News Coverage

By Ian Donnis, Published September 3, 2024   “Standing on Broad Street in Cumberland, Jennifer Hawkins looks up at the former St. Patrick’s Church. Hawkins leads the nonprofit developer ONE Neighborhood Builders, which is renovating the vacant church building and turning it into housing. ONE Neighborhood Builders originally planned to build 44 low- and moderate-income apartments, but that number has increased thanks to a state law that took effect at the start of this year that lowered the number of parking spaces required for a project of this size. Plans for the development, known as Steeple and Stone, initially called…

By Ryan Doherty, Published August 2, 2024 For years, the 15,700-square-foot lot on Bowdoin Street in Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood sat empty and strewn with garbage after a fatal fire destroyed several buildings on the property in early 2018. Then came the cranes. In 2022, nonprofit affordable housing developer ONE Neighborhood Builders completed construction on an eight-unit, $2.2 million apartment house on the parcel. But most of the construction didn’t take place in Providence. The units were built in Pennsylvania before being transported to Bowdoin Street. […]   One of the driving factors to start considering alternate forms of construction are…

By Jennifer Hawkins, Published August 2, 2024 Over the last decade, I’ve seen our organization grow into one of the most dynamic and impactful affordable-housing developers and community-development organizations in the region. To get us here, I challenged myself and my team to think more like private-sector leaders. I believe that’s something more nonprofit executives need to embrace. […]   We develop, manage and sell affordable housing; we lead a Health Equity Zone; we support business development through a community-controlled loan fund; and we leverage our practical experience to contribute to policy change and regulatory reform. We expanded into each…

By WRPO, Produced July 31, 2024 Jen Hawkins joins Cortney Nicolato to discuss the challenges the affordable housing industry faces in Rhode Island. Jen highlights on the importance of having a department of housing at the state level, creating a smoother path for permitting projects at the municipal level, and her expectations for the next Housing Secretary. Plus, Cortney and Jen discuss the outlook for the proposed $120 million  housing bond and updates on the Center City Apartments development in East Providence.   Click Here to listen to the full interview

By Warwick Beacon, Published July 11, 2024 The Warwick Boys and Girls Clubs is among community organizations recently recognized by the Rhode Island Department of Human Services for facilitating outreach to the community about the DHS’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called food stamps. Other organizations recognized included the Center for Southeast Asians, the Genesis Center, One Neighborhood Builders, Connect for Health/Lifespan (The Miriam Hospital), United Way/211, United Way Rhode Island, Senior and Disabilities and The Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence, East Providence, Pawtucket, Northern Rhode Island and Newport County. Outreach conducted by these organizations involved assisting community members…

By Ashley Bendiksen, Published July 11, 2024   PROVIDENCE — Across Rhode Island, fourteen “health equity zones,” or “HEZs,” are engaging residents and stakeholders to improve the social, environmental, and economic conditions of their communities. These HEZs are part of Rhode Island’s Health Equity Zone Initiative, created in 2015 under the Rhode Island Department of Public Health (RIDOH). The program, which takes an innovative approach to public health, is now recognized as a national best practice with several states actively replicating the program. However, the McKee Administration’s fiscal year 2025 budget did not include any of the $3.5 million needed…

By PBN Staff, Published July 1, 2024   PROVIDENCE – Jennifer Hawkins, who has led One Neighborhood Builders since 2017, will leave the nonprofit at the end of September, the agency announced Monday.  “Jennifer has been the visionary and champion of ONE Neighborhood Builders, advancing the organization’s mission in ways that many could not have imagined,” said Lorraine Lalli, chairwoman of the board of directors and associate dean of student life and operations at Roger Williams University School of Law. “We are immensely grateful for her constant drive to disrupt the status quo and present creative solutions to some of our state’s…

By Mike Rego, Published July 2, 2024 […] Hawkins has held both positions since May 2017. She has worked for the organization for nearly 11 years, previously serving as the Associate Executive Director. “Jennifer has been the visionary and champion of ONE Neighborhood Builders, advancing the organization’s mission in ways that many could not have imagined,” said Lorraine Lalli, the organization’s board chair, who is also Associate Dean of Student Life and Operations at Roger Williams University School of Law. Lalli continued, “We are immensely grateful for her constant drive to disrupt the status quo and present creative solutions to…

By James Bessette, Published July 2, 2024 PROVIDENCE – Four business professionals from multiple sectors have been appointed to serve on ONE Neighborhood Builders’ board of directors to help lead the community construction development nonprofit. Sam Azar, founder and CEO of Ascend Impact Advisors, is one new member joining the board. The organization says Azar’s experience includes being a manager in Deloitte Consulting’s strategy and operations practice, where he advised federal government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. […]   Read the full article here

By Robert McMahon, Published July 1, 2024   Rhode Island is in the midst of a brutal housing crisis—the worst since post-World War II. The median asking price of a single-family home in May was $525,000. About 150,000 households in RI—about one-third of all households in the state—are cost-burdened (spending more than 30% of their income on housing).  The median rent in Providence in 2023 was $2002/month. The rate of production of new housing units in RI is one of the lowest in the nation.  Permits for housing units in RI in 2023 were about one-fifth of what they were…