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The former Microfibres Inc. fabrics factory in Pawtucket is poised for redevelopment, but locals are divided about a proposed distribution facility at the site by JK Equities Inc
Locals divided about plans for Microfibres site
BY JACQUELYN VOGHEL | Voghel@PBN.com
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FOR THE FIRST TIME since Microfibres Inc. went out of business in 2016, the former fabrics factory at 1 Moshassuck St. in Pawtucket appears poised for redevelopment, with demolition underway to prepare for a 160,000-square-foot distribution facility.
But while supporters of the project, which has preliminary plan approval, say it will bolster the city’s revenue and add new jobs, some residents in Pawtucket and nearby Providence fear the economic opportunity will come at the cost of heavy truck traffic that could endanger pedestrians and cyclists, and that a proposal by the developer, JK Equities Inc., to acquire an abutting athletic field will take away from the neighborhood’s limited recreational spaces.
JK Equities envisions a “last-mile distribution center” at a 3.5-acre site that will include a warehouse and direct-to-customer shipping operations, according to the company’s website.
Workers are on-site already, tearing down the 194,000-square-foot brick factory that was built in 1940, according to Pawtucket city records. The new building – dubbed the Blackstone Distribution Center – will feature up to 41 loading docks, 32-foot ceilings, and a 45-foot radius area for trucks to turn around.
Jordan Karlik, JK Equities cofounder, declined to provide further comment.
Plans for the site, which is located less than a mile from the Providence border, has stirred controversy in both cities.
Pawtucket City Councilman Clovis C. Gregor, who represents the neighborhood where the former Microfibres site is located, agrees the industrial property is in dire need of a new use, but he says the developer’s effort to purchase and rezone the athletic field, called Morley Field, threatens to eliminate the neighborhood’s recreational space.
“My feeling is that the kids in the Fifth District deserve the same rights and opportunities to green space, recreational space and opportunities as kids their age in the other districts,” Gregor said.
The field was also partially funded by the National Park Service, which protects its status as a public green space. To sell the property for commercial uses, the city must replace the field with a recreational area of at least the same size and in the same neighborhood.
The city has agreed to sell the 5-acre field to JK Equities for $550,000 if it can meet these conditions, but Gregor has his doubts this can happen. “This district where the park is located doesn’t have a lot of space that you can turn into a replacement site,” he said.
Morley Field has other problems. The city, which still owns the 94 Moshassuck St. property, last month discovered “volatile organic compounds” in the field. The developer will be responsible for removing these compounds if the deal goes through, according to city spokesperson Emily Rizzo.
The proposal has also raised alarm in Providence, where some say increased truck traffic would work against plans to redesign nearby North Main Street to increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists and bolster public transit.
“Big trucks like that have much bigger blind spots,” said Liza Burkin, lead organizer of Providence Streets Coalition, which lobbies for safer street designs. “It’s just incompat-
CLOVIS C. GREGOR, Pawtucket city councilman
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