NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: March 28, 2022
CONTACT: Stephen Ide, Communications Manager for ONE|NB
(401) 578-2193
ide@nullonenb.org
ONE Neighborhood Builders Expands Affordable Housing
PROVIDENCE, RI— Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, U.S. Senator Jack Reed, Rhode Island State Representative John Lombardi, Rhode Island Deputy Secretary of Commerce for Housing Josh Saal, Providence Councilman Oscar Vargas, RIHousing Executive Director Carol Ventura, and others joined ONE Neighborhood Builders (ONE|NB) on Monday to announce two new affordable housing developments—our rehabilitation of formerly dilapidated dwellings on Delaine Street and our first modular development, on Bowdoin Street.
The two developments are part of ONE Neighborhood Builders’ expansive effort to build new affordable housing, rehabilitate blighted properties, and create healthy, vibrant communities. They will bring a total of 17 affordable apartments for low-income families to the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence.
“ONE Neighborhood Builders has once again brought us an opportunity to showcase Rhode Island’s cutting-edge approach to affordable housing development,” said U.S. Senator Jack Reed. “These types of projects have the potential to transform both neighborhoods and lives, particularly considering the critical need for additional housing supply in our state.”
Bowdoin Street Rowhouse is a multi-family development that is transforming Bowdoin Street, where this once blighted piece of property sat vacant for years after a fatal fire in January of 2018 destroyed three homes and displaced about two dozen people. This development is ONE Neighborhood Builders’ first modular construction, a method the nonprofit has embarked upon to build affordable housing more quickly and at a reduced cost.
Delaine Street Apartments is ONE Neighborhood Builders’ rehabilitation of three formerly vacant and blighted buildings on a single lot in Providence, where the homes were boarded up and at least one of the homes was covered by a spidery web of vines that enshrouded the building. The development now features three 1-bedroom apartments, two 2-bedrooms apartments, three 3-bedroom apartments, and one 4-bedroom apartment. Six of the apartments are reserved for households earning up to 60% of area median income and three of the apartments are for households earning up to 30% of area median income.
“Creating additional affordable housing in Providence is one of the most pressing needs facing our community,” said Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza. “We’re proud to have partnered with ONE Neighborhood Builders on this important development, and I commend ONE Neighborhood Builders on their innovative approach to creating more affordable housing units.”
For Bowdoin Street Rowhouse, ONE Neighborhood Builders raised over $2.2 million from the City of Providence and the State to complete construction. The nonprofit community development corporation bought the property on Bowdoin for $65,000 after the City of Providence acquired it through a tax sale foreclosure. The 6 two-bedroom apartments each have 950 square feet of living space, with rents starting at $975. The 2 one-bedroom apartments each have 550 square feet of living space, with rents starting at $800. Beginning in the spring of 2022, the apartments will be available to renters who earn between 50% and 80% of area median income.
“ONE Neighborhood Builders firmly believes that ‘housing is health’— in other words, housing that is safe, healthy, and affordable is the most essential social determinant of health,” said Jennifer Hawkins, President and Executive Director of ONE Neighborhood Builders. “Without safe, stable housing, individuals’ health suffers. These beautiful new apartments will not only bring stability to the residents, but they also enhance the overall neighborhood where they are located.”
Both developments are located near public transit and community, recreational, and educational opportunities—including the Olneyville Community Library, Joslin Park and Joslin Recreation Center, and the Nickerson Community Center, which offers child care and a charter school.
“Building, renovating, and otherwise introducing more affordable housing into urban areas near transportation centers are the kinds of meaningful and strategic investments we need,” RIHousing Executive Director Carol Ventura said. “RIHousing is proud to be a partner in the development of the beautiful homes we are celebrating today, and we look forward to cutting the ribbon on many more affordable homes in the years ahead.”
ABOUT ONE NEIGHBORHOOD BUILDERS:
ONE Neighborhood Builders (ONE|NB) is a nonprofit community development leader in Rhode Island that is expanding its work to the broader Greater Providence area while maintaining its deep roots in its historic home of Olneyville. ONE|NB’s mission is to develop affordable housing and engage neighbors to cultivate healthy, vibrant, and safe communities. Since its founding in 1988, then as Olneyville Housing Corporation, ONE|NB has developed 596 affordable homes, as well as nearly 35,000 square feet of commercial and community space—totaling more than $135 million of investments. ONE|NB is the convening entity of the Central Providence Opportunities Health Equity Zone, which brings together residents, more than four dozen community-based organizations, health professionals, local businesses, elected officials, and others to address root causes of health disparities and to improve neighborhood conditions. As the convener, ONE|NB is the backbone organization of this collective-impact initiative to increase economic mobility for residents in Central Providence. ONE|NB also created the first free community wireless network in Rhode Island, providing high-speed broadband to more than 1,700 unique users in the Olneyville neighborhood.
The Delaine Street Apartments, 149-155 Delaine St., Providence.
The Bowdoin Street Rowhouse, under construction, at 110-122 Bowdoin St., Providence.
