#MiddletownRI buys a 4.5-acre lot across from Town Hall to bring the latest affordable housing development.
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CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
AFFORDABLE HOUSING EFFORT GETS A BOOST IN MIDDLETOWN
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (APRIL 24, 2023) – Over the past couple years, affordable housing has evolved into one of the biggest issues in Middletown.
Last Tuesday, the Town of Middletown finalized a deal to buy 4.5 acres almost directly across from Town Hall to use for the community’s latest housing project.
Once construction is completed, the goal is to add up to 20 units of affordable housing to the growing inventory.
Frank Spinella, the town’s affordable housing consultant, said the single-family units will be available to Middletown residents or those who work in town.
The income of those who live in the new neighborhood at 361 East Main Road will be capped at 120 percent of the Area Median Income, Spinella said. Some of the homes will be open to families earning no more than $65,000, or 80 percent AMI.
“The price of housing and lack of good alternatives for so many people is definitely one of the things I hear everywhere I go. We all do,” Town Council President Paul M. Rodrigues said. “This acquisition is one big step towards making Middletown a more affordable place to live and to me, that’s great news. One of our top priorities as a council was to roll our sleeves up and help and we’re doing that here and with several other projects.”
The purchase price of the property abutting Middletown High School was $1.35 million. However, thanks to a $1 million housing acquisition grant awarded earlier this year from RI Housing, the cost to Middletown was about $350,000.
In addition to the affordable housing development potential for the site, local officials said it was attractive because its proximity to food, shopping, the bus line and other amenities.
“This agreement has been in the works for awhile and it’s nice we were able to close it,” Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown said. “This project is going to go a long way towards helping out real families and real people live, work and play here and that’s just a great feeling.”
According to state guidelines, every community in Rhode Island should strive to have at least 10 percent of its housing be considered 0affordable.
Under a definition from HousingWorksRI, a home is affordable when it costs no more than 30 percent of an individual’s gross income. That means someone paid minimum wage would spend no more than $468 a month for an affordable apartment. For comparison, a median-income household in Rhode Island would pay no more than $1,421 a month for housing.
Town data shows about 5.4 percent of Middletown’s housing is considered affordable.
According to Rhode Island Housing statistics, the average price for a two-bedroom apartment in Middletown in 2021 including utilities was $1,724. That’s up $279 from 2016, when the average price for the same unit was $1,446.
Over the past several months, Middletown has seen a strong reply from the private sector to the call for more housing. Over the past several months, close to 500 units of new housing have been proposed or approved in town.
While some of those are planned for market rates, about 200 are classified as affordable or work force housing.
That includes the “Middletown Center” project on 15 underused acres at 600-770 West Main Road, a game changing public-private partnership that includes three-bedroom
units, two-bedroom units and `one-bedroom units.
The town has also been looking into reusing the Oliphant property now home to the school administration offices as well as the former Peckham School next to the Middletown Senior Center at 650 Green End Avenue for affordable housing.
There is no timeline to start work on the new homes at 361 East Main Road. Before that happens, the town must secure all the necessary approvals from the appropriate regulatory bodies.
“I’ve been hinting at this for awhile when I’ve spoken about affordable housing,” Rodrigues said. “It’s so satisfying to know the day is here and we can now move to the new phase. This is a good day for the Town of Middletown and I’m proud to be part of it.”
Document Link: https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/8469/NYCU-AH
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