Housing

For Rhode Island to be an attractive place to live, work, and raise a family, the State must address the availability, affordability, and quality of housing. These investments are creating more housing units and supporting families and individuals so that everyone has an affordable and safe place to call home.

The funds are providing no-interest, long-term loans to complement other state and federal resources to finance the production and preservation of housing affordable to households earning less than 80% of the area median income.

The funds are financing the acquisition of properties to create a pipeline of sites suitable for affordable housing units. 

This project is supporting the development of apartments affordable to middle-income households. 

Crossroads Rhode Island is replacing The Tower – a 176-unit single-room occupancy building, with shared bathrooms and kitchens on each floor – with 176, one-bedroom units outfitted with private bathrooms and kitchens.

The program is assisting residential property owners in distressed areas meet their housing rehabilitation needs.

The program is providing grant funding to municipalities where new overnight shelter(s) have been opened or existing shelters have had their capacity expanded since May 1, 2023.

The project is supporting a housing development-focused municipal fellows program to assist cities and towns with planning, zoning, and/or a development project that increases the housing supply.

The funding is being used to expand the shelter system's capacity to better respond to homelessness. Providers are adding temporary and permanent shelter beds and targeting key constituencies, including families, couples, individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, and victims of domestic violence.

The funds are subsidizing the development of projects that create new permanent supportive housing units or units designated for the following populations: extremely low-income Rhode Islanders, individuals transitioning out of state care, or vulnerable persons. 

The funds are providing homelessness prevention, diversion, rapid rehousing, emergency shelter, and housing stabilization services to populations who have traditionally struggled accessing services, specifically individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ and victims of domestic violence. The goal to place individuals on the path toward permanent housing.

The program is providing zero-interest loans and grants to public housing authorities to help increase the supply of affordable housing and stabilize existing affordable housing. 

The funds are subsidizing the development of affordable housing in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) districts, where density is often permitted to be higher than in other areas.

The funds are providing for the development of a statewide comprehensive housing plan to assess current and future housing needs, consider barriers to homeownership and affordability, and identify service needs for increased investments toward disproportionately impacted individuals and communities.  

Complementing the ongoing development of regulations implementing a pilot program for the creation of additional Transit Oriented Development (TOD) zones, these funds are providing technical assistance grants to municipalities to support zoning changes that enable additional housing development in proximity to transit.

The funds provided $17,500 in down payment and closing cost assistance to first-time homebuyers.

The funding is being invested in spaces for housing units, commercial uses, and health, education, and employment training.

Typical unreimbursed predevelopment costs for multifamily projects can range from $100,000 to $750,000. These costs create delays and financial hardships, particularly for non-profit, mission-driven developers. These funds are offsetting these costs and expediting housing production.

The State oversaw various projects to provide warming stations and shelters.

The project is providing funding to municipalities and other public entities to improve the infrastructure necessary to develop additional housing units that meet affordability criteria.

During the pandemic, additional affordable housing and homelessness assistance initiatives have been assigned to the Office of Housing and Community Development. The funding is enabling the Office to hire contract staff to expand and enhance capacity for affordable housing and homelessness assistance.

The program is creating a fund that preserves affordable housing through foreclosure prevention or rehabilitation.