Two new projects are currently underway in the city that will in one case promote a more aesthetic retail shopping plaza, and in the other, see the creation of a brand new, modern manufacturing facility. The Shaw's Supermarket at Shopperstown is currently in the process of demolishing a portion of the old retail shopping plaza and replacing it with a newly constructed, modern 63,000 s/f building and updated façade that will transform the aging retail plaza into a much more appealing property that will dramatically improve the shopping experience for those visiting the plaza. This new store and the aesthetic improvements that it will create are welcomed by the city. The overall trend in the last ten years has seen many dated and tiring shopping plazas in the city being modernized and updated to reflect current consumer shopping trends.
Another exciting project that is coming to fruition, is a brand new manufacturing facility in Rumford that will transform a long vacant industrial property on Ferris Ave. into a state-of-the-art building that will be occupied by Igus Manufacturing Corp. The 90,000 s/f building represents phase one of the project that will eventually include an additional 90,000 s/f Phase two expansion in the future. Igus has been a long standing industrial company in East Providence and the city is pleased that this German based manufacturer chose to build their United States headquarters expansion in our city. It is also always gratifying to see new investment in manufacturing facility development in these times where so many manufactures are relocating or investing overseas or elsewhere.
Building permits for both of these projects are being finalized and the city anticipates that both of these projects will be completed by the end of 2008. Developers who are interested in the development activities occurring in East Providence should visit www.eastprovidence.com or www.eastprovidencewaterfront.com
James Moran is the economic planner for East Providence.