The Highland Corporate Park in Woonsocket was developed to revitalize the city’s economy after the decline of its historic textile industry, which peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries The park was created through phases, beginning with a community effort in the mid-1960s and with the initial 117-acre park opening in 1981. It was designed to attract new businesses and create jobs, with subsequent phases expanding the park in 1995, 2000, and through a partnership with MassDevelopment. 
 

Woonsocket’s historic industrial sector, particularly textile manufacturing, began to decline in the mid-20th century, leading to high unemployment rates in the early 1980s. To address this, the city, through a community effort starting in the mid-1960s, began developing what was originally called the Highland Industrial Park.