Tiverton seeks state help with stalled industrial park

Tiverton wants to create a partnership with Rhode Island to develop its mostly vacant industrial park next to Route 24.

As a first step, the Town Council approved on Monday night a letter to be sent to Gov. Lincoln Chafee requesting “formal state involvement” that is viewed as “an alternative approach” to past local efforts. The letter was drafted by Town Administrator Matthew Wojcik.

“The community simply does not have the expertise and fiscal wherewithal to develop the property into a fully ‘pad-ready’ industrial park on its own,” Mr. Wojcik writes. “The town believes that the state, through the Commerce Corporation and the Quonset Development Corporation, has the experience and talent required to design a business plan and transaction structure that will develop the park, cover the added investment and establish employment and tax revenues for the town.”

Tiverton Industrial Park consists of 172 acres of land with approximately 100 acres open to development. Tiverton purchased the land almost 20 years ago with a bond that cost taxpayers about $5.358 million, Mr. Wojcik said.