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Fact
Key Studies have quantified the economic impact and multiplier effect of
investing in affordable homes.
In Rhode Island, the initial $37.5 million invested in the Building Homes
Rhode Island program generated nearly $600 million in total economic activity -
$15.80 per $1 of funding deployed.
Public investment in affordable homes has provided a strategic stimulus to Rhode Island's economy.
48% of the total estimated cost of residential construction permitted from 2007 to 2009 was for developments supported by the Building Homes Rhode Island program.
Architectural standards and adequate maintenance strongly influence
property values.
Properly maintained affordable housing developments, designed and built with
sensitivity to the architectural and aesthetic standards desired by the
community, may even increase property values.
Negative effects are being felt in communities that don’t have an adequate
supply of affordable homes.
Businesses in these communities struggle to fill vacant jobs and a growing
number of workers cannot afford to live in the communities they serve.
Affordable homes often follow smart growth, environmentally friendly design
principals.
Affordable homes take into account the surroundings and the neighborhood.
They are often designed to improve the overall character of the community
where they are built.
In 2006, voters in Rhode Island overwhelmingly passed a $50 million housing bond to build affordable homes in the Ocean State. Building Homes Rhode Island is the state program created to disburse $12.5 million a year over four years. This video documents the progress made through Building Homes Rhode Island during its first three years.
Affordable housing development is going green and is helping to strengthen the state’s economy according to HousingWorks RI’s 2010 Fact Book on housing. The 2010 Fact Book examines the current state and future opportunities in the development of affordable homes in Rhode Island. Affordable homes are being built with green features and technologies that are also contributing to the growth of the green economy and jobs in the building trades.
On Monday, August 16, Crossroads Rhode Island broke ground for Kingstown Crossings, an affordable rental development in North Kingstown. The new affordable homes are being developed on a vacant parcel of land adjacent to former Navy housing that has provided homes to formerly homeless families.
Affordable housing development is going green and is helping to strengthen the state’s economy according to HousingWorks RI’s 2010 Fact Book on housing. The 2010 Fact Book examines the current state and future opportunities in the development of affordable homes in Rhode Island. Affordable homes are being built with green features and technologies that are also contributing to [...] Read more >
In 2006, an overwhelming majority of Rhode Island voters in every city and town said yes to funding the rehabilitation or development of quality affordable rental and ownership homes throughout the state. The Building Homes Rhode Island (BHRI) program was then created to distribute the approved $50 million housing bond, with $12.5 million awarded every fiscal year over [...] Read more >