Artsy Mill Town May Be Rhode Island's SoHo

P A W T U C K E T, R.I., Dec. 4, 2003 -- When Jessica Evans returned to RhodeIsland after college to pursue a career in printmaking, sheimagined opening a studio on Providence's popular Wickenden Street,where cafes hug the sidewalk, art galleries are plentiful andtourists wander in and out of antique stores.

But space there was out of her price range. So after shoppingaround, Evans was lured five miles upriver to Pawtucket, a grittyindustrial town that's slowly attracting artists as its old millsare being converted into upscale lofts and affordable studios.

"I loved the idea of being in an old beautiful building," saidEvans, 27, describing her nearly 2,000-square-foot studio space asaffordable, accessible and safe. "Where Providence has galleries,shops and the Rhode Island School of Design, Pawtucket is whereartists are actually working."

Many factors are contributing to Pawtucket's renaissance,including tax laws friendly to artists, its proximity to Providenceand the interstate, low rent and an abundance of abandoned orpartly used mill complexes that are perfect for artists seekinglots of space and natural light.

Evans' workspace is surrounded by other artists who have set upshop.

"It makes for a very interesting creative community," shesaid. "I had no idea this town was full of sculptors, painters,you name it."

It's also full of developers, such as Ranne Warner, who arehelping build a lively arts community on top of Pawtucket'sindustrial past.

Carving Artist Lofts Out of Old Mills

Warner, who is Boston-based, bought the old Lebanon Mill Co.facility on the east bank of the Blackstone River for $550,000 lastyear. She's pumping $14 million in renovations into the104,000-square-foot complex. By April, 60 residential and worklofts will have been carved out of the historical building andrenamed Riverfront Lofts. Already half of them have been sold.

"There's been a heavy demand for the old mill buildings," saidMichael Cassidy, director of planning and redevelopment inPawtucket. "Many of the buildings aren't conducive to currentmanufacturing needs. This is a way to easily convert the buildingsfor use." In 1790, mills began to spring up along the Blackstone's banksas entrepreneurs saw how its surging waters could generate power toweave cotton into cloth or pound iron into tools. The firstwater-powered mill was built in Pawtucket, described by some as thebirthplace of the American Industrial Revolution.

A 10.5-acre downtown district comprising seven buildings and abridge was added last year to the National Register of HistoricPlaces, a designation that brings the possibility of federal taxcredits for owners who refurbish buildings for income-producingpurposes.

Warner, a Harvard Business School graduate, said she found ittough at first to find financing for her mill conversion project.

"It was very difficult to find a bank that believed inPawtucket," she said.

But the National Register designation helped, as did interestfrom buyers and the prospect of restaurants, shops and other venuespopping up around the old mill.

Space for Artists Who’ve Made It

The Pawtucket arts district includes industrial buildings usedas commercial and living space. U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I.,has his office in one of the converted complexes. There's also ahigh school and 107-year-old armory, which is being converted intoa performing arts center.

Warner's lofts are being sold as condominiums ranging from$150,000 to about $450,000, and they're attracting buyers fromCalifornia, Colorado, Boston and the local area.

"It's a space for artists who've already made it," said Evans.

Evans, who lives in Providence but is on the board of directorsat the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, said the higher-end propertiesare necessary to bring investors who will demand better restaurantsand other entertainment.

"At the same time, if every single mill building went that wayin Pawtucket, you wouldn't have artists living here," she said. Cassidy, the town's director of planning, said bringing artistsinto the city has two goals: The artists produce local goods, andthey buy from local dealers.

"They're not simply a recent graduate from RISD, getting somespace and sculpting away. These are people with businesses, orbusiness goals. They're adding to the economy," Cassidy said. Hemade comparisons to New York City's SoHo and Tribeca districts,which transformed those downtown areas from old factory buildingsto upscale shopping, arts and living districts.

Under a 1998 bill approved by the General Assembly, artists wholive and work in Pawtucket's arts district pay no state income taxon one-of-a-kind and limited-production items made and sold in thedistrict, and buyers pay no sales tax. Three other Rhode Islandcities — Providence, Woonsocket and Westerly — have the same taxbreak districts.

Pawtucket also has invested in improving infrastructure,promoting arts festivals and redeveloping the visitors' center toattract more tourists.

The gritty underbelly of the town is still apparent in many ofthe large brick and granite buildings, some partly shuttered. Butwith only nine square miles, the city is compact enough so smallchanges make a big impact.

"We're an overnight success that only took us 20 years,"Cassidy said.

If You Go…

PAWTUCKET, R.I.: Visit www.pawtucketri.com orwww.pawtucketartscollaborative.org or call (401) 728-0500.