RI Biz Winners and Flops - October, 2015
Sunday, October 25, 2015
It seems to be the season for new economic development initiatives both at the State and the City level. Lets take a look at some winning economic development ideas.
Winners
BIG IDEA from Elorza -- Mayor Jorge Elorza is promoting EveryHome, an initiative focused on creating a suite of tools to “put local businesses to work rehabilitating and filling every boarded and abandoned property in the City of Providence.”
“Abandoned properties have been bringing the quality of life in our neighborhoods down for too long,” said Mayor Elorza. “The EveryHome program gives us the tools to put local businesses to work filling every vacant and abandoned home in Providence.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTElorza’s big idea if implemented and successful would topple one of the cities biggest problems.
The program is designed to address abandoned properties and produce local jobs for these projects through utilizing an expansion of the receivership program, withholding vacant properties from tax sales to promote rehabilitation and aligning federal investments with the goals of the initiative.
"Rhode Island Housing is pleased to be a part of Mayor Elorza's proposed solution for putting blighted, abandoned properties back to productive use," said Barbara Fields, Executive Director of Rhode Island Housing.
BIG IDEA from Elorza (Part 2) -- Mayor Jorge Elorza and Rhode Island School of Design, DESIGNxRI and Social Enterprise Greenhouse announced Providence Design Catalyst — a program developed to provide grants up to $35,000 to design-driven small businesses in the capital city.
“Providence is deeply rooted in art and design based industries. The Providence Design Catalyst program builds on that strength by enabling small businesses to get off the ground and grow in the Creative Capital,” said Mayor Elorza. “If you run a design-driven small business in Rhode Island, Providence wants to help you succeed. I urge you to apply today.”
The program is funded by $500,000 of federal funds available for arts and design based economic growth. The program will be administered by an advisory committee comprised of representatives of the City and partner organizations.
“Supporting Providence and Rhode Island’s capacity for innovation and creativity has been at the core of RISD’s mission since its inception. The Providence Design Catalyst is an effective way to advocate for, and invest in, a local community of designers,” said RISD President Rosanne Somerson. “RISD is pleased to continue to partner with the City of Providence and DESIGNxRI on an initiative that is well positioned to highlight the increasingly important role of art and design in fostering long-term sustained economic growth locally, nationally and globally.”
Top Realtor -- Rhode Island Association of Realtors has announced that Joseph Luca of RE/MAX Preferred was chosen by his peers as the 2015 Rhode Island Realtor of the Year. The award recognizes one of more than 4000 Realtors throughout Rhode Island for their dedication to the Realtor organization and their local communities. The statewide winner is chosen from the winners of five regional Realtor of the Year awards.
Brown Engineering -- There may not be a lot of cranes in the sky around Providence, but there should be some new ones popping up on the East Side. Brown University held their groundbreaking for its new $88 million Engineering Building.
The school’s new three-story, 80,000 square-foot structure will include specialized facilities for nanoscale and biomedical engineering, along with two full floors of new lab space designed to expand cross-disciplinary research aimed at addressing the world’s critical problems and challenges. It has been designed by Philadelphia-based KieranTimberlake and will be built by Shawmut Design and Construction.
According to Brown, the groundbreaking was the first of a series of events scheduled for the launch of Brown’s comprehensive fundraising campaign. One of the academic priorities of the campaign is funding for a theme articulated in Brown’s Building on Distinction strategic plan, “Using Science and Technology to Improve Lives.” This includes significant support for the School of Engineering.
Big Promos
Regan Communications has named Kate Barba Murphy a Vice President in its Providence office.
“Kate has spent more than a decade at Regan effectively helping clients reach their PR goals,” said Lisa Doucet-Albert, Senior Vice President, Regan Communications Group. “She is a consummate team player and also understands the importance of giving back to the community.”
A 14-year veteran of the public relations industry, Kate manages a variety of national and consumer-brand accounts, including Dunkin’ Donuts; Feld Entertainment, producers of Disney on Ice, Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and Monster Jam; and Meeting Street, focusing on event coordination, crisis management, community relations, and media relations.
Shawmut Design and Construction has tapped Marianne Monte as the chief people officer. Monte is a strategic human resources executive with a proven track record in effective executive coaching, talent management, and business partner leadership. Monte will partner with and support senior executives in Shawmut’s eight offices nationwide.
Prior to joining Shawmut, Monte was the vice president of human resources at the Hanover Insurance Group and a senior vice president at BankRI. Monte recently served on the transition team for Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo.
