Rhode Island Biz Winners and Flops
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
Rhode Island's economy shows some twinges of life. Employment is looking a little healthier, but the economy continues to face a range of threats. The bright spots could carry the state forward, but the inane continous effort by an out-of-state developer who seeks 38 Studios like money to rehab his building is a head scratcher.
See all the Winners and Flops.
Winners
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST- EDC finally has a Director. The appointment of business veteran Marcel Valois is a bright spot for the embattled agency. The challenges are significant. The new business effort needs a jump start. Business retention needs a makeover and the EDC has never had a successful business incubation program. The biggest focus must be building confidence in Rhode Island's economy.
- RI Real Estate Market is improving. 2013 median price of $185,000 was 7% higher than the median price in the first quarter of 2012. The distressed market continued to shrink with the percentage of foreclosure and short sales falling from 34% of all single family home sales from January to March of 2012 to under 27% during the same months this year.
- (add) Ventures has added three new professionals, including Cranston resident Jesse Lampkin, who has joined the firm as animator/motion graphics, Cumberland resident Sara Del Signore as associate producer of video/strategy, and Miami, Fla., resident Amanda Patterson as manager of marketing and public relations. Lampkin and Del Signore will work from the firm’s Providence headquarters while Patterson works from the firm’s Miami office.
- Taylor Swift's arrival is a win and a reinforcement of the beauty of Narragansett Bay. The state may have lost 40,000 residents over the past few decades, but we did pick up one of the superstars in the music industry. Best of all, she paid cash for her new $17.75 million Watch Hill home.
- Betaspring presentation in Boston. Good news and bad news. The launching pad of innovative start ups had to pack up the bus and drive this year's class of start ups to present to Venture Capitalists. The good news is that the quality of the merging companies get attention, but the bad news is the lack of funding sources in Rhode Island.
Flops
- Proposals to rehab the Superman Building may be the most "tone deaf" proposals of all-time. Less than a year after the collapse of 38 Studios, the House leadership is pushing for a taxpayer bailout with as much as $70 -$75 million in subsidies and tax credits.
The law firm of the owner of the Superman Building issued a press release congratulating David Sweetser of High Rock: "Rich May congratulates its client High Rock Development, LLC, a real estate development and investment firm focused on commercial retail opportunities in the New England area, on the closing of its first fund, High Rock Equities Fund I, L.P. at $50 million. With leverage, High Rock Fund I will be able to invest up to $200 million."
- Providence Journal's Parent Company, Texas-based A.H. Belo reported among its worse numbers yet. Of the three daily newspapers they own, the Providence Journal performed in many measures the worst. According to the 1st Quarter financials, revenue for advertising was down, printing revenue was down and the Providence Journal continues to lose circulation. A.H. Belo's bright spot was an agreement to realize revenue from the sale of one of their buildings in California. The Providence Journal weekday circulation has declined by 70% in the past two decades.
- Pension Fund Battle #2 is sparking as much attention as the pension reform. Forbes Columnist Ted Siedle continues to pound RI's General Treasurer for adopting a strategy to shift a greater and greater portion of the pension funds into alternative investment funds. Siedle continuously charges that the Raimondo strategy is risky and expensive. Raimondo is vehement that the strategy will be beneficial to the fund over the next decade.
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