NOAA breaks ground on $150M marine center in Rhode Island

By Rob Hotakainen | 05/07/2024 04:09 PM EDT

Officials said the new center will be the future home of NOAA’s Marine Operations Center-Atlantic, which will be relocated from its current location in Norfolk, Virginia.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo speaks in January 2023 during a meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors at the Capital Hilton in Washington. Francis Chung/POLITICO

NOAA plans to open a $150 million marine operations center in Rhode Island in 2027, a project that’s expected to bring at least 200 new jobs to the Ocean State.

Officials said the center in Newport will be the future home of NOAA’s Marine Operations Center-Atlantic, which will be relocated from its current location in Norfolk, Virginia.

NOAA officials celebrated the move Monday when they officially broke ground on the center.

NOAA Corps Rear Admiral Nancy Hann, director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations, said Newport “has always been a welcoming community to NOAA.”

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