EAST PROVIDENCE — Ask and you shall receive?

Following up on a request made by the respective organizations for assistance from the state, two local legislators have submitted bills in each chamber of the General Assembly seeking to boost an affordable housing initiative planned for East Providence.

The chief executives of the four nonprofit organizations that make up the "Taunton Avenue Collaborative" — Jennifer Hawkins, President and Executive Director of ONE Neighborhood Builders, Karen Santilli, CEO of Crossroads RI, Lisa Guillette, Executive Director of Foster Forward, and Margaret Holland McDuff, CEO of Family Service of Rhode Island — hosted a site visit and tour on Thursday, May 11, for what they deemed a "transformative housing development"

The Taunton Avenue Collaborative would provide "a dynamic, mixed-use campus" that includes 160 residential units, 6,000 square feet of commercial space earmarked for a new early learning center, 1,500 square feet of community amenity space and playground areas. The project would rehabilitate an existing four-story building composed of 54 residential units and see the construction of two new buildings that would create 106 additional residential units.

The organizations have already secured $7.1 million of funding for their effort, including $154,000 from the City of East Providence. In addition, they garnered $2 million in Congressional earmarks, $1 million from Rhode Island Housing and $135,000 from the Rhode Island Foundation.

Last week, the CEOs asked for direct investment in the development by the Assembly, which they said would "accelerate construction and provide immediate relief to the state’s surging housing crisis."

In response Monday, May 15, Sen. Valarie Lawson (D-Dist. 14, East Providence) and Rep. Katherine Kazarian (D-Dist. 63, East Providence, Pawtucket) sponsored a joint resolution on the matter that would appropriate $28 million towards the project.

“Housing is one of the most urgent issues facing our community and our state,” said Lawson. “This exciting project will create 160 new housing units and provide necessary relief for families in East Providence and across Rhode Island. It will make an immediate and meaningful impact on the housing crisis we are experiencing and will provide the entire region with a replicable model to produce more housing.”

The non-profits say the apartments will be affordable for extremely low- to moderate-income households. Approximately 40 percent of the units will be designed as permanent supportive housing (PSH) which pairs housing with case management and supportive services.

• Crossroads will sponsor 25 of the apartments and will provide ongoing support to individuals and families who have experienced homelessness.
• Foster Forward will support 20 apartments and provide housing and services for foster youth who have aged out of foster care programs.
• Family Service of Rhode Island will support 20 units and provide supportive services to families who have been involved with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (or at risk of being involved).
• The remaining 60 percent of the apartments will be designated as affordable for households earning a low- to moderate-income (60 to 120 percent of AM or approximately $45,000 to $90,000 for a family of two).

Taunton Avenue would be the latest endeavor in East Providence for ONE Neighborhood, which has already completed the renovation of the "Sutton Place" apartments on Sutton Avenue, is in the midst of constructing the "Residences at Riverside Square" on Bullocks Point Avenue and is nearing the start of the "Ivy Place" project also on Taunton Avenue at Ivy Street.

From an aesthetics perspective, the latest project would certainly add value to a moribund portion of the Taunton Avenue/Route 44 passage that bisects the city and connects travelers headed east from Providence via the Washington Bridge with neighboring Seekonk into southeastern Massachusetts.

The non-profits have already purchased three contiguous vacant lots, 2.95 acres of land, on the north side of Taunton Avenue, including the former East Providence Bowling Academy. The existing four-story structure previously served as both an assisted living complex as well as a dormitories for nearby Johnson & Wales University.

“The key to ending Rhode Island’s housing crisis is building more housing,” added Kazarian. “Community collaborations like this one show that we are capable of rising to the challenge. I will continue to support this effort in the House to ensure we invest in housing and promote forward-looking policies that strengthen East Providence and our entire state.”