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9/5/2025
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Legislators applaud construction of new Woonsocket Community Learning Center
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STATE HOUSE – Woonsocket’s state legislative delegation today celebrated the groundbreaking of the Woonsocket Community Learning Center at Cass Park, funded through $7 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund allocated through the state budget.
Senators Melissa Murray (D-Dist. 24, Woonsocket, North Smithfield), Sen. Brian J. Thompson (D-Dist. 20, Woonsocket, Cumberland), Rep. Stephen M. Casey (D-Dist. 50, Woonsocket), Rep. Robert D. Phillips (D-Dist. 51, Woonsocket, Cumberland) and Rep. Jon D. Brien (I-Dist. 49, Woonsocket, North Smithfield) joined the state’s congressional delegation, Gov. Dan McKee, Mayor Christopher Beauchamp and other city and state leaders in applauding the project, which had a groundbreaking ceremony this afternoon. (Not all members of the Woonsocket delegation were able to attend the event.)
“The people of Woonsocket will greatly benefit from the resources that this Learning Center will offer. ARPA funds are meant to help communities rebound from the effects of the pandemic and putting them toward an exciting new facility that will provide health, educational and job development opportunities in the heart of Woonsocket is an ideal way to do exactly that. We are very grateful to legislative leaders and our colleagues in the General Assembly for supporting their allocation during our deliberations on the state budget, and to our state’s congressional delegation for their excellent work in securing them. This is a worthy investment in Woonsocket’s vitality that benefit our community for generations,” the legislators said in a joint statement.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick) and Senate President Valarie J. Lawson (D-Dist. 14, East Providence) also applauded the development.
“It is deeply satisfying to see the very real difference ARPA funds can make in places like Woonsocket. This project represents the recovery and hope that all our communities deserve, and we look forward to the positive impacts it will have for the people of Woonsocket,” Speaker Shekarchi and President Lawson said in a joint statement.
The center, adjacent to the nearly completed Cass Park athletic complex, will feature one computer lab, three classrooms, three multipurpose spaces, and five telemedicine rooms to provide space for education programming, workforce training and health monitoring. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Its construction is fully funded through federal ARPA dollars, awarded through the Rhode Island Pandemic Recovery Office’s Community Learning Center Municipal Grant program, funded through the state budget.
For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923
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