PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Fortuitous Partners has unveiled plans for Tidewater Landing, a $400 million mixed-use development along Pawtucket’s waterfront.
The project will include office, residential and hotel space, as well as a 7,500-seat soccer stadium and sports complex for a future United Soccer League (USL) team. Fortuitous Partners will fund the project, while public investment from both the city and state will primarily focus on infrastructure and other non-stadium components of the development plan.
“This is an opportunity of a lifetime for the City of Pawtucket, the Blackstone Valley and the State of Rhode Island,” says Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien. “This $400 million investment in one of Pawtucket’s Opportunity Zones will create jobs and be a transformative economic development at the gateway into our state.”
Upon completion, Tidewater Landing will comprise more than 200 housing units, 100,000 square feet of retail space, a 200-room hotel, an indoor sports event center and 200,000 square feet of office space.
The project is currently focused on the Tidewater and Division Street sites that are owned by National Grid and the city, respectively. The final development sites, phasing, construction costs and schedule for the project will be finalized during an upcoming due diligence period, although the public investment is expected to be approximately 20 percent of project costs. Those will total in the $70 million to $90 million range, with an anticipated $60 million to $80 million of that coming from state revenue. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo said the project is expected to create 3,700 jobs — 2,500 construction jobs and 1,200 ongoing jobs upon completion.
The goal is for the USL professional soccer team to kick off in the new stadium in time for the 2022 season. In addition to being home to a USL soccer team, the stadium will also be available for other uses including concerts and public sports uses including football, lacrosse, rugby, field hockey and amateur soccer.
“Tidewater Landing is a phenomenal opportunity for the city and region, and we are incredibly excited to be working with the State of Rhode Island and the City of Pawtucket to make it a reality,” says Brett Johnson, founder and partner of Fortuitous Partners and co-chairman of the USL’s Phoenix Rising Football Club. “The combination of a successful USL Championship club and the surrounding mixed-use development will make Tidewater Landing a destination of civic pride for decades to come.”
— Alex Tostado