Driving Economic Development and Growth

Rhode Island is at a pivotal moment for economic growth. National shifts in defense spending, the return of advanced manufacturing, and rapid technological innovation are aligning with Rhode Island’s long-standing strengths in defense, ocean technology, and the life sciences. Anchored by assets such as the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, General Dynamics Electric Boat, world-class universities and medical centers, and a growing ecosystem of high-growth technology firms, Rhode Island is uniquely positioned to lead in these sectors.

Building on strategic state investments—including major infrastructure upgrades at Quonset Business Park and the creation of the Rhode Island Life Sciences Hub—the State will continue advancing policies that strengthen industry clusters, expand development-ready sites, accelerate research commercialization, and attract federal and private investment. At the center of this strategy is talent: aligning education and workforce programs with industry demand, supporting innovation, and creating pathways that retain, return, and recruit skilled workers.

Together, these efforts will expand opportunity, grow high-quality jobs, and secure Rhode Island’s position as the Ocean State—an emerging national leader in defense, ocean technology, and the life sciences.

Economic Growth – Tourism

• Recorded a historic 29.4 million visitors to Rhode Island in 2024, generating $6 billion in visitor spending and an $8.8 billion total economic impact, supporting more than 88,500 jobs—13 percent of all jobs statewide—and nearly $1 billion in state and local tax revenue, reflecting the success of strategic destination marketing and tourism-driven economic growth.
• Ranked Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport as the #1 airport in the United States in Travel + Leisure’s 2025 World’s Best Awards reader survey, marking the first time PVD has achieved the top national position among domestic airports.
• Continued investment in our tourism marketing campaign, “All That,” with the intention of driving occupancy throughout Rhode Island and bringing revenue into communities. This campaign includes national ads featuring Rhode Island’s history, dining destinations, and picturesque shorelines.
• Invested in the RI Rebounds Placemaking Initiative, a $5-million statewide effort that seeks to support the tourism and hospitality  industries. This initiative has supported programs and projects such as Waterfire Providence’s annual Clear Currents Community Paddling Night, Federal Hill Commerce Association’s Al Fresco on the Hill and Summer Festival, the City of East Providence’s July 14th Intertribal Powwow, the Providence City Center Rink’s sail installation, and the Rhode Island Troll Trail.

• Continued to support the Rhode Island Main Street Streetscape Improvement Fund, which awards grants on a competitive basis for improvements to our commercial districts, such as signage, lighting, facade, and sidewalk improvements to revitalize main street and downtown business districts and generate activity in these areas.
  • Awarded $1.8 million across seven projects. Most notably, Cranston received $600k to implement safety improvements to sidewalks and crosswalks along Park Avenue. Also, Pawtucket was awarded $440k to create a “pocket park” on Main Street, part of its initiative to establish an Enhanced Pedestrian Corridor.

Economic Growth – Capital Investments

• Celebrated the opening season of the Rhode Island Football Club (RIFC) in the Centreville Bank Stadium (also known as Tidewater Landing) project, after casting the tie-breaking vote to approve this major economic development initiative. The state-of-the-art sports stadium and entertainment venue has a capacity of 10,500 and will be complemented by new housing and commercial retail space in the area, spurring economic activity throughout the Blackstone Valley.

