This Cranston office building will be 18 apartments with new proposal. Here's what's next.

CRANSTON — A nondescript office building at 747 Pontiac Ave. could soon turn into 18 studio and one-bedroom apartments after receiving preliminary plan approval from the Cranston City Plan Commission on May 2.

As part of the planned conversion, three of the units — or 15% of the total — will be deed-restricted as affordable, which means they will be rented to people making up to 80% of the area median income.

The conversion of a former office complex into apartments is one of the first such projects in recent memory, Planning Director Jason Pezzullo said.

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When the initial plans were submitted to the city, many people were confused because they thought the building already was housing, based on the appearance of the exterior, he said.

What's next in the project?

The conversion project passed what is likely to be its final hurdle when it received preliminary plan approval from the Cranston City Plan Commission. Previously, it received a zoning change from the City Council to go from a single-family zone to a commercial zone, with the special condition that it include 15% affordable housing.

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Pezzullo said planning officials have recently been asking new housing projects for the concession of 15% affordable housing.

"We're getting that on just about all of these," he said.

The one recent exception is the proposed Cranston Print Works conversion into 129 housing units and 100,000 square feet of self-storage.

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According to planning documents, the shell of the building will not change, but the exterior will get new landscaping, new fencing, new exterior lighting, a dumpster enclosure and a ramp to make the building wheelchair accessible.

The project will provide 36 parking spaces, or two per unit, a requirement of Cranston's zoning rules.

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What is affordable housing?

Affordable housing is restricted to people making either 80% or 120% of the area median income, depending on the project. The Pontiac Avenue project will be restricted to people making 80% of the area median income.

In all but six coastal communities, the income limits range from $54,150 for a single person, to $77,350 for a family of four.

For some projects, such as the proposed apartments in the "Superman" building in Providence and for home ownership programs, the definition expands to people making up to 120% of the area median income, $81,240 for a single person to $116,040 for a family of four.

For rental projects, the state defines affordable housing as limited to people who make 80% of the area median income and limits how much rent they pay to a maximum of 30% of the household's gross income, including utilities.

For example, a family of four making the maximum, $77,350, would have rent capped at $1,933 per month.

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

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Cranston office building will have affordable housing apartments