After Years of Sitting Idle, Ground Broken on New Plaza

After years sitting idle, occupying a large chunk of land in the heart of Johnston, the site of the new Johnston Town Centre at 1450 Hartford Avenue is taking shape.

Officials from BankRI, Saletin Real Estate of Cranston, the North Central Chamber of Commerce and and the Town of Johnston gathered last week to break ground for the new BankRI branch that is being built at the busy construction site and to mark the progress of the new development, which is bringing millions in road and infrastructure improvements to a long-neglected part of town.

The old plaza was once home to Stuarts Department Store where many Johnstonians can remember getting penny candy years ago. 

Later this year, the plaza will reopen as Johnston Towne Centre. Along with a new BankRI branch, the plaza will include 95,000 square feet of retail space, a Price Rite Supermarket, 500 parking spots and $3.4 million in road improvements including new travel and turning lanes, a new traffic signal, new sewers and utilities.

Featured in the video are:

Mark J. Meiklejohn, president and CEO of BankRI

Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena

Jeff Saletin, president Saletin Real Estate Group