Pawtucket set to build hundreds of housing units as the next phase of the Tidewater Landing development begins – The Boston Globe

“Many people said it wouldn’t be done or couldn’t be done, and today we are here not only to say it’s getting done, but the funding is secure, and the construction of this infrastructure will begin within the next two months,” Grebien said.

Grebien anticipates the eastern side of the development will be fully built within three to four years, he said.

The work marks a step forward for the project, which had been burdened by persistent inflation in recent years. Rising costs led to a higher price tag than initially anticipated for the complex’s soccer and live entertainment stadium, the project’s first phase. The project relied on public bonds that are set to cost taxpayers more than $130 million over the next three decades.

State officials had originally said its financial support would pay for the stadium and other work around it, but with the difficult economic climate, the state later shifted nearly all of its financial backing to the stadium itself. Still, developer Fortuitous Partners has long said it will see through the rest of the public-private partnership, including hundreds of units of new housing.

“We’ve worked very hard over the last couple years to smooth over obstacles big and small to get us here,” Pawtucket City Council President Terrence Mercer said.

The next phase of the development will focus on a more than 10-acre swath of land along the eastern shore of the Seekonk River, across the water from the stadium, Grebien said. There, development firm Pennrose plans to construct more than 70 units of affordable housing, while Wood Partners plans to build 325 market-rate units, he said.

“The financial stack is there,” Grebien said. “They’re ready to move …. They needed to see the stadium first to make sure it was that successful.”

The stadium has welcomed nearly 250,000 people since it opened in spring 2025, according to Dan Kroeber, managing partner at Fortuitous Partners.

“The evolution of this city, the evolution of Tidewater Landing is really just beginning,” Kroeber said.

For now, the city will build out stormwater infrastructure for that area, as well as “new sections of the public riverwalk, landscaping, lighting, and expanded public recreation spaces,” officials said. Pawtucket will also build a pedestrian bridge to link the development across the river.

“You’ve got the Seekonk River being activated, public and private investment, bringing new pedestrian connections, open space, and critical infrastructure down here — all the ingredients that we need to create a great neighborhood in this area,” said Quinlan Locke, vice president of development at Wood Partners.

According to Grebien, additional housing on the western side of the river, in what is now an unpaved parking lot just north of the stadium, will be built in a future phase. He said about 300 additional units are anticipated on that side of the river.

“Over the next four to five years, you’ll start seeing development on this side, if not sooner, because I think the market will push it,” he said.

Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.