R.I. Commerce approves $144K in innovation grants for 3 companies

PROVIDENCE – A manufacturer, an animation company and a plastics recycler are the latest three businesses to receive state grant funding for research and development.

R.I. Commerce Corp. on Monday approved just less than $144,000 in grants for the three businesses as part of its Innovation Voucher program, which aims to spur economic development by helping local firms with internal or outside research, technological innovation and product development, according to a news release.

Recipients and funding amounts are as follows:

Since its inception, the state grant program has helped 103 companies with a combined $4.6 million in vouchers, yielding a $16.3 million return on investment, according to the release.

Also on Monday, R.I. Commerce approved an extra $233,000 of state incentives for the redevelopment of a former mill building in Pawtucket. The Rebuild RI tax credits approved for 390 Pine St. LLC, which lists news anchor Alison Bologna of WJAR NBC-10 as its primary agent, offers redeemable tax reimbursement on the project to redevelop a vacant mill building into market-rate and affordable housing and first-floor commercial space, including a home for Bologna’s yoga and wellness operation, Shri Studio, Service Corps & Bark. The $3.8 million development project previously received $600,000 in state tax credits, according to documents on R.I. Commerce’s website.

The project will create 32 construction jobs and 11 permanent positions while generating $42,600 in annual state tax revenue once finished, according to the documents. 

R.I. Commerce also approved a change to the previously agreed-upon hiring plan for General Dynamic Electric Boat’s expansion plans in Quonset, according to Adam Isaacs-Falbel, a spokesperson for Commerce. The company was awarded $20 million worth of state incentives in 2018, including $2 million in Rebuild RI Tax Credits, to expand its Quonset manufacturing space and hire another 1,300 workers, PBN has reported.

The original agreement laid out a per-year hiring plan which the company was unable to meet in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Isaacs-Falbel. The amendment approved Monday reflects an update to the 2020 hiring targets, but does not change the amount of tax credits or the overall job creation plans. Exactly how many jobs the company was supposed to hire in 2020, or has hired to date, was not available.

(Update: Electric Boat hiring plan approved added to final 2 paragraphs)

Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at [email protected].

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