The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) RI Alliance Program, in partnership with Grow Smart Rhode Island and a number of other public and private partners, will present a morning forum on Friday, April 17 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick.

Entitled Building Public Private Collaboration to Promote Successful Mixed-Use Development, the forum is designed to foster better communication and understanding between the public sector and the private sector. The sponsors encourage municipal and state officials and staff responsible for economic development and developers, property owners, bankers, engineers, real estate brokers and land use attorneys, as well as other interested citizens, to attend.

Advance registration is required. To register for the event, go to www.icsc.org.

“Public and private sector interests in Rhode Island are united in their desire to see the state’s economic development prospects grow, and development and redevelopment projects are clearly important parts of that growth,” Len Bradley of DiPrete Engineering, chairman of the Program Planning Committee, said in a statement.  

“To be successful, projects must meet the needs of both the developers and the community. This can only happen if the public and private sectors understand each other’s concerns. On the one hand, municipal officials need to understand the current financing, permitting and market realities that drive development and redevelopment decisions, and they must shape their economic development planning accordingly. Property owners and developers, in turn, want to be fully aware of development opportunities and incentives in Rhode Island and must also understand that community plans for development and redevelopment seek to achieve not only economic development goals, but other community goals as well. Our purpose for the forum is to further that mutual understanding.” 

Following a networking breakfast from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m., the Keynote Address by RI Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor will both underscore the importance of the forum’s goal and provide the statewide context for the morning. Secretary Pryor will outline the Raimondo Administration’s goals for economic development and present some of the incentives that the state is considering to attract new businesses, development and redevelopment to the state. He will also touch on the importance of state and municipal cooperation to advance economic development. Our agenda includes ample time for a Q&A session between the Pryor and attendees.  

A panel presentation and interactive discussion with the audience will feature four speakers with in-depth public and private sector experience in Rhode Island development and redevelopment. Moderated by Scott Gibbs, president of the Economic Development Foundation of Rhode Island, Inc., the panel includes Donald Gralnek, executive director, Providence Redevelopment Agency; Francis X. Mahady, principal, FXM Associates; Frederick Presley, West Warwick town manager, and Tom Wilder, principal, The Wilder Companies.

The Alliance Program is a special ICSC initiative, which provides forums for the public and private sectors to network, share ideas, discuss industry issues and explore retail development opportunities. The Alliance Program promotes public-private partnerships and works to enhance communication between the public and private sector on emerging issues that impact the retail real estate industry and the quality of life in local communities.