Default Title Here

Enews Archives

July 12, 2006

East Providence officials voice support for affordable homes
East Providence legislators are standing firm when it comes to the need for affordable homes in their city. Five lawmakers are opposing a proposed change to a waterfront development plan that would cut the number of affordable homes in half.

State Sen. Daniel DaPonte and Reps. Elizabeth Dennigan, Henry Rose, Helio Melo and John Savage even cited HousingWorks RI in their response to a request by the developer of East Pointe that would leave just 5 percent of the project's 495 condos, lofts and apartments affordable.

"Affordable housing is an important issue in East Providence and statewide," they wrote in a letter asking the East Providence Waterfront Commission to hold the developer to a previously agreed to 10 percent requirement. "This is more important than ever.HousingWorks RI estimates that the household income required to afford an average home in East Providence is $83,414 annually."

Read the Providence Journal story.

State Planning Council approves 2006-2010 Strategic Housing Plan
The State Planning Council approved the 2006-2010 Rhode Island Strategic Housing Plan last month. The plan provides a vision for meeting Rhode Island's housing needs and sets a first goal of producing 5,000 affordable homes in five years.

One of the plan's primary recommendations is to substantially increase state funding, in part by passing the $50 million housing bond referendum the General Assembly put on November's ballot.

The plan is available here.

Homes in Block Island even less affordable than we thought!
The housing affordability crisis is even worse than reported in the HousingWorks RI 2006 Fact Book.

An investigation into property transfers by The Block Island Times found that the median-priced single family home sold in 2005 for $1.26 million! To afford that price, you would need to earn nearly $400,000. (The median household income in Block Island was $44,779, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.)

Read HousingWorks RI's letter to the editor of The Block Island Times.