§ 42-63.5-2. Findings. The General Assembly finds and declares that:

(1) The City is experiencing a general deterioration of its inner core.

(2) There continues to be a chronic state of unemployment and underemployment in the State and especially the City. This condition strains the social support services of the City and State, leads to increased crime and negatively impacts the health of the citizens of the City and State. The Providence Place Project will create significant job opportunities during construction and retail jobs thereafter and will help to alleviate this chronic unemployment and underemployment.

(3) Pursuant to the Agreement Regarding Providence Place Mall, the developer has agreed to invest substantial private funds in the construction of a one million one hundred fifty thousand (1,150,000) square feet retail shopping mall and four thousand (4,000) car public parking facility.

(4) In connection with the construction of the Project as contemplated by the Agreement Regarding Providence Place Mall, the developer will utilize eleven million one hundred thousand dollars ($11,100,000) in private funds to purchase a parcel of land owned by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation for part of the Project Site, thereafter conveying the same to the Corporation for the sum of one dollar ($1.00).

(5) In order to construct the Project, the developer will be required to expend substantial private funds to demolish the dilapidated buildings now existing on the so-called URI Parcel owned by the State, and remediate and remove all hazardous waste and hazardous conditions now existing on or under the Project Site, subject to certain limitations and as more particularly described in the Agreement Regarding Providence Place Mall.

(6) The Project will include five hundred (500) parking spaces for high occupancy vehicles to assist the State in achieving its clean air quality goals.

(7) Upon completion of construction of the Garage, the developer will retain all obligations to maintain, repair and operate the Garage for the benefit of the public for a period of ninety-nine (99) years, and will be required to operate the Garage for that period, with any deficits in operating, maintenance and repair expenses being funded solely from the developer.

(8) In order to construct the Project in accordance with the plans and on the time schedules set forth in the Agreement Regarding Providence Place Mall, it is expected that during the two (2) year construction phase the Project will create approximately one thousand two hundred (1,200) new full-time construction jobs per year in all trades.

(9) By agreement between the developer and the Rhode Island Building Trades Council, the construction jobs will be filled by residents of the State.

(10) Once completed, it is expected that operation of the Project will require the employment of up to two thousand eight hundred (2,800) persons and will create a substantial number of permanent and part-time job opportunities for a range of Rhode Island residents with various levels of skills and prior experience.

(11) Pursuant to the Agreement Regarding Providence Place Mall, the developer and the State intend to develop a retail sales training program for prospective employees at the Mall.

(12) During the construction phase of the Project, it is expected that in excess of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) per year in income tax revenues, which will be new to the State of Rhode Island will be realized as a result of the new construction jobs in connection with the Project.

(13) Once the Project has been completed, it is expected that the State will realize in excess of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per year in new income tax revenues from the new retail and other jobs expected to be created at the Project.

(14) The availability of new and unique retail shopping opportunities for Rhode Islanders is expected to result in the recapture of a substantial amount of retail purchases now being made by Rhode Islanders outside of the State, which out-of-state sales are presently estimated to be approximately three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) per year. This recapture will result in substantial net new sales tax revenues to the State.

(15) The existence of a significant regional destination retail shopping center such as the Project is expected to attract substantial new purchase transactions at the Mall made by persons from places outside of the State, resulting in substantial net new sales tax revenues to the State.

(16) The construction of the Project will be a cornerstone in the continuing revitalization of a blighted portion of the urban core of the City, and will augment and complement the substantial public investments in the Waterplace Park, the Riverwalk and the Memorial Boulevard projects which have been made over the last fifteen (15) years in the City.

(17) The Project will include, at the developer's expense, an intermodal transportation facility to serve as the base of a network of shuttlebuses for circulating parkers, shoppers and other inhabitants of and visitors to the City, thereby contributing to the vitality of the central City and the City's financial district.

(18) A private investment, construction project and unique retail shopping center of the size and quality proposed for the Project will have enormous spin-off economic benefits and will multiply each dollar of private investment many times over, resulting in the establishment of new businesses, new jobs and increased sales, income and real estate property taxes to both the State and the City.

(19) Because of the complications imposed by the Project Site, which presents formidable challenges, including the requirements of building over railroad tracks and a river and dealing with substantial changes in grade as well as the extraordinary architectural and urban design features required by the Capital Center Commission, and imposes concomitant extraordinary construction expenses, a public investment to help defray those extraordinary expenses is required in order to induce the substantial private investment and the myriad public benefits described above.

History of Section. (P.L. 1995, ch. 400, § 1.)