Rhode Island

Apartment construction booming across US. Why not RI? | Opinion

Published

2 years ago

February 11, 2024

Press Room

Apartment construction booming across US. Why not RI? | Opinion

Cliff Wood
| Guest columnist

Cliff Wood is the executive director of The Providence Foundation.

You might not realize it when driving through Providence, but apartment construction is booming throughout the United States. More units will become available in 2023 than in any year since the early 1970s. Cities ranging from Austin to Charlotte to Nashville have seen inventory growth as high as 90%. But there aren’t many cranes over our capital city. By at least one measure, the Ocean State ranks last in the nation. Why?

The problem isn’t a lack of demand. People want to live here — something that cannot be said for many other places across the country. So why haven’t developers erected more homes in Rhode Island, particularly in the places where demand is greatest, like downtown Providence? That question could elicit a range of answers, but the reality comes down to two — one economic and the other strategic.

More: Rhode Island’s housing crisis is at a breaking point. How did we get here?

The economic challenge revolves around the return a developer gets on any proposed project. Building materials are just as expensive here as they are in Boston, or on Cape Cod — concrete, lumber and the like. The cost of labor is similar as well. But the rents a developer can charge in Providence are a fraction of what he or she will get after constructing the very same unit in, say, Cambridge or Newton, which brings us to the strategic reason development is so often thwarted in Rhode Island: The Ocean State too often neglects to employ the tools that can help to level the playing field to attract investment.

Rents aren’t the only thing that bear on whether a developer chooses to add to a state’s housing supply. Tax burdens, bureaucratic rigmarole and market uncertainty also play a role. If Rhode Island could best Massachusetts on those fronts, developers would surely migrate here. But far from using these tools to level the playing field, Rhode Island is widening the gulf, incenting developers to go elsewhere and leaving renters here to pay the rising rents born from the reality that we don’t have enough housing.

Consider what’s happening in Boston and Providence today. Boston’s mayor is proposing a program that would allow developers who convert commercial buildings into apartments a 75% reduction on their property taxes — so much that, in one example, a building now paying nearly $250,000 in taxes each year would see its bill to the city drop to less than $30,000. Meanwhile, Providence’s City Council is bringing a lawsuit so that the city can renege on a tax agreement they already approved with a local developer building workforce housing downtown, increasing rates that had already been ratified by a judge.

More: Warren cut the density of a proposed housing project by 38%. Now the town wants to undo that

Put simply, the two capital cities are sending vastly different messages to builders equipped to erect more housing at a time when market conditions already favor Boston. And that’s a shame because Providence can get a lot of development done when it works cooperatively with developers. The successful and popular Farm Fresh project would not have been built if the state and city had refused to reduce the tax burden on the underlying lots.

None of these projects would have been possible without partnership between the public and private sectors — meaning financial incentives for those willing to invest in the Ocean State. But if the government treats builders as pariahs, the Ocean State will lag. When growing demand isn’t met with growing supply, rents rise for ordinary families.

It’s up to Rhode Island’s leaders to find common ground that works for the greater good.

Source link

Click to comment

Rhode Island

Michael Douglas’ First Comic Con Appearance Is Happening Here

Published

4 hours ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

Michael Douglas’ First Comic Con Appearance Is Happening Here

It’s not every day a Hollywood legend makes a first-ever appearance like this—especially in Rhode Island. This fall, Michael Douglas is doing just that.

The Oscar-winning actor, known for iconic roles in films like Wall Street and Fatal Attraction, will make his first-ever convention appearance at Rhode Island Comic Con next November.

Fans of the Academy Award-winning star will get a rare chance to see him in person—and even grab a photo or autograph—when the annual event returns November 6-8, 2026, to the Rhode Island Convention Center and Amica Mutual Pavilion.

Of course, getting up close with an A-lister like this won’t come cheap.

Mike Coppola/Getty Images for TCM

While specific appearance times haven’t been announced yet, early listings show photo ops and autographs priced at $329.99 each—a significantly higher price than some of the other big names already confirmed.

Items and Activities Banned From Rhode Island Comic Con

Before you show up at this year’s Rhode Island Comic Con, be aware of the items and activities banned by the management.

Gallery Credit: Ariel Dorsey

15 of the Weirdest Laws in Rhode Island

The world has changed and yet some laws have stayed the same.

These are some of the strangest laws still on the books in Rhode Island.

Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall

20 Things To See at Roger Williams Park (Other Than the Zoo)

There are over 427 acres of beautiful landscaping, historical buildings and family friendly spaces at Roger Williams Park in Providence. Gifted to the city in 1872 by the last descendant of Roger Williams, Betsey Williams, the park has become primarily known for its amazing zoo. But throughout this historic district listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, there are plenty of other stunning things to see.

Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall

Source link

Rhode Island

100+ Rhode Island water bodies stocked with 60,000 fish before start of trout season

Published

16 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

100+ Rhode Island water bodies stocked with 60,000 fish before start of trout season

RICHMOND, R.I. (WPRI) — Break out those fishing rods. Opening day for trout season in Rhode Island is this Saturday, April 11.

In a press release Wednesday, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management shared that it has stocked over 100 freshwater locations, including children’s only ponds, with more than 60,000 fish.

The stocked fish include brook, brown, rainbow and golden rainbow trout. Anyone who catches a golden rainbow trout between April 11 and May 3 will be eligible to receive a golden trout pin.

Anglers who catch a golden rainbow trout between those dates must snap a picture of their catch and email it to dem.fishri@dem.ri.gov. Submissions received after May 4 will not be considered. There is a limit of one pin per person.

ALSO READ: New pedestrian bridges open on East Bay Bike Path with new spots for fishing

Due to a study being conducted by the DEM and the Rhode Island Department of Health on how per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as forever chemicals, accumulate in stocked trout, Upper Melville Pond in Portsmouth will be closed to fishing from May 4 until July 2. The pond, also known as Thurston Gray Pond, will be open for the start of the season, but not stocked with fish.

A 2026 fishing license is required for anglers 15 and older. Anglers between the ages of 15 and 65 must have a Trout Conservation Stamp to keep their catch, with some exceptions. You can find information on size and creel limits here. Fishing licenses can be purchased here.

The annual free fishing weekend in Rhode Island will be on Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3. Residents and visitors alike can fish for all species of freshwater fish without a license or trout conservation stamp on those days.

Fishing in trout-stocked waters before April 11 is prohibited. You can find a full list of stocked waters here.

DEM: Designated trout waters in Rhode Island

Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts.

Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the free WPRI 12+ TV app.

Follow us on social media:

Thanks for signing up!

Watch for us in your inbox.

Subscribe Now

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com.

Source link

Rhode Island

Rhode Island lawmakers to consider several firearm bills

Published

1 day ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

Rhode Island lawmakers to consider several firearm bills

(WJAR) — Rhode Island lawmakers are considering several firearm bills on Wednesday.

The House Judiciary Committee will discuss these bills after two mass shootings happened in the region in just six months.

It’s also been nearly a year since lawmakers banned the sale and manufacturing of assault weapons in Rhode Island.

Some of those Bills include:

A ban on buying more than one gun in a 30-day period
Requiring anyone looking to possess a firearm excluding police and military, to complete and pass firearm safety training
One that would ban people with felony convictions from owning a gun
There is also a bill that would make it permissible for students, professors or employees of any public or private university to carry, and possess a stun gun or pepper spray for purposes of self-defense

One that may not be talked about today but has been introduced, a bill that would outright ban the possession of military-style semiautomatic guns.

Second Amendment advocates are expected to don yellow shirts and pack the state house for the hearing to make their voices heard.

Source link