September 2, 2005
Housing starts down… again Rhode Island now last in country in per capita production
Rhode Island’s housing production continues to decline. In the first half of this year, new building permits for single family homes dropped by 9 percent. And now Rhode Island is 50th in the country in per capita housing production according to a recent article in the Providence Business News. “Rhode Island building permits have rebounded from record lows but are still well below performance levels of recent years,” said Roger Warren, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Builders’ Association and HousingWorks RI member. “The median sales price of a single family home in Rhode Island is increasing at more than three times the national rate.”
Now renting in Woonsocket: affordable units w/ river view; beloved diner opens for lunch
Costing $7 million, Woonsocket Neighborhood Association’s new Heritage Place offers 43 affordable multilevel apartments, wired for high-speed Internet access, with an enviable view of the Blackstone River rapids. Retail spaces (neighborhood small businesses preferred) occupy the ground floor. Also on site: Champ’s Diner, an historic Woonsocket landmark, restored to service. Tenants are required to complete eight hours of community service each month such as volunteering for after school programs or helping with neighborhood cleanup. WNDC, a HousingWorks RI member, is developing the site and already hundreds of families are on the waiting list for the apartments which range in cost from $500-$850 dollars a month. Read the story.
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Heritage Place- Pictures from the Valley Breeze
Zoning change to spark building of affordable homes
Proposed zoning changes in South Kingstown are designed to make new developments livable and affordable. The new regulations require 20 percent of new developments include affordable homes. The change, drafted by town planners and the Affordable Housing Collaborative, recognizes the skyrocketing costs of new homes are effectively shutting out purchases by first time home buyers and new families. The zoning changes also seek to alleviate the developer’s construction costs, by allowing greater density and possibly waiving sewer hook-ups fees.
Financing housing trust funds - States tap bond issues & dedicated revenue streams
HousingWorks RI monitoring initiatives
HousingWorks RI is closely monitoring states which have developed comprehensive funding for Housing Trust Funds. In neighboring Connecticut, housing advocates won approval of $100 million dollars in general obligations bonds for a housing trust fund and also will receive dedicated funding from an additional $30 recording fee to support farmland preservation, open space, historic preservation and affordable housing. In Washington State, the legislature just approved a $100 million biennial commitment to its housing trust fund, and also identified dedicated funding from a new $10 increase in document recording fees. In New Jersey, landmark legislation establishes a $200 million special needs housing trust fund that will help create 10,000 new affordable housing opportunities by 2015.
