Nonprofits ask state to fund 160-unit affordable housing project in East Providence

PROVIDENCE — A former nursing home-turned-Johnson & Wales University dormitory-turned-empty building with water damage and mold could become part of a three-building, 160-unit affordable housing complex and move people from the state's long list of those seeking shelter into permanent housing.

Four nonprofits together, with One Neighborhood Builders taking the lead, purchased the property for $4.5 million. Foster Forward, Crossroads Rhode Island and Family Services of Rhode Island are all cooperating to forward the project.

There's just one catch − the project needs funding, and the nonprofit leaders said they are hopful the state will pay for the project using federal stimulus funds, as the state continues to be gripped by both a housing crisis and an affordable housing crisis.

One Neighborhood Builders Executive Director Jennifer Hawkins said turning the three-acre site at 345 Taunton Avenue into two new housing buildings and one rehabilitated building will cost $60 million, or $373,000 per unit. They are asking the state for $28 million.

Currently the site is two parking lots flanking a former nursing home.

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Affordable housing projects, which cap rents and rely on federal housing vouchers provided by many of their occupants, cannot carry large debt loads because the revenue generated is much less than a market-rate building, Hawkins said.

Rhode Island is last in the new of new homes being built, while homelessness in the state continues to be an issue. At the same time, rents have dramatically increased and housing prices are up 40% since before the pandemic started.

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Why are these nonprofits asking for funding?

Hawkins said they are asking for the project to be funded by the legislature this session because there is a finite pool of money for affordable housing projects and the competition for that money is fierce.

The project is not guaranteed enough, or any funding, when it goes through the competitive process. That means the developers have assumed some risk on their $4.5-million purchase, including a loan from the Rhode Island Local Initiatives Support Corporation, taxes, insurance and upkeep on the already water damaged building.

If the project is funded this session, apartments could open by the summer of 2025, Hawkins said.

The project has already received a $2-million congressional earmark for development, plus a $1-million grant from Rhode Island Housing, $154,000 from East Providence and $135,000 from the Rhode Island Foundation to buy the land and begin predevelopment work.

What would the makeup of the apartments be?

Crossroads Rhode Island would control 25 apartments to rent to families and individuals who have experienced homelessness, while Foster Forward will have 20 apartments for people who have aged out of foster care programs and Family Service of Rhode Island would "support" 20 units and provide supportive services for families involved with the Department of Children, Youth and Families.

What does 'affordable housing' actually mean?

The project will follow a definition of affordable housing, also called missing middle or workforce housing, that includes people and households making up to 120% of the area median income, a range of $81,240 for one person to $116,040 for a family of four.

What is allowed on Taunton Ave. in East Providence?

Real Estate Project Manager Michelle Bleau, with One Neighborhood Builders, said the parcels are zoned for commercial developments, which include apartment buildings. The project plans will request the ability to build the proposed two new buildings taller than zoning allows to match the height of the former nursing home. A zoning hearing is set for June and a planning hearing is set for July.

The project will also request a lower parking ratio, of 0.75 parking spaces per one unit, which comes out roughly to 120 spaces.

How does the funding request compare?

In nearby Providence, the state and city have given High Rock Development $41 million in public financing toward the estimated $220-million conversion of the Industrial Tower, or "Superman" Building, into 285 apartments. Of those, 57 will be affordable. The project is slated to receive an additional $22 million in federal assistance.

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The Tidewater Stadium project will receive $60 million in public incentives −$36 million in public borrowing, $14 million in state tax credits and $10 million from Pawtucket. That project is supposed to result in 500 new apartments, a parking garage, a pedestrian bridge and restaurants and retail spaces.

The state funding was originally intended to prop up the housing units but instead will go toward paying for the stadium, after Gov. Dan McKee cast the tie-breaking vote to approve the public financing plan in 2022.

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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: RI affordable housing: Will state pay $28 million for 160 affordable units?