The building at 350 Taunton Avenue in East Providence, Rhode Island, sits empty on May 11, 2023.
MATTHEW HEALEY FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
By
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — With a sliver of sun streaming through the dusty windows, Karen Santilli stood inside an abandoned nursing home that she and three other women recently took over and said she recognized “nothing” would be easy about this project. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her new partners, Santilli detailed their vision of redeveloping the space into a mixed-use campus that includes affordable housing units for families — some of whom are currently homeless with their children.
Jennifer Hawkins, president and executive director of One Neighborhood Builders (left) points to a mock up held by Grace Evans of One Neighborhood that features their project at 350 Taunton Avenue in East Providence. MATTHEW HEALEY FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
In late March, a coalition of four women who lead housing and social service organizations in Rhode Island acquired the three blighted lots along Taunton Avenue for $4.5 million. The coalition — called the “Taunton Avenue Collaborative” — includes Santilli, One Neighborhood Builders President and Executive Director Jennifer Hawkins, Foster Forward’s Executive Director Lisa Guillette, and Family Service of Rhode Island’s CEO Margaret Holland McDuff.
The four on Thursday morning unveiled their $60 million plans to redevelop the site into a mixed-use campus that includes 160 affordable housing units with supportive services, an early childhood development center, and playgrounds. Approximately 40 percent of the units would be subsidized for families who have little to no income.
“We’re transforming blighted, abandoned properties into desperately needed housing. [And we have] this collaborative effort with organizations that voluntarily came together in a sector that sometimes doesn’t get a lot of credit. It’s completely unprecedented,” said Santilli, the CEO of homeless service provider Crossroads Rhode Island. “But this could be a model for the state and the country.”
Hawkins said she is dedicated to an “aggressive” development schedule to complete the project by the summer of 2025, which could help get dozens of families off the streets and out of shelters. But there’s one major piece standing in their way: a $28 million funding gap.
Given the urgency of housing crisis and the specific needs of the vulnerable populations these organizations serve, Hawkins said the collaborative has requested the state allocate a direct appropriation of $28 million to advance the project in this year’s budget.
“Families who are in hotels and staying in homeless shelters right now are incurring exorbitant costs to the state,” said Hawkins. “For less money, [these families] can have much higher quality housing.”
