Pawtucket bounces back from pain of 2018

PAWTUCKET – At an inauguration ceremony in January, city officials implored state leaders to help fix the mess they’d helped create for Pawtucket in 2018 with the announced departure of the Pawtucket Red Sox and expected loss of Hasbro, among others.

But they also expressed confidence that Pawtucket would find its own path to success with or without outside help.

This city “has a warrior mentality in that we will fight for what we believe in until the bitter end and even if we lose, we move on to the next battle,” said City Council President David Moran that day. “We are a resilient, proud and resourceful city and we will be fine,” he said.

In the end, it was a combined city, state and private company effort that led to the announcement in early December of a $400 million riverfront development, highlighted by a new soccer stadium.

In addition to hammering out the details of the planned riverfront development, Mayor Donald Grebien and other elected leaders continued to address the matters within their control this year, improving school facilities, targeting successful new educational initiatives, repaving more roads, and zeroing in on smaller economic development projects, of which there were plenty.

A year of a lot of progress behind the scenes on such projects as a planned new commuter rail station, the new riverfront stadium, and a new lifestyle center off Newport Avenue, among others, should be followed by a 2020 of more visible results.

Grebien insisted back in January that Pawtucket still had its best days ahead, despite its setbacks of the previous year.

“Just imagine where our city will be in the years to come,” he said then.

Here are our top 10 storylines for Pawtucket in 2019:

• Like a ‘Phoenix,’ hope rises again

In one swoop, a plan coming out of a request for proposals to replace the Pawtucket Red Sox and redevelop the downtown addressed at least two of three of the city’s most challenging parcels, 45 Division St. and Tidewater, and could also bring new development to the Apex Department Store site if Phoenix Rising FC soccer club owner Brett Johnson and his group are able to strike a deal with owner Andrew Gates.

Opening up the city’s riverfront and attracting people there has proven to be one of Pawtucket’s biggest challenges since the old days of a busy downtown, and this project will inject instant vitality into the area, says Mayor Grebien.

In January, expect Johnson to announce an agreement on the Division Street land and Tidewater site, as well as a group of firm investors in a project targeting the USL soccer stadium, an event center, hotel, and commercial and residential development.

Johnson is clear that this isn’t a proposal but a firm plan, unlike past hypothetical projects for these parcels in the past, and this is the spot he would pick for his stadium given the choice of any location in Rhode Island.

Up to $90 million in public financing is due to be paid back through new revenues from the development.

There is plenty of chatter now that the stadium proposal could renew interest from Hasbro about staying in Pawtucket. The company had previously toured sites as it explored being part of the downtown baseball stadium plan.

• Smile, the cameras are watching

This was no simple targeted enforcement in a neighborhood or temporary speed trap, but a dramatic and permanent change designed to change driver behavior.

And though city officials say the new speed camera and red-light traffic camera program is meant to enhance safety, it’s also bringing in significant revenue over its first three months, with little drop-off in ticket totals.

The Breeze has reported extensively on violation totals that have remained in the range of 10,000 per week. It’s clear that some roads in particular, such as Newport Avenue, are proving an extra challenge for drivers to stay under the 31 mph trigger number for a ticket in 20 mph school zones.

The city ran an extensive public information campaign about the program, which pays a private vendor to run the cameras. City Council members have asked numerous questions about the program, including how cameras are calibrated and how the violations are enforced, but remain supportive of it, saying residents need to slow down if they want to stop getting tickets.

• Cold case cracked

It was the cold case many people had guessed might never be cracked, but Det. Susan Cormier never gave up. A Breeze story in July told how her work led to the arrest of Joao Monteiro as a suspect in the 1988 killing of 10-year-old Christine Cole.

“It means everything to me,” said Cormier at the time, answering what it felt like to apparently solve this case featured alongside others in cold case playing cards she helped introduce last year.

Cormier was able to connect the murder to Monteiro through DNA and a federal database match relating to a piece of evidence.

“As a Pawtucket police detective, I am proud to serve this community,” Cormier said. “The work that this department does is a team effort. I am pleased that the deck of cards that we introduced played a small role in this department’s pursuit of justice for the city of Pawtucket and the state of Rhode Island. I hope that our ongoing efforts can help bring some semblance of closure to the family and hope for those with loved ones whose cases are still unsolved.”

Monteiro, 59, of Central Falls, was arraigned on murder charges. He denies any involvement in Cole’s murder.

• Numerous projects move forward

The $400 million riverfront project was the headliner of 2019, but there were many other projects that had officials and residents excited about the city’s prospects going forward.

At the top of that list is a future massive mixed-use lifestyle center at the Narragansett Park Plaza on Newport Avenue, which took several steps forward this year. Expect many thousands of square feet of retail, residential and office space to be developed in 2020.

Here are some of the other projects that were approved, won approvals, got off the ground, or saw progress in 2019:

• The Still on Main mall at 250 Main St. opened.

