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Rhode Island
URI to build new dormitories to boost on-campus housing by 1,100 beds – The Boston Globe
PROVIDENCE — Plans to build new dormitories that will provide more than 1,100 additional beds at the University of Rhode Island are moving forward after school officials selected a developer as part of what they described as a new, public-private partnership.
The school picked Providence-based Gilbane Development Company for the project on its Kingston Campus in South Kingstown, R.I., which, when complete, will house undergraduate and graduate students, URI said in a statement.
Construction is anticipated to begin in fall 2025, after a feasibility study is completed.
Gilbane was selected following a request-for-information and request-for-proposal process “that drew interest from several development companies,” school officials said.
Under the partnership, the university will lease land to the development and building company, which in turn will “plan, finance, design, construct, and operate the new residence halls,” school officials said.
“This public-private partnership offers many benefits to the University and our students,” Abby Benson, URI’s vice president for administration and finance, said in a statement.
“The partnership enables us to address the growing demand for on-campus housing expressed by URI students. It also enables us to develop new housing on an accelerated timeline while ensuring fiscal responsibility.”
The plan currently calls for several new residential buildings, outfitted with apartment-style suites, according to URI. Students are expected to move in starting in the 2027 fall semester.
The plan arrives as Rhode Island and New England face a housing crisis, with rents and sales prices driven up by a lack of inventory amid high demand.
The neighboring town of Narragansett has sought to prohibit more than three college students from living in any non-owner-occupied dwelling unit in town. The provision doesn’t specifically target URI students, but the university has a significant off-campus presence in Narragansett.
Increasing on-campus housing is part of URI’s 10-year strategic plan, or “Focus URI,” that was put in place last year.
When the latest project is completed, URI will have added more than 2,000 on-campus beds since 2012, school officials said. Most recently, the school opened the 500-bed Brookside Hall in 2020 and Hillside Hall, which houses more than 400 beds, in 2012, they said.
URI has more than 14,000 undergraduates and more than 2,000 graduate students enrolled for the 2024-2025 school year.
“We know many of our students want to live on campus and value the many benefits of on-campus living, including convenient access to campus resources and amenities,” Ellen Reynolds, URI’s vice president for student affairs, said in a statement. “We are excited to move these plans forward and to offer additional and enhanced on-campus living opportunities for our students.”
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Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island shifts its primary to Wednesday, Sept. 9, easing a Labor Day poll setup crunch
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island’s primary elections will now be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9, moving it back from the typical Tuesday election day because it fell too close to Labor Day.
Gov. Dan McKee, a Democrat, signed off on the change earlier this week. The primary election had been scheduled for Sept. 8, which is the day after the holiday weekend.
State and local officials had requested the change after raising concerns about having enough time to set up polls for voters. However, under the legislation enacted, the filing deadlines will remain the same.
“We have to set up over 400 polling places around the state on the day before the election,” Nick Lima, the registrar and director of elections for the city of Cranston, told lawmakers at a hearing in January. “That’s very difficult to do on a holiday because many of our polls are schools, social halls and churches.”
It’s not unusual for states to change their election day. Lawmakers in neighboring Massachusetts changed the state’s 2026 primary election day from Sept. 15 to Sept. 1, arguing that doing so will help improve voter turnout.
Only four states hold their primary elections in September: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Delaware, which has the latest primary date in the U.S., taking place this year on Sept. 15.
Legislation seeking to move up Delaware’s primary election by several months has been introduced in the statehouse, but previous attempts to do so have stalled.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
CUMBERLAND, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island State Police are investigating a crash that happened on I-295 North in Cumberland Tuesday night.
The crash happened in the right lane near Exit 22 just before 9 p.m.
It’s unclear exactly what caused the crash or if anyone was injured.
12 News has reached out to Rhode Island State Police for more information but has not heard back.
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Rhode Island’s Democrat and Republican primary elections will officially be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9 this year, instead of the usual Tuesday election day.
Lawmakers passed the bill at the urging of state and local officials, who were concerned that an election day falling the day after Labor Day would not give them enough time to set up polls for the arrival of voters.
Gov. Dan McKee signed the bill on April 20, officially moving the primary day for 2026.
Which races will be on the ballot? The Republican and Democrat nominees for a swath of local offices – most notably governor but also lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Why was RI’s primary day moved?
At a hearing on the bill earlier this year, Randy Rossi, executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns explained the “significant logistical and financial challenges” municipalities otherwise would have faced having an election the day after Labor Day.
“Beyond cost, municipalities face serious logistical challenges accessing and setting up more than 430 polling locations on a major federal holiday, a process that often requires many hours and access to facilities that are typically closed and unstaffed on Labor Day,” he said.
“Compounding these challenges, many municipalities conduct early voting in city or town halls that must also serve as primary day polling locations,” Rossi noted.
Without changes to current law, he said, “municipalities would be required to conduct early voting and primary day polling simultaneously, often in the same limited space and with the same poll workers, requiring additional staffing and facilities.”
By the time this legislative hearing took place in January, other states facing similar issues, including Massachusetts, had already adjusted their primary dates, “and Rhode Island itself has demonstrated that alternative scheduling can be successful, as occurred during the statewide Wednesday primary in 2018,” Rossi said.
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