Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor had good news for those attending a ceremonial groundbreaking for a 489,000 square foot warehouse on Commerce Drive just off Airport Road Tuesday morning.

“We’re very pleased that Rhode Island coming out of the pandemic is one of the strongest economic performers in the country,” said Pryor. 

Pryor said that under the Gov. Dan McKee Administration the state is seeing a “real upsurge of industrial and distribution space.” 

“Our vacancy rate in this sub sector is nearing zero. It’s remarkable,” said Pryor. 

Pryor said Rhode Island has the highest level of construction jobs since 2007. 

“We’re more than restoring the jobs we lost during the Covid downturn,” he said. 

With that said Pryor said that the development is more important than ever. 

“We need groundbreakings like today,” said Pryor. “This is an exciting project for us.” 

NorthPoint bought the 47-acre site from Carpionato Group that at one time planned to develop 327,000 square feet of retail development on the open site. Carpionato backed away from the plan when the city expressed reservations. Meanwhile, Carpionato allowed the adjoining Confreda Farms to use the land to grow produce.

Regional Vice President for NorthPoint Development Christina Hubacek said not only are we breaking ground on this development, but this is the first development that NorthPoint is doing in the whole New England region.” 

The company has not released the tenant for the gigantic warehouse that would cover 10 acres.

Named the  I-95 Gateway, the development  will be a “Class A state-of-the-art facility” that “ has prime access to I-95 and Interstate 295, allowing for easy regional and local industrial distribution, and is strategically located near Rhode Island TF Green International Airport,” according to NorthPoint Development. 

Given the size of the development, it is projected to pay in excess of $700,000 in property taxes.

Additionally, NorthPoint estimates that the project is anticipated to generate more than $10 million in wages as well as $250,000 in payroll taxes to the Rhode Island state government.

Council President Steve McAllister said, “We’re really excited about this project.”

McAllister said that McKee is a business minded Governor and that the NorthPoint project is “part of that.”

McAllister also said that the Council and Mayor Frank Picozzi are working on bringing in more businesses to Warwick. 

According to Natasha Rickel a spokesperson for NorthPoint the project is “currently scheduled to deliver late November.”