Providence shifts from arts to 'eds and meds'

In the 1990s, Providence, Rhode Island, focused on the arts as a means of revitalizing the city. But now, says The New York Times, the 178,000-population capital has moved on, hoping that educational and medical entities will be keys to an economic resurgence.

As part of the "eds and meds" strategy, Providence has been trying to lure medical uses to a 360-acre area that's been dubbed the Knowledge District. Last August, Brown University opened a $45 million medical school in the area, south of downtown, where land opened up after Interstate 195 was shifted farther to the south.

The medical school occupies a converted four-story, 134,000 sq. ft. factory building from 1928. Nearby, the toy maker Hasbro, aided by a $1.6 million state sales tax exemption, is establishing an operation that will create 284 new full-time jobs. 

Hasbro chose to expand in Providence because the young talent it needed to attract to its gaming division preferred an attractive, urban environment, Dolph Johnson, Hasbro’s senior vice president for global human resources, told The Times.

The highway relocation opened up 19 acres for development. Altogether, new "knowledge economy" jobs in Providence number more than 1,000, the paper said. Whether these changes will reach critical mass remains to be seen.

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