Rhode Island Ready continues to bring opportunity to the Ocean State - by Steven J. King

For nearly 20 years, Quonset Business Park has been growing, bringing new jobs to Rhode Island and expanding the state’s tax base. Today, we are home to more than 260 companies and well over 15,000 jobs.

Quonset’s decades of successful economic development means that the land available for new development within the business park is nearly gone. Quonset now has less than 25 acres remaining for new development. Of this, the largest remaining parcel can only accommodate an industrial development of 75,000 s/f.

Now, Rhode Island needs to prepare for a post-Quonset reality and support industrial growth outside of the business park. 

To set that process in motion, Rhode Island Ready (RI Ready) is a statewide site readiness initiative, based on Quonset’s successful site readiness program, that is generating an inventory of pre-permitted sites, zoned for industrial use, that are ready for development.

This program is available to support municipalities, developers and property owners who are interested in turning their vacant land into a site that will generate income, new jobs and tax revenue. 

Applicants for RI Ready are considered eligible for enrollment based on the following criteria:

• Sites that will allow for upgraded or improved infrastructure in support of an industrial district or area; or

• Sites that will allow an existing industrial use or facility to expand significantly; or

• Sites that are approximately 10 acres in size (or are capable of supporting a 100,000 s/f building) and are:

• Zoned for industrial or offshore wind support uses, and;

• Located within one mile of a roadway designated by the state to support industrial traffic.

Once a site is enrolled, the RI Ready team helps to fund and manage site plan review, permitting, any necessary demolition, and infrastructure upgrades that will better support industrial use. Streamlining these processes before a particular use or tenant is identified allows Rhode Island to offer prospective companies an attractive parcel of land that is shovel-ready in just 90 days, similar to Quonset itself.

For example, the Town of Burrillville has received $200,000 to assist with permitting a large industrial area for new development. The town also received an additional $1.5 million for upgrades to the water and sewer infrastructure in this industrial district. When work is complete, the site will be able to support an estimated 95 jobs and $5.4 million in annual household income for Rhode Island families.

The program also takes the logistical challenges out of development. Enrolled sites have access to contractors that have already been vetted and procured. The RI Ready team handles billing and verifying vendor invoices, removing the hassle of reimbursement paperwork.

To date, the program has enrolled 25 sites, which represent 963 acres and nearly six million s/f of new development for Rhode Island businesses. 

With Quonset Business Park nearing capacity, preparing Rhode Island sites for additional economic development has never been more important – or so convenient. Funding is available now, so visit RIReady.org to enroll your site today

Steven J. King, P.E. is the managing director of the Quonset Development Corp., North Kingstown, R.I.