Pryor: Commerce RI building evaluation structure for incentives

PROVIDENCE — Representatives of the R.I. Commerce Corporation told state lawmakers Thursday that the agency has not dispersed any new loans or awarded financial incentives created in the fiscal 2016 budget, but has laid the groundwork for evaluating applications for state assistance.
The Senate Committee on Government Oversight, led by Sen. James C. Sheehan, D-Narragansett, which held its first required evaluation of the newly restructured Commerce RI agency, centered most of its questions on the agency’s efforts to create metrics to evaluate proposals and disperse economic incentives.
Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor told committee members that the agency was “working on all fronts” to improve Rhode Island’s economy. Companies and developers are responding to the message, he said, citing the recent relocation of Lighting Science, an LED technology company, to Rhode Island from Florida, as well as recent progress in attracting a much-desired biological sciences development. Wexford Science & Technologies, and CV Properties LLC are engaged in negotiations to develop a project in the I-195 Redevelopment District in Providence.
The I-195 Redevelopment District Commission on Monday voted to direct its leaders to finalize a purchase and sale agreement with the companies for the sale of five acres in the district. The two companies have said they intend to develop a biological sciences and mixed-use development.
Real estate developers have expressed strong interest in state economic development incentives. According to Pryor, 30 applications were received for the initial round of Rebuild Rhode Island real estate tax credits, an incentive that is designed to spur economic activity through real estate development. The largest awards, providing up to 30 percent of a project value, will go to development for targeted industries, near mass transit hubs or that involve historical building renovations.
The applicant response was strong, Pryor said after the meeting, and likely reflects pent-up demand among developers who want to move on projects. “We’re pleased,” he said.
The applications will be evaluated, he said, and the agency expects to be able to move forward on leading projects by the end of the fiscal year. Commerce RI, in evaluating the Rebuild Rhode Island tax credit applications, will emphasize risk assessment, Pryor said, including property, construction, capital and operating risks.
The program is among a variety of state incentives now available for Commerce RI to help attract new business to the state, including real estate tax credits, job creation incentives, grants for research and development, and partial reimbursement of city-awarded tax stabilization incentives.
By law, the incentives are designed to be awarded only when the state has received a benefit, Pryor said.
“They are structurally designed to deliver benefit when the public has received the economic activity it has expected. When the program has delivered jobs, for example, or, in the case of the Rebuild Rhode Island real estate tax credit, when the property has been constructed or expanded, and a certificate of occupancy issued.”
Since the state incentives were created, Commerce RI has enacted nine sets of rules and regulations relating to the various programs, and two more are anticipated, Pryor said, in documents provided to the committee. The regulations require detailed information from applicants, emphasize the value of applicant experience and place a priority on “demonstrating economic feasibility,” the documents state.

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