Newport Heights Nationally Recognized

Published on June 9, 2010

At a Capitol Hill luncheon ceremony on June 2 in Washington, D.C., Newport Heights, the former Tonomy Hill public housing development that is now home to more than 340 Newport families, was named a winner of a 16th Annual Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award. Every year, recognition is granted to the most outstanding Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties, representing the best examples of rental home development nationwide.

This year, of the more than 40 entries submitted from 22 states, Newport Heights Phase IV was chosen as the winner in the Public Housing Revitalization category.

Newport Heights was developed in partnership by the Housing Authority of the City of Newport, Rhode Island Housing, Valley Affordable Housing Corporation, the National Equity Fund, and the Rhode Island Housing Resources Commission.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provided $20 million from the federal Housing Opportunities for Everyone (HOPE VI) grant, which was used in the first four phases of construction, and included funds for supportive services.

Additional funding, in the amount of $1,300,000 million, was provided through the Building Homes Rhode Island (BHRI) program, administered by the Rhode Island Housing Resources Commission in partnership with Rhode Island Housing. Of the 37 affordable apartments developed in the fourth phase of construction, 23 are BHRI-funded units.