• Positioned Rhode Island as a leader in the ocean economy by attracting companies in offshore wind energy, defense, shipbuilding, aquaculture, seafood, and other blue-economy sectors to capitalize on Rhode Island’s strategic location and resources. Gained federal designation through the Ocean Tech Hub as the only focused on ocean-based autonomous technologies. Fostering innovation across these sectors will spur economic growth and generate jobs in ocean and undersea technology industries, contributing to a more prosperous and resilient future for Rhode Islanders.
  • Supported REGENT Craft’s development of electric seagliders, with the company’s CEO highlighting Rhode Island’s potential as the nation’s manufacturing hub for seagliders and a continued leader in composites manufacturing and ocean economy growth
  • Encouraged defense and marine technology advancements with companies like MIKEL (torpedo tracking systems), Saab (drone submarines), and Anduril (autonomous military submarines), VATN (marine systems).
  • Invested in Unity Park in Bristol as a center of blue-economy innovation, featuring firms like Flux Marine (next-generation electric outboard motors) and Sealegs (amphibious boats).
  • Continued hosting the annual Blue Innovation Symposium—one of the nation’s premier ocean economy events—holding its 10th iteration in 2025 and showcasing Rhode Island’s industry leadership through tours of key ocean economy sites in Bristol and North Kingstown.
• Appropriated $45 million in SFRF in the enacted FY 2024 budget to create the new Rhode Island Life Science Hub (RILSH), a quasi-state agency, and support the growth of life sciences in the state, including the development of Rhode Island’s first life science incubator lab facility (Ocean State Labs) and providing other business supports.
  • Invested through the RILSH in strategic, nondilutive funding to attract, retain, and scale life science companies in Rhode Island—bringing total RILSH deployments to more than $20 million and supporting over 35 new and expanding companies and organizations across oncology, neuroscience, women’s health, regenerative medicine, and medical technology, while strengthening Rhode Island’s position as a competitive destination for high-growth biotech and med-tech innovation and job creation.
• Secured foundational tenants for Ocean State Labs, Rhode Island’s first life sciences incubator, in partnership with the RILSH and Portal Innovations, establishing a 30,000+ square-foot hub in Providence’s Innovation District to support up to 30 early-stage companies and welcoming six inaugural life science startups advancing gene therapy, tissue regeneration, cancer therapeutics, medical imaging, RNA analytic technologies, and neuroinflammatory and Alzheimer’s disease research. 

• Completed construction and opened the new Rhode Island Department of Health State Laboratories at 150 Richmond Street, delivering a modern, technologically advanced public health lab anchored by secure Biosafety Level 2 and 3 facilities, with expanded genomic sequencing capacity, and state-of-the-art testing infrastructure to strengthen Rhode Island’s ability to monitor, prevent, and respond to infectious disease, environmental hazards, and emerging public health threats.
• Continued to support land development in the I-195 Redevelopment District (“the Innovation District”). Transformative projects in FY 2025 and FY 2026 include advancing the redevelopment of 150 Richmond to support the Rhode Island State Health Laboratory and Ocean State Labs; contributing funding for Ocean State Labs; launching a ground-floor loan fund to activate retail; advancing Parcel 9 mixed-income housing through ribbon-cutting and groundbreaking milestones; breaking ground on the District Park pavilion; and selecting a developer for Parcel 5.
• Supported the Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credit program by increasing the award cap by $15 million in FY 2024 and including a sunset extension in FY 2026.  This program provides real estate development tax credits for qualified construction and is designed to forward fund credits to create a lesser burden on state sources when those credits begin to be redeemed in the future.
  • Distributed 56 awards valued at an estimated $218.5 million, inclusive of sales and use tax exemptions, as of December 2025.
  • Supported such projects as the recently opened Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket and the historically repurposed and the newly renovated Track 15 Food and Dining Hall in downtown Providence; approved $11 million in Rebuild Tax Credits for a proposed 12-story, 214-unit mixed-use apartment building adjacent to the I-195 District Park and pedestrian bridge.
• Created a Site Readiness program, with continued investment in FY 2026 that partners with municipalities and developers to fund municipal technical assistance and site-specific planning projects. Grants under this program assist municipalities in developing the strategies and plans needed to spur local development and support municipalities and private developers by preparing sites for development or redevelopment.
  • Awarded $1.96 million across 14 projects in FY 2025. Most notably, $345,000 to North Providence to enhance existing infrastructure along Charles Street and Mineral Spring Avenue and $300,000 to North Smithfield to conduct water quality testing and research at sites along the Route 146 corridor, a first step for the Source Water Exploration Project which will lead to the provision of a high-capacity public water system.