Downtown Woonsocket Collaborative: “…the Glue that Brings it All Together” for the city

The Downtown Woonsocket Collaborative is updating the community on its progress – and plans for the future:

They are the driving force of revitalization in the Main Street area over the past decade. 2025 was a successful year that saw fun events like the Twilight on the Blackstone, Arts in the Alley, Murder at the Museum, Levitt AMP concerts, I Love Woonsocket, Roper Romp, and newly branded Winter Wonderland Holiday Stroll.

Development around the City increased greatly with new residential units under construction at Island Place by Neighborworks BRV, construction for 21 new residential units at the former Boys and Girls club on Kendrick Avenue, the sale of the former YMCA to the Beacon Charter Schools for a permanent home for their middle school Founders Academy, approval for 56 more residential units at the Bernon Mills Complex, approval for 26 new residential units at the former Ballou Home on Mendon Road, approval for the conversion of a funeral home on Providence street into four new residential units, a new outdoor space created to keep our seniors active at the Woonsocket Senior Center and more new businesses into the district.

DWC also worked in partnership with Grow Smart RI to form the first ever statewide main street program which was funded by the Rhode Island General Assembly with much gratitude to House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Valerie Lawson for their support.

The Downtown Woonsocket Collaborative announced its Board Officers and Directors who will continue into the new year 2026. Returning as Board Chairperson from 2015-2019 and 2025, former Woonsocket City Councilman Garrett Mancieri. A founding member of DWC and longtime commercial and residential real estate broker from Mancieri Real Estate. Mancieri has brought in over 70 businesses to Woonsocket and successfully brokered millions of dollars in real estate investment in the downtown area. He will continue to lead the board as they expand and look to bring more success with this renewed collaboration with the City of Woonsocket and their other partners.

Chairperson Garrett Mancieri says “I am extremely happy and proud to lead this talented group of volunteers again to continue building on the success into 2026. With the amount of new housing coming into the City, it is exciting to see our community grow which will help our businesses here thrive with more customers and grow our tax base.”

He continued “DWC is the glue that brings it all together as the leading neighborhood association that is the model for Grow Smart RI to bring statewide with their new program; we are showcasing how to effectively get legislation passed, support local projects, and bring fun and exciting experiences to bring people together to improve our reputation and shut out the negativity.”

The remaining officers are Michael Warner who will serve his second year as an officer as a Co- Vice Chairperson and former Chairwoman Sonia Lindsey who will also be Co-Vice Chairperson for 2026. Chris Curtis will serve as the Board Treasurer for the second year in a row. Kelley Auclair will remain as the 2026 Board Secretary from her role last year.

The DWC 2026 board directors are as follows: Adam Brunetti, Lisa Carcifero, Ian Chernasky, Martin (Marty) Crowley, Susan Kirwan, Emily Laramee, Margaux Morisseau, Payton Morse, Jill Olson- Crowley, Joe Rogers, James Toomey, Veronicka Vega, and Paul Alan White.

To learn more about DWC, please visit www.dwc02895.org.

Photo, top: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0