PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — The development company behind the proposed Pawtucket soccer stadium announced Wednesday it has raised $14.5 million in new funds to finish the project, signaling construction could resume after a dormant summer.

Fortuitous Partners, which is leading the so-called Tidewater Landing project, has already put nearly $30 million into the development. But construction came to a halt in June after the developer’s initial funding dried up, leading to crews pulling out and Fortuitous soliciting additional money to fill its financing gap.

“We are committed to Rhode Island and have been from day one,” Fortuitous partner Brett Johnson said in a statement, adding that the project has felt headwinds from economic factors he’s previously cited for rising construction costs and supply chain issues.

“The global pressures on development are real, but we have believed in this project from the beginning and have put tens of millions of private investment into the project to get it started,” he said. “Now that the private funding has been secured, we are excited to complete the stadium through this public-private partnership with the city and state.”

The soccer stadium — last year estimated to cost $124 million — is slated to host home games for a new minor-league team called Rhode Island FC. But the entire development deal hinges on a private-public partnership that can’t move forward unless Fortuitous raises enough private funds, which Johnson said is now complete.

State leaders initially said Fortuitous planned to raise its remaining funds using private loans, with Commerce Secretary Liz Tanner indicating as recently as Monday that was the plan.

“As I explain it, when you sign up to get a mortgage — you sign up, but you have to do a lot of paperwork until you actually get the dollars,” Tanner said during a live interview on 12 News at 4.

But that doesn’t appear to be the case, as Fortuitous announced it raised the entire $14.5 million without taking on any additional debt, and the stadium and team are “fully capitalized.”

It remains unclear when construction might pick up again at the site, but both Johnson and Tanner said they expect the public-private financing deal to close sometime this fall.

In the meantime, Rhode Island FC will play its inaugural season next year in the collegiate soccer stadium at Bryant University, with the goal of playing home games at Tidewater beginning in 2025.

The developer said the stadium will also serve as a event space for “collegiate sports, concerts, festivals and other professional sports.”

Commerce spokesperson Matthew Touchette said he was encouraged by the fundraising effort.

“As for the public financing side, this announcement fulfills a crucial prerequisite for the city and state to proceed,” he said. “We’ll all be closely coordinating to ensure that taxpayer funds are safeguarded and that no additional state funds will be contributed to the stadium project. It’s an exciting time for Pawtucket and Rhode Island, and we’re optimistic about the transformative potential of this venture.”

Grace Voll, a spokesperson for Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien, lauded the developer for coming up with the funds, calling it “very positive news and exactly what the city had asked of Fortuitous.”

“We are working collaboratively with the state and Fortuitous toward a simultaneous closing of the financing this fall,” Voll added.