All financing has been secured for ONE Neighborhood Builders’ Broad Street Homes development in Central Falls
CENTRAL FALLS, RI – ONE Neighborhood Builders (ONE|NB), one of the state’s leading community development corporations, announced that all financing has been secured for its Broad Street Homes development in Central Falls. Upon completion, Broad Street Homes will bring 44 new affordable apartments to Central Falls by converting the former police station on Broad Street into 17 apartments and by constructing a new 27-unit, 4-story building across the street from the former police station. Construction is expected to begin in August 2024.
The Broad Street Homes development originated from Mayor Rivera’s vision to increase the supply of safe, affordable housing units in Central Falls. The properties were identified through the Mayor’s Housing Task Force and then were purchased by the city for The Broad Street Homes development, made possible by the RIHousing Site Acquisition Program. The City of Central Falls then brought in ONE|NB as a partner as the developer to help realize the vision.
ONE|NB has been working with the City over several years to ensure that the Broad Street Homes development meets the needs of the Central Falls community. As a result of this collaboration with the community, ONE|NB adapted the design to prioritize increasing the number of apartments over adding more parking spaces. This change was made possible through the cooperation of zoning and planning boards.
“I am incredibly excited that Broad Street Homes is one step closer to beginning construction and grateful to our partners, funders, and the Central Falls community for making this possible,” said Jennifer Hawkins, CEO and President of ONE Neighborhood Builders. “Working alongside Mayor Rivera and the Central Falls Planning Department has been such a pleasure as, just like ONE|NB, they are committed to thoughtfully repurposing vacant commercial and municipal buildings to create more affordable housing throughout Central Falls. I am honored that the city asked ONE|NB to be their developer for Broad Street Homes, and we look forward to expanding our collaboration with Central Falls.”
“As one of the densest cities in America and communities hit hardest by the housing crisis, our City of Central Falls team has been hyper-focused on creative ways to increase our desperately-needed affordable housing stock. After organizing a Housing Task Force, we identified these properties as an important way to do just that. We petitioned them into Receivership and then used Site Acquisition Program funds to acquire the sites – a program I strongly advocated for the creation of in the state budget,” said Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera. “I’m grateful for our funders who supported this vision, and look forward to the start of construction and our continued work with our local developer, ONE Neighborhood Builders, to bring this project to life.”
The Broad Street Homes development is made possible by an allocation of 4% Low Income Tax Credits (LIHTC), a $2 million Congressional appropriation secured by U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a $415,000 grant from the RI Infrastructure Bank’s Municipal Infrastructure Grant Program, a Rhode Island Housing Mortgage, and other state ancillary funding including State Fiscal Recovery Funds. The project is syndicated by Berkadia and Webster Bank will facilitate the construction loan and LIHTC equity. The general contractor is Marathon Construction, the architect is DBVW Architects, environmental engineering by SAGE Environmental, and civil engineering by Commonwealth Engineers & Consultants.
Construction on Broad Street Homes is expected to begin in August 2024 and is projected to be completed in August 2025, with occupancy starting in September 2025.
All apartments are available to households earning not more than 60% of the area’s median income. This equates to $43,020 per year for a two-person family, or $61,440 for a family of four.
ABOUT ONE NEIGHBORHOOD BUILDERS:
ONE Neighborhood Builders (ONE|NB) is a nonprofit community development leader that improves lives across Rhode Island by building homes and connecting communities. They use their 35 years of practical experience in the housing and community development fields to test new ideas and challenge entrenched systems. ONE|NB is the convening entity of Central Providence Opportunities: A Health Equity Zone (CPO-HEZ), a place-based collective impact initiative of more than 60 stakeholders across the nine neighborhoods of Central Providence. CPO-HEZ advances the shared vision for greater health and economic equity in the 02908 and 02909 zip codes.
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Media Contact (for ONE|NB)
Mike Raia, Half Street Group
mike@nullhalfstreetgroup.com | 401.340.9425
