NEWS & CITY LIFE H o u s i n g | O P - E D | N e i g h b o r h o o d N ew s | R h o d y G e m
Making Space Still on Main owner Leslie Moore envisions a new model for community development in downtown Pawtucket You might not expect to find an eclectic mini-mall in the heart of Pawtucket, one complete with two levels of small and micro businesses and a food court of multicultural cuisine, with natural lighting from sweeping skylights and cozy seating spread out across an inviting courtyard primed for activity. Thanks to the efforts of owner Leslie Moore and the wide-ranging entrepreneurs who set up shop, Still on Main is in the center of a move in Pawtucket toward revitalization. “What is clear to me is Pawtucket is in a sort of space where a lot of new things are possible, and I can see investment – infrastructure investment – happening all around the downtown area, and that’s exciting,” says Moore. “I do know, however, that there’s a very typical story of what happens when that kind of development happens.” The pattern Moore describes is of city dollars going toward infrastructure, yet business owners who don’t live in that city are the ones who profit from it, a pattern of gentrification. Photos by Abbie Lahmers ProvidenceOnline.com • March 2022
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