Two Middletown affordable housing projects proceed. Why it's just a 'drop in the bucket'
MIDDLETOWN – After an approximate 18-month wait, plans are taking shape for an affordable senior housing development at the former Berkeley-Peckham school on Green End Avenue, as well as another affordable development on Oliphant Lane.
Housing Consultant Francis Spinella, of FJS Associates, and Doug Brown, senior principal of DBVW Architects, unveiled plans at Wednesday’s Planning Board meeting for the 22 apartment units that would be available to seniors 62 and older. It will be a two-story design with an elevator and the old gymnasium will remain in place.
Nearby, the same applicant is looking to develop 35 affordable multi-family housing units at 26 Oliphant Lane.
Spinella, who is a housing consultant for several communities in the state, said it was decided to expand the project to include the 35 units. He said both are separate projects but would be under the same financing umbrella. He added that such an expansion was necessary because the state has $90 million in tax credits available for affordable housing projects.
Spinella indicated there is competition for these funds and approximately $250 million worth of projects are seeking part of the $90 million available, so some community projects will be rejected.
Spinella said the original plan for 22 apartments would not be approved for tax credits because it is too small in scope.
“It would not score well with Rhode Island Housing and it would not be approved,” Spinella said.
Some residents and local authorities expressed concern about traffic, especially considering the proposed senior housing site is near local baseball fields
Spinella told local authorities and concerned residents on Wednesday that all plans are preliminary – “a conceptual design.” Traffic, drainage and other issues will be worked out along the way, according to Spinella and Brown.
“It is a conceptual design we tried to work out, recognizing the footprint of the existing school and the way the site is used around the senior center and ballfield,” Brown said of the Green End Avenue development.
That proposed project would feature 14 one-bedroom apartments and eight, two-bedroom apartments. There would also be a common area near a landscaped terrace adjacent to the town’s senior center.
The multi-family residential use will include 11 one-bedroom units and 24 two-bedroom units.
The building, a school administration building, would use the second and third floors for residents and the basement would be renovated for office use.
Both projects would be restricted for residents earning 60% or less of the area’s median income.
For a one-person apartment, the annual income would be capped at $51,000 and be capped at $59,000 for a two-person household.
One resident asked if town residents would get preferential treatment. Spinella said it would not be possible but, citing trends, people who end up living in these developments either work in town, moved away but then moved back in or already live in the community.
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Spinella said the deadline to apply for the annual tax credits is Jan. 16 so proponents are pushing for a fast timeline for local approvals.
They mentioned that Middletown has less than 5% affordable housing, lower than it was 18 months ago and below the state mandate of 10%.
“This is just a drop on the bucket,” Spinella said, but added that it will help Middletown draw closer to the goal.
Editor's note: This article was clarified to note that Doug Brown is the senior principal of DBVW Architects.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Affordable housing in Middletown at senior center, Oliphant advance
