Pawtucket to put $250,000 grant toward additional cemetery acreage

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — The City of Pawtucket has been awarded an Open Space Grant of $250,000 from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) that will be used to purchase four additional acres of open land for the Riverside Cemetery.

This parcel of land falls along the Seekonk River, south of Tidewater Landing and will add to Pawtucket’s green initiatives, as well as the 150-year-old Victorian-era cemetery.

“This land represents a tremendous opportunity for the City of Pawtucket,” said Mayor Donald R. Grebien.

“Our residents deserve safe, free outdoor spaces for passive recreation, and this newly acquired land will fulfill that need.”

Stipulated in the grant are the terms that the land remain undeveloped or partially developed for “public consumption and recreational purposes.”