Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island scored a big win in her campaign to jump-start the state’s stalled economy, securing the first stage of a deal with developers to build a $500 million life sciences center on land opened up by the recent rerouting of Interstate 195 in Providence.
The state announced Friday that Connecticut-based CV Properties LLC and Baltimore-based Wexford Science & Technology have agreed to purchase several public properties where the companies plan to build a multi-stage development that could break ground in early 2017.
The first phase is a $250 million, 500,000-square-feet complex that will include offices, research and development labs, an innovation center, restaurant, hotel, and housing; two subsequent phases would bring the total development to 1.1 million square feet. Brown University has already signaled interest in the complex.
Rhode Island, eager to improve its sluggish economy by seeding a cluster of technology and science companies, has dubbed the crescent of land near the Providence River, “The Link.’’ The proposed life sciences complex would be the “keystone’’ of the new neighborhood, officials said.
The governor said the project shows Rhode Island is finally climbing out of a lingering economic slump.
“There’s a definite momentum and buzz here, which you see in the data and you also see and feel and hear from employers,’’ Raimondo said.
The governor hopes the new project will help persuade students from Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design to remain in Providence after graduation.
Brown University said Friday it was in discussions with the developers about being an anchor tenant in the life sciences center. The developers said they were courting other potential tenants, including the Cambridge Innovation Center.
CV Properties president Richard Galvin said his firm is building in Providence because of the city’s talent pool, and the long-term commitment to the city by Brown and other institutions.
“It’s rare that you get this much land available right in a major downtown, and in close proximity to universities and hospitals,’’ he said. “There’s a lot of great pieces here. What’s lacking is the sort of place our development can be — a home for young entrepreneurs who already love Providence.’’
Galvin said the developers expect to soon apply for state tax and other economic development incentives.
Raimondo acknowledged some taxpayers remain skeptical of such subsidies after the failure of 38 Studios, a video game company backed by Curt Schilling that received a $75 million state loan guarantee. But Raimondo said a new incentive program includes robust accountability measures, and is necessary for the state’s economy.
“It’s about competitiveness,’’ she said. “Rhode Island has to be at the table and in the game.’’
News of this week’s agreement, first reported Friday by the Providence Journal, follows the recent decision by General Electric to pick Boston over Rhode Island and other locations for its new corporate headquarters.
Wexford is a national development firm that has built research parks near universities in a number of states. CV Properties, an arm of investment firm Starboard Capital Partners, has worked on various properties in the Northeast, including Channel Center in Boston’s Seaport and the South Street Landing project in Providence.
The properties are near where the Pawtucket Red Sox had previously considered building a new baseball stadium.
Dan Adams can be reached at dadams@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielAdams86.
