Woonsocket’s Millrace project gets funding boost for design, remediation

WOONSOCKET – The Millrace District’s evolving look with wave-like concrete benches, sculptural light fixtures, and bold way finding signs have been nearly eight years in the making. Now, thanks to two newly awarded state grants totaling almost half a million dollars, that vision is set to expand even further.

NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley, the nonprofit behind the redevelopment of three historic mill buildings near market square, has secured $150,000 from the Main Street RI Streetscape Improvement Fund and $295,000 from the Site Readiness Program.

The funding will support both aesthetic improvements and environmental remediation tied to the district’s ongoing transformation.

The streetscape grant builds directly on a creative placemaking plan first implemented in 2017 at 40 Sout