BIKES -- the Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition doubled the size of its board and extended the contract of Program Director Alex Krogh-Grabbe, who has raised $11,000 since starting work in June. Biking is BIG Business is many cities and a spark to economic growth. Hot cities often have great biking programs. New members of the RIBike Board of Directors include vice president Sarah Mitchell of Pawtucket, Eveling Vasquez of Providence, Amanda Resch of Providence, and Rep. Teresa Tanzi of South Kingstown. And, returning to members of the board are president Matt Moritz of Providence, treasurer Mark Dieterich of Bristol, secretary Margherita Pryor of Providence, and Barry Schiller of North Providence.
FLOPS
195 Development - vacant land and crickets. There is nothing else going on but some road work in the area. The $600 million project to move the highway was designed to be the economic spark to grow Rhode Island's economy. Presently, there are no significant projects approved for development. Enough said.
Related Slideshow: RI Business Rankings in US
See how Rhode Island stacked up.
Related Articles
- Rhode Island Biz Winners and Flops
- Rhode Island Biz Winners and Flops
- Rhode Island Biz Winners and Flops
- Rhode Island BIz Winners and Flops
- Rhode Island Biz Winners and Flops
- Rhode Island Biz Winners and Flops
- LISTEN- RI Biz Winners and Flops
- Rhode Island Biz Winners and Flops
- Rhode Island Biz Winners and Flops
- Biz Winners and Flops
- RI Biz Winners and Flops
- What Will Fix RI’s Business Climate?
- PODCAST: RI Biz Winners and Flops
- Smart Benefits: New Study Shows Health Costs Hurt Small Biz Hiring
- RI Biz Winners and Flops
- Ten Most Bizarre Moments of RI Primary Season to Date
- RI Biz Winners and Flops
- Welcome to Business Monday: BankRIBizHub & GoLocalProv Partnership
- RI Biz Winners and Flops
- Rhode Island BIz Winners and Flops
- Rhode Island Biz Winners and Flops
- PODCAST: RI Biz Winners and Flops
- RI Biz Winners and Flops
- Small Biz In A Digital Age
- Small Biz in A Digital Age: Advertising
- RI Biz Winners and Flops - Amica, Shark Tank and Prov Equity
- Small Biz in A Digital Age: Cross-Promoting
- RI Biz Winners and Flops - The PawSox Distraction
- RI Biz Winners & Flops – Prov’s Economic Void, RI Rankings & WashTrust Growth
- Bizarre Phenomenon: Sex Toys Littering Streets Present Hazard To Portland
- Small Biz in a Digital Age: Analytics - Know Your Options
- Small Biz in A Digital Age: Facebook Marketing
- Small Biz in A Digital Age: Social Media
- Small Biz in a Digital Age: Communication
- Small Biz in a Digital Age: Consumer Trends
- Small Biz in a Digital Age: Direct Response Marketing
- RI Biz Winners and Flops - October, 2015
- Organize + Energize: Traits of a Disorganized Business. Part 2
- Organize + Energize: Starting a Business? It’s Time to Get Organized!
- Opponents Blast Online Retail Tax for Hurting RI Businesses
- Organize + Energize: Traits of a Disorganized Business. Part I of 2.
- RI Business Plan Competition Narrows Field to 13
- Guest MINDSETTER Sen. James Sheehan: Cut Franchise Tax to Attract More Start-Up Business to RI
- David Brussat, Dr. Downtown: Business Climate Change, Please
- Rhode Island SBA Announces 2015 Small Business Week Award Winners
- RI Business Blasts $600K in Medicaid Cuts as Hurting “Most Vulnerable”
- Saul Kaplan: Stop Treating Business Model Innovation As Change Management
- 78 Local Businesses Receive Worksite Health Awards
- Cheat Sheet 4, FBI Files Unveils the Business Ties of Patriarca’s Lawyers
- NEW: URI Names Ebrahimpour College of Business Dean
- Newport Chamber’s Executive Director Begins Initiative to Meet Business Owners
- SBA is Accepting Nominations for 2016 Small Business Week Awards
- Smart Benefits: Small Businesses Remain Those with 50 or Less Employees
- It’s All About Education: Learning about Business and Connecting with Community
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Sen. James C. Sheehan: RI’s Most Business Friendly Budget in Decades
- Newport and Bristol Counties Ready for the Summer Season with New Businesses and Experiences
- 12th Annual Women in Business Luncheon Set For June 30
- Smart Benefits: Fines Now In Effect for Small Business Health Plan Reimbursements
- INVESTIGATION: Port Business Receives Tax Bill 100 Times Larger Than Last Year’s
- Small Business Association to Provide Winter Weather Tips Via Webinar