Pawtucket Turns Old Mill into Jobs and Homes

Pawtucket Turns Old Mill into Jobs and Homes

Developers in Pawtucket have completed a conversion of nearly 300,000 square feet of old mill space into 143 residential units and 40,000 square feet of commercial space, generating thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in wages in the process.

"The city has been absolutely terrific to work with and we hope can find another (Pawtucket) mill building to tackle soon," said developer Chris Starr.

The “American Wire” project is located at the former American Insulated Wire facility on Central Ave.  Officials on hand said that 65% of the apartments are now leased.

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Starr and Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien performed a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the project’s completion.  City Councilors John Barry, Jean Philippe Barros, Albert Vitali Jr. and Mark Wildenhain attended the ceremony.

Virginia Hesse, principal historical architect for the state Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission who worked with the developers on the project, said that from 2002 to 2013 state historic tax credits were responsible for $2 billion in investment in Rhode Island, along with 20,000 construction jobs and 6,000 permanent jobs and total wages exceeding $800 million.