Over, 10,000 people come into the city every September to attend the Pawtucket Arts Festival, one of the largest art festivals in New England.

With Pawtucket’s newly designated National Park in its Gateway at historic Slater Mill, the industrial birth place of the nation’s industrial revolution, the city is becoming a tourist destination. Finally, commercial artists/studios, and small businesses, have created nearly 500 jobs in Pawtucket.ĭevelopment interest is strong in the Conant Thread Transit Oriented District (TOD) area, abutting the City’s new Commuter Rail Station with 2 million s/f of space available for lease or purchase.ĭevelopment interest has only heightened with the designation of the entire TOD as well as the city’s Downtown and Riverfront as Federal Opportunity Zones, offering substantial tax benefits to investors in city real estate and businesses. There is $73 million in new residential development (both lofts and new construction) in the pipeline now. Since 1999, Pawtucket has seen nearly $100 million in private investment in new residential lofts. The art’s economic development is bringing new life to our historic mill buildings. It’s the only public arts high school in Rhode Island that accepts students by audition/portfolio only. City taxpayers recently approved a $220 million school improvement bond, ensuring that the investment in our students continues.ĭue to the city’s efforts to use arts as an economic engine, attracting hundreds of arts and creative sector companies to its mills, the Pawtucket school department established the Jacqueline M. With Potter Burns and Nathanael Greene Elementary Schools’ renovations completed, the city is now focusing on Winters Elementary School this year, as we continue to work with the city council, school department, and school committee to provide a 21st century learning environment for all of our students. By 2021, the city’s Pawtucket-Central Falls Commuter Rail Station and inter-modal transit hub opens for business, forging strong transportation ties to Providence, Boston, and throughout New England. Pawtucket also continues to invest in its infrastructure and schools to create and enhance the quality of life for its residents and to attract business investment. Seacoast Sweets, a chocolate manufacturing company from Massachusetts has come to our city because they found a place with rich history, plenty of accessibility, exciting business opportunities, and space to grow. Cybersecurity company, NeQter Labs, recently relocated from Middletown to downtown Pawtucket as it plans to grow and expand its reach.

Two of Pawtucket’s newest businesses came to the city to operate out of historic mills. The Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency (PRA) also offers lending assistance to small businesses as well as the opportunity to work in partnership with developers with infrastructure improvements, brownfield loans and grants, and targeted site assembly. Since June of 2017, city officials have assisted 22 individuals and companies through the process of locating properties for these companies in the city and getting them through local regulatory and a few through Pawtucket Business Development Corporation’s loan processes. There have been many economic wins in the city. Pawtucket is a great place to be and our track record shows it.

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