Soccer stadium developer says he has all the funding necessary. When will the project resume?

Fortuitous Partners, whose $124-million Pawtucket soccer stadium development stalled earlier this summer for lack of funds, said Wednesday it has raised the money it needs to complete the project.

"The global pressures on development are real, but we have believed in this project from the beginning and have put tens of millions of private investment into the project to get it started," Brett Johnson, Fortuitous founder and chairman of Rhode Island FC, the team that would play in the stadium, said in a news release. "Now that the private funding has been secured, we are excited to complete the stadium through this public-private partnership with the city and state."

Work on the Pawtucket soccer stadium paused in June

Fortuitous broke ground on the 10,500-seat Seekonk River-front stadium in the summer of 2022 after narrowly securing state approval for public financing that would cover around 37% of the cost.

But even after laying a foundation for the building and spending months raising money, Fortuitous remained around $10 million short of its target. Until Fortuitous secured its share of the capital, neither Pawtucket nor the state were willing to commit public funds, putting the entire project in limbo.

Fortuitous paused work at the construction site in June.

Construction will resume 'in the near future'

In the news release Wednesday, Fortuitous said it had raised "another $14.5 million of private equity over the last two months without taking on any additional debt."

With that extra money Fortuitous has "secured all outstanding requirements required by the city’s bond underwriters."

More: Here's what you should know about Rhode Island FC, the state's newest soccer team

"This is very positive news and exactly what the city had asked of Fortuitous," Grace Voll, spokeswoman for Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien wrote in an email. "We are working collaboratively with the state and Fortuitous toward a simultaneous closing of the financing this fall."

Even with the additional funding, it is not entirely clear when construction will resume.

Fortuitous spokesman Mike Raia would say only that it would be "in the near future."

With the new funding, "Fortuitous Partners has signed commitment letters to fund the private debt required in the terms of the development’s public-private partnership," the news release said. "The loans will close simultaneously with the underwriting of Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency bonds this fall."

Fortuitous has not disclosed who its investors are, and of the new $14.5 million, Raia would say only that it "includes additional private equity investment from a number of existing investors as well as new investors."

The $60-million stadium public financing package will net Fortuitous $46 million when reserves and transaction costs are taken out.

It includes a $36-million bond issued by the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency and repaid with state revenue generated in Pawtucket. It also includes $14 million in state tax credits and $10 million from the city.

"We are genuinely encouraged by the efforts shown by Fortuitous Partners in the Tidewater Landing project," Executive Office of Commerce spokesman Matthew Touchette said. "We greatly appreciate the developers' continued work in securing significant private equity and commitment letters for private financing. As for the public financing side, this announcement fulfills a crucial prerequisite for the city and state to proceed.

He added: "We'll all be closely coordinating to ensure that taxpayer funds are safeguarded and that no additional state funds will be contributed to the stadium project."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Pawtucket soccer stadium construction will restart with funding secured