ProJo: Former Providence knife factory finds new life as housing

Updated: Oct 30, 2018 at 9:38 PM

$22-million affordable housing project at 60 King St. is completed with 60 units.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Between 1958 and 1988, hundreds of employees worked at the Imperial Knife Factory in Olneyville, manufacturing folding pocket knives, stainless steel cutlery and tableware.

Today, that same mill building boasts 60 new apartments for families of varying income levels.

“In the coming weeks, 60 families will come home to a beautiful apartment here,” said Dan Drazen, project manager for Trinity Financial, the developer of the $22-million affordable housing project at 60 King St., where politicians and housing officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday.

Forty-seven of the 60 units will be rented to families earning 60 percent of the area median income, which is up to $43,400 for a family of three. Seven will be rented to families earning 30 percent of the area median income, or up to $21,700 for a family of three. The remaining six units will be priced at market-rate levels, and there are five Section 8 vouchers available for the building. Section 8 is a federally-funded program that subsidizes housing for qualifying tenants.

The first 15 families are scheduled to move in on Thursday, according to Reza Aghamirzadeh, head of community development at Citizens Bank, a key investor in the project.

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Courtesy of Providence Journal