It’s hard to believe the first month of the new year has come and gone. Though we are very much still in the thick of winter, unbelievably we are beginning to look ahead to our spring plans and projects in the city. 

During the month of January, we have had several new additions open their doors, the first of which was the new Planet Fitness located at the ever-evolving Rhode Island Mall. The gym took up their new residence in the middle of the month filling space that was once the main entrance to the mall. Dick’s Sporting Goods will also be opening their doors in the coming weeks at the mall and work continues to move full steam ahead at the new At Home and Raymour Flanagan locations. Work at BJ’s Brewhouse continues, with their doors slated to open in the spring, as well.

By the time the first buds bloom, we will see new electric cars also bursting onto the scene. We are thrilled to have been selected as the home of the first-ever Tesla dealership in Rhode Island. The electric car company will be taking up residence on auto-row on Rte. 2. Tesla received the green light from the Rhode Island Automobile Dealers Commission in mid-December, and the City signed off on Tesla’s business license later in the month. The innovative car company will be located at the site of the former Tarbox Hyundai dealership, 870 Quaker Lane. 

Warwick continues to receive accolades both locally and nationally. Last month MONEY Magazine published an article naming the best cities to live in the United States. Warwick was named the best community in Rhode Island. MONEY credited Warwick’s rich military, nautical and industrial history, along with its central location, international airport and sweeping views of Narragansett Bay for the ranking. Other contributing factors included our vibrant art scene, picturesque downtown and 39 miles of coastline. The magazine examined everything from strong economic and educational performance, affordability, as well as overall convenience, safety and quality of life. With a projected job growth of 2.59% and a medium household income of $63,414, Warwick remains a thriving community in which to live, work and visit. Additionally, SafeWise released a study that ranked Warwick 14th overall on their 2017 report of “safest cities” to raise a child. Combining a variety of categories including lowest number of crimes, promotion of a healthy and active lifestyle and a high quality school system, Warwick ranked in the top half of their analysis. 

Finally, the city by the sea is now among the best places in the country to get married. In a recent study conducted by WalletHub, Warwick was one of two communities (Providence being the other) named as top location to get hitched. 23 indicators were used to compare the cities, which included wedding friendliness, average cost of venues, event spaces per capita to hotel availability just to name a few. 

With new businesses continuing to call Warwick their home, we are thrilled to welcome and host companies large and small across a variety of industries. As spring heads our way, be on the lookout for more projects to be bursting onto the scene. 

For more information visit: http://www.visitwarwickri.com.

Scott Avedisian is the mayor of Warwick.