Joseph Paolino Sr.

With his extensive background in property management, real estate management and economic development Joe Sr. serves as a managing partner in Paolino Properties.



Joe Sr. started working with his father and grandfather in the family business in 1946. While home for the summer from the New York Military Academy he attended as a teenager, Joe, Sr. sold his first property, a small house at 363 Weybosset Street in Providence that his father had acquired for speculation. When his grandfather paid him a whopping $200 commission, he became hooked on the real estate business. “I was excited about the commission that I received”, says Joe, Sr. “and I said, ‘This is going to be my occupation’ and that’s how I started in the real estate business.”

He joined the family’s firm after graduating from Providence College.

 During the 1960s Joe Sr. owned and managed the Crescent Park Amusement Park and continued to invest and manage commercial and industrial real estate in Providence. Like his grandfather and father before him, Joe, Sr. held a special place in his heart for Providence. “I love Providence, Rhode Island very much, I know it, I made my life here. Nothing can take the place of Providence, Rhode Island for me.”


One of the most significant milestones of his long career in real estate has been the acquisition and development of the Barrington Shopping Center on County Road, in Barrington. Under Joe Sr.’s management, the center, originally built in 1950, was completely renovated into a boutique shopping center targeted to the residents of this above-average income town. New retail space was added and Joe Sr. successfully attracted quality tenants. “I put all my efforts into the situation,” he said. Today the busy shopping center serves approximately 25,000 local residents and contains over 108,000 SF of retail space with tenants such as Shaw’s Supermarkets, Citizens Bank, CVS, Talbots, Ann Taylor Loft and many local business enterprises. “I am most proud of that accomplishment,” said Joe Sr. “We had office buildings and factories and apartment buildings, but this was the company’s first expansion into shopping centers.”