Work to build 176-unit affordable apartment complex in Providence starts with remediation

PROVIDENCE − Dry cleaner? Auto repair shop? Jewelry maker? Parking lot?

Those are just a few of the things that might have, or did, occupy a paved lot that is being ripped up and remediated, the first step in nonprofit Crossroads Rhode Island's work to turn the empty lot at 94 Summer St. into a 176-unit apartment complex for low- and extremely-low-income people.

"They're ripping up the ground and replacing the bad stuff with the good stuff," Crossroads CEO Karen Santilli said.

The project, begun more than two years ago, won approval from the city in April 2022 and in the 2022 state budget received $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, much of which are being used to remediate the site. Without that $10 million, the project wouldn't have been possible, Santilli said.

As part of the project, soil samples were taken from the ground and boreholes, and they revealed signs of contamination by a variety of different industries and a relatively high water table. The high water table is also the reason the apartment building won't have a basement.

Goodbye rooms, hello apartments: Crossroads RI to replace old residential 'Tower' on Summer Street

"Someone once said, 'Don't dig a hole in Providence; you don't know what you'll find'," Santilli said.

The $10 million in direct funding from the state is among 17 funding sources. In all, construction is expected to cost $55 million, while the entire project, including other "soft" costs such as plans, insurance and financing, total $76 million.

What will the Summer Street apartments look like?

The five-story apartment building will be 58 feet tall, with solar panels on the roof and a main entrance on Stewart Street. When it went in front of the City Plan Commission, it needed no variances or waivers because it complied with the city's zoning code. It will have 176 apartment units, all one-bedroom, and will be all-electric.

When will construction start?

"We're hoping to close on the financing in November," Santilli said. "When shovels are in the ground and construction starts – that will largely be decided by the weather."

If Providence experiences a mild winter like it did last year, with little snow and only a few days of extreme cold, construction could begin in December or January. A ceremonial groundbreaking is planned for October.

Did you miss snow last winter? Here's what the Farmers' Almanac is predicting this year

Whether construction can start in the winter is anyone's guess, but the Farmers' Almanac is predicting a wet and bitterly cold winter, unlike last year – although a 2010 University of Illinois study found the Farmers' Almanac to be correct only about 50% of the time.

Construction was originally estimated to begin last fall.

"It's maddening, how long the process takes," Santilli said.

If this were a private project that did not rely on public funding sources or was market-rate housing, the complex would already be built, she said.

"The reality is, with these funding sources, it takes time," she said.

How long will construction take?

Construction, once started, will take about 20 months.

Once construction is complete, the people living in Crossroads' current home, "The Tower" at 160 Broad St., will be moved into the new apartments. Then, renovation work on "The Tower" will begin. The 176 single-occupancy rooms will be transformed into 80 apartments. The city will end up with more than 90 additional low-income units when everything is done.

Santilli said she was recently standing in the Crossroads parking lot on Broad Street, watching the excavators and other heavy equipment roll onto the Summer Street lot.

"Every day, I drove by that vacant blacktop with a pit in my stomach," she said. "Now, it's such a great feeling, knowing we're progressing toward more desperately needed housing."

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Providence Journal subscription. Here's our latest offer.

Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Crossroads 176-unit affordable apartment building begins with remediation