Since Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse began its work in Rhode Island around the turn of the century, it has been praised for redeveloping blighted properties that will eventually bring more than $500 million into the state's economy.
So perhaps it's fitting that that the first tenant to move into the company's largest Rhode Island project to date is the R.I. Economic Development Corporation.
The agency, which used to have its offices in The Westin Providence, opened its doors last Tuesday in a new office suite in Struever's American Locomotive Works project in Olneyville. The move of the 46-person staff to 20,000-square-foot space makes the RIEDC the first tenant of the $333 million project, which is slated to bring office, commercial and residential uses to 22 acres previously used mostly for industrial purposes.
RIEDC Executive Director Saul Kaplan said that the move is not only symbolic of the ongoing revitalization of the neighborhood, but also a sign that his agency would like to further the work already being done in the community.
"We want to be a catalyst for economic development within the state,"
Kaplan said. "We think that by coming into a new area within the city that's being redeveloped – the Valley district within Providence – we can be a catalyst for very exciting growth within this community."
That vision is shared by the City of Providence, according to Mayor David N. Cicilline. The Woonasquatucket Valley, an area that has already undergone vast revitalization projects, should see continued development as well, he said.
Eventually, Cicilline sees the renovated neighborhood as a new frontier for the city's economy. "It will be a great job center and a place where we expect to attract new investments," he said.
Kaplan said the Valley area could become home to jobs in the so-called "innovation economy" that the RIEDC and state leaders see as the key to Rhode Island's economic future.
Life sciences and information technology will play a large part in that sector. Kaplan said the RIEDC also wants to develop the digital media sector in the state, and is planning a "significant effort" on that front.
The revitalization of Olneyville has been a priority of Baltimore-based Struever Bros. As one of the heaviest investors in that part of Providence – in addition to its $333 million ALCO project, the company is slated to spend more than $100 million on the Rising Sun Mills, The Plant and Calendar Mills – Struever "is committed to being a contributing part of strong neighborhoods and strong communities," senior development director John Sinnott said.
Charles Francis, president of CB Richard Ellis – New England, has already seen a major transformation. In 1975, he sold the ALCO property, along with another, for slightly more than $1 million.
Thirty years later, Struever bought the property for a reported $21.5 million.
Several things jump-started the Valley area's revitalization, Francis said. First came The Providence Journal Co., which built a new production facility on the outskirts of Olneyville. Then came the redevelopment of The Foundry, which put a cluster of offices in a former Browne & Sharpe facility and is now adding housing.
But Struever's projects are among the largest in the area, and they have gone deeper into the once-dormant neighborhood and generated a new level of interest. "Struever has set the bar very high, and they do it with money and actions rather than words," Francis said.
Still, the Valley remains physically disconnected from the city's downtown.
Francis noted that the neighborhood is accessible through Federal Hill and the highways, however, and he added: "Where there are people, they will create pods of activity, and I think those linkages will come as the developments mature."
And Cicilline said that, in its long-term planning, the city is looking to build more connections through public transportation, a bike path and other measures.
Kaplan said those connections – both to other part of Providence and to other parts of the state – will be crucial to the success of the Valley and of the state's innovation economy.
"It's very, very important that we connect a lot of the outlying neighborhoods," Kaplan said. "We need to make the connection from Providence to throughout the state, so that we're creating higher-wage jobs in every community."
