhode Island today.
So what is the most recent news?
A design plan has been approved for what likely will be the first project to be constructed on land under the jurisdiction of the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission, a renovation and new-building construction on the east side of the Providence River for mixed residential and commercial use.
A second project, with the potential of creating 1 million square feet of mixed-use space on 5 acres west of the river, is moving through the process of finalizing a purchase and sale agreement with the commission.
But there remain more than one dozen development parcels of varying sizes in the district, roughly four years since the commission opened for business.
When Gov. Gina M. Raimondo took office, she made clear that she was not happy with the pace of development in the district. As a result, there is a new chairman of the commission as well as a new executive director.
Just as importantly, the city passed new tax-incentive legislation designed to encourage investment in I-195 projects.
The question remains, however, has the pace of action changed under new management? In an important sense, the region's economic health (and emotional equanimity) rely on the answer. •