News
Apr 28 2008
IYRS’ mill rehab attracts $500K in federal aid
NEWPORT – Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation secured $500,000 in federal money to help fund the International Yacht Restoration School’s renovation of a 177-year-old mill on Newport’s waterfront.
The project is expected to spark a renaissance of Newport’s working waterfront, attracting new marine businesses to the Lower Thames Street district, said Keith W. Stokes, executive director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce.
IYRS broke ground nine months ago on the $7.5 million project to rehabilitate the Aquidneck Mill building, a previously derelict landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. The mill restoration is scheduled to be completed in December.
Once restored, the 30,000-square-foot mill will function as a centerpiece of the Lower Thames Street neighborhood, housing the school’s expanded boat-building and marine vocational training, a public library and commercial space.
Sparkman & Stephens, Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, Confident Captain, Legacy Yachts and the Museum of Yachting all have committed to occupying space in the mill.
“This is an opportunity to bring back a unique piece of history and let it endure,” said John K. Grosvenor, principal of Newport Collaborative Architects, which designed the mill renovation.
Economic development officials hope the project will help to grow Newport’s working waterfront.
Across the state, the marine industry generates $1.6 billion in sales and employs more than 6,600 people, but there is a 10-percent job vacancy rate.
But that work force will need to grow by 36 percent over the next decade to meet the anticipated demand for skilled workers, according to U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who visited IYRS this morning to announce the $500,000 in funding that he and U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., secured in the 2008 federal appropriations bill.
“This funding will … go a long way toward revitalizing Newport’s working waterfront and bring new businesses to the neighborhood,” Reed said.
“For years, people and businesses have flocked to Rhode Island for our marine trades industry, which is central to our economy and particularly Newport’s waterfront community,” Whitehouse said in a statement. “This funding is a smart investment in our state’s future, and in the men and women whose skilled work is known around the world.”
The International Yacht Restoration School is a nonprofit institution dedicated to education and maritime preservation. It teaches the skills, history, art and science of building, offering intensive programs in traditional boat-building and marine systems. To learn more, visit www.IYRS.org.
The project is expected to spark a renaissance of Newport’s working waterfront, attracting new marine businesses to the Lower Thames Street district, said Keith W. Stokes, executive director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce.
IYRS broke ground nine months ago on the $7.5 million project to rehabilitate the Aquidneck Mill building, a previously derelict landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. The mill restoration is scheduled to be completed in December.
Once restored, the 30,000-square-foot mill will function as a centerpiece of the Lower Thames Street neighborhood, housing the school’s expanded boat-building and marine vocational training, a public library and commercial space.
Sparkman & Stephens, Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, Confident Captain, Legacy Yachts and the Museum of Yachting all have committed to occupying space in the mill.
“This is an opportunity to bring back a unique piece of history and let it endure,” said John K. Grosvenor, principal of Newport Collaborative Architects, which designed the mill renovation.
Economic development officials hope the project will help to grow Newport’s working waterfront.
Across the state, the marine industry generates $1.6 billion in sales and employs more than 6,600 people, but there is a 10-percent job vacancy rate.
But that work force will need to grow by 36 percent over the next decade to meet the anticipated demand for skilled workers, according to U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who visited IYRS this morning to announce the $500,000 in funding that he and U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., secured in the 2008 federal appropriations bill.
“This funding will … go a long way toward revitalizing Newport’s working waterfront and bring new businesses to the neighborhood,” Reed said.
“For years, people and businesses have flocked to Rhode Island for our marine trades industry, which is central to our economy and particularly Newport’s waterfront community,” Whitehouse said in a statement. “This funding is a smart investment in our state’s future, and in the men and women whose skilled work is known around the world.”
The International Yacht Restoration School is a nonprofit institution dedicated to education and maritime preservation. It teaches the skills, history, art and science of building, offering intensive programs in traditional boat-building and marine systems. To learn more, visit www.IYRS.org.
