I recently had the pleasure of joining many of our city councilors, governor Lincoln Chafee and the owners of Balise Auto Group to celebrate the announcement of an $8 million expansion project at their facility at 1400 Post Rd.
The project, when complete, is expected to result in the creation of an additional 45 high-quality jobs to Balise's existing Rhode Island workforce of 300 associates. Roughly 200 construction workers will be employed during both phases of construction.
A new Nissan facility is slated for construction beginning in July and is estimated to take nine months to complete, followed by construction of a Chevrolet facility. Both buildings will be set back and in line with the existing Balise Toyota dealership, allowing for similar landscape, vehicle display and customer convenience, according to Mike Balise, an owner of the company.
In comments during the event, Mike noted that the company has had a "great reception from the city and the state since we've been here. That's what makes us so eager to invest and improve our facilities here."
Balise Auto, one of the largest retailers of new and used automobiles in New England, was founded by Paul E. Balise in 1919. Headquartered in West Springfield, Mass., the organization employs over 1,000 associates at facilities in Mass., Conn.and R.I.
In Warwick, Balise has been a wonderful part of our business community and our city as a whole. They have a demonstrated commitment to the municipalities in which they do business, and have been "good neighbors" to area residents.
We are obviously excited about this project for the jobs it will create and because it's such a positive development for a family-owned business with nearly a century of investment in New England communities.
Scott Avedisian is the mayor of Warwick.