• The Lorraine Mills is adding new housing, the new Miss Lorraine Diner, and new tenant Rhode Island Monthly.

• The gateway Beswick Building and Times buildings were purchased, with major renovations planned.

• Burbage Theatre Company and R.I. Spirits joined the expanding Collette as new tenants at the Morrison Thread mill in the downtown;

• An agreement was reached to add 300 or more jobs at Change Healthcare on Freight Street.

• Nearly 150 new housing units are nearing completion behind the Hope Artiste Village.

• A $21 million housing project off Freight Street was approved for a tax treaty.

• A tax treaty was approved for a new Seven Stars Bakery across from City Hall.

• The owners of the Feldman Furniture building, also in the downtown, were approved for a tax treaty to bring a mixed-use development there.

• Developers proposed a seven-story residential and commercial complex on Dexter Street.

• New superintendent pledges to build on gains

New interim Supt. Cheryl McWilliams pledged to continue the work of former Supt. Patti DiCenso on improving on educational gains and upgrading school facilities.

Notable achievements on both fronts included approval last week on the second phase of school facility improvements, following up overhauls of two elementary schools, and gains through a new $1 million reading program.

The city was also hailed as an example for urban districts on the state’s RICAS testing after beating scores of other cities across the state.

• Beer drives tourism

The city’s breweries showed few signs of slowing down, with The Guild on Main Street making great strides in turning into a multi-faceted event center and hub of entertainment activity. The opening of a new beer garden, beer hall and event center drew crowds to an area that was all but dead a few years ago. That brewery is located around the corner from a future train station and has turned into a major regional and even national draw.

Some of Pawtucket’s other breweries also had another great year, though there was a seeming sign of challenges ahead with Nick Garrison’s announcement this month that he plans to sell Foolproof Brewing, citing some factors in the industry.

• Historic preservation takes priority

The demolition of the old Hose Company #6 was likely the city’s biggest loss when it came to its historical fabric in 2019, but it also brought a renewed sense of purpose in finding a way forward in protecting other valued properties.

The Joseph Spaulding House was sold in April as part of a plan to preserve and protect it through residential reuse, and the Preservation Society of Pawtucket, which had advocated for keeping Hose Company #6 up, is now focused on preserving other landmarks in potential future jeopardy, including the Read-Ott Manson and Pitcher-Goff House on Walcott Street.

A new owner also purchased the Greenhalgh House on Walcott Street, with plans to preserve it.

• Train station construction starts; affordable housing district off

The start of construction on a new commuter rail station brought with it both great expectations about the economic jolt it will provide to the city, but also questions about how to maintain affordable housing in the area as new higher-end mill redevelopment projects threatened to price out existing residents.

Discussions on a new affordable housing district, with relaxed rules and incentives to create more affordable units, was nixed for the time being after leaders were unable to address all of residents’ concerns.

• City tops 100 miles of repaved roadway

Like schools, complaints about crumbling roadways are also becoming more scarce. In early April, The Breeze reported how another $1.6 million would be poured into repaving projects covering another six miles of local roadway, bringing the total to more than 100 miles of roadway repaved in six years under Mayor Donald Grebien, representing more than half of all local roadways. The worst roads are being repaved first using an independent analysis done by an outside company.

This year’s list featured about 60 local roadway sections.

• Waste transfer station in limbo

No final decisions were made on the future of the city’s waste transfer station on Grotto Avenue, after multiple contract extensions with Waste Connections Inc., but officials expect to issue a new request for proposals in the coming year they say will hopefully help them resolve one of the city’s most discussed issues of 2019.

It matters to the city as a whole because of the costs associated with the various options here, including upgrades or shutting down the station and hauling trash directly out of the city, and it matters to Fairlawn because of the numerous quality of life concerns, including rats, smells and truck traffic associated with the operation.

Other stories of interest in 2019 included: news that pit bull bites in the city are way up after a ban on the breed was previously overturned; the closing of Woodlawn Catholic; the Rhode Island Supreme Court siding with the city in the firing of former firefighter Sean Gannon; the restoration of the full Broad Street project, set for 2020; continued major contributions fixing the city’s underfunded pension plan; the potential reuse of the former Memorial Hospital for veteran care; and the legal battle over whether the city needs to release the hometowns of police officers; scooter and bike programs being put on hold as companies try to work out issues in neighboring Providence; and multiple crackdowns on the city’s remaining massage parlors.

There were numerous feel-good stories, including: the viral story of Quinn Miller facing down bullying by chasing her football dreams; the reopening of the Looff Carousel after major renovation; Joey “Cash” Debarros’ holiday giveaways; Laureen Grebien’s Holiday Basket Drive; the Pawtucket Rotary celebrating 100 years of service; the newly consolidated Pawtucket Arts Festival proving a hit; and volunteers running various successful cemetery cleanups and charitable efforts.

There was also the mixed bag of sad and happy news as the city’s homeless population lost access to showers for most of the summer and then saw two area organizations bring them back.