EDITORIAL: RI Commerce Corp Is Dangerous

EDITORIAL: RI Commerce Corp Is Dangerous

The Commerce Corporation of Rhode Island has transformed from an economic development organization into a funeral home.

 

A growing pile of body bags for bad and failed deals now defines the agency.

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Please, no angry messages from our friends at Nardolillo Funeral Home for us mentioning them in the same breath as Commerce Corp.

 

RIP, ICU, and WTF

As Governor Dan McKee and Commerce Secretary Liz Tanner began their first term together in January of 2023, the priorities were Fane Tower (RIP), Superman Building (ICU) and the Pawtucket minor league soccer stadium (WTF). And we don't mean, "Wow, that's fantastic."

 

The Fane project is dead.

 

Superman is near death, and to resurrect it will cost taxpayers tens of millions more on top of the nearly $100 million in federal, state, and local incentives and payments already committed to the project. All the subsidies go to the benefit of an out-of-state developer. The developer — David Sweetser of High Rock Development — again has his hand out seeking more subsidies.

 

Then, there is the soccer stadium. Regardless of how you think about investing public money in a private minor league soccer stadium, the construct of the deal makes it the single worst business deal in Rhode Island history. To finance the $27 million, the state decided to use bonds that cost $54,285,000. Then, paying off the bonds will cost taxpayers $140 million over 30 years.

 

And don’t forget McKee and Tanners’ biggest deal to date.

 

At its July 21 meeting, the Commerce Corporation approved $140 million to cover the emergency repair and demolition costs of the westbound Washington Bridge.

 

That’s right. The biggest economic development deal funded by the McKee/Tanner duo is to borrow money for the failed Washington Bridge and the mismanagement by Peter Alviti and his Rhode Island Department of Transportation.

 

Whether you liked the strategy or not under former Governor Gina Raimondo, Commerce was an activist organization that gave lucrative incentives to the likes of GE, Johnson & Johnson and eMoney.

 

Some of those companies are gone. But there was a strategy and new companies came. Today, we finance broken bridges.

 

Today, there is little strategy. CNBC earlier this month released its annual rankings of top states for business for 2024 — and Rhode Island ranks 44th.

 

CNBC looks at 10 categories, and in 6 of them, Rhode Island — the lowest-ranked state in New England — got D marks.

 

Rhode Island received “D-” grades for economy, cost of living, access to capital, and cost of doing business. 

 

Little focus.

 

Reactive.

 

The agency's misuse of critical funds and lack of strategy are simply dangerous.