NORTH KINGSTOWN – When the Navy base at Quonset Point closed in the 1970s , it delivered a body blow to Rhode Island’s economy that would be felt for years.
But when the federal government transferred the Quonset Naval Air Station and adjacent Naval Construction Battalion Center Davisville, which closed almost two decades later, to the state, Rhode Island leaders envisioned an industrial park that could take up some of the slack left in the Navy’s wake.
While much of the infrastructure was already in place – including rail lines, docking facilities and an airport – the state has poured millions into developing the Quonset Business Park , which is now home to the premier nuclear submarine builder in the world and one of the busiest auto importing ports in the country .
Here’s a by-the-numbers look at the industrial park, now run by the Quonset Development Corporation , a state agency that is a subsidiary of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, the state economic development agency: