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Crossroads wins design OK for full apartments to replace rooms in ‘Tower’

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Crossroads wins design OK for full apartments to replace rooms in ‘Tower’


The Crossroads Rhode Island “Tower” in Higher South Windfall is among the largest and most seen examples of housing for individuals dealing with homelessness and excessive poverty within the state.

It is also a 169-year-old former YMCA that its house owners say is “out of date” and unable to satisfy the wants of individuals of the almost 200 individuals who dwell there.

Nonprofit Crossroads has a plan to improve the “Tower” at 160 Broad St., and step one is to construct a five-story condominium constructing in an adjoining car parking zone to maneuver a lot of the residents there.

The Windfall Metropolis Plan Fee permitted the design for the brand new constructing, which Crossroads estimates will value $52 million to construct, on Tuesday.

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“That is really life-changing for the residents and town,” John Garrahy, a lawyer representing Crossroads informed commissioners. 

Metropolis allowing approval was by no means actually doubtful. 

It complied with current zoning, with out variances or particular permits, one thing Plan Fee members mentioned is sort of exceptional amongst giant development tasks.

And but the mission just isn’t with out controversy.

‘Already crowded with poverty’

Though few individuals in Rhode Island dispute the necessity for extra housing for individuals in deep poverty, residents of South Windfall marvel why a lot of it must be concentrated of their neighborhood.

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In a letter to the Plan Fee, the South Windfall Neighborhood Affiliation writes that Crossroads just lately took over a constructing on Pine Avenue. The affiliation objects to additional enlargement within the space, warning it might violate the Honest Housing Act.

“This improvement and people further plans of Crossroads would reinforce the poverty already current in out neighborhood and perpetuates the residential segregation that our neighborhood continues to endure due to previous … redlining practices,” Affiliation Chairperson Dwayne Keys wrote.

Neighborhood Affiliation member Etienne Kotey informed commissioners there have been 209 police calls to the Tower in six months.

“That is the place Black and brown individuals can afford to dwell, and you might be forcing this on us,” Kotey mentioned. “you might be forcing them into an space that’s already crowded with poverty.”

Ward 11 Metropolis Council member Mary Kay Harris mentioned she was “torn” between her advocacy for low-income housing and the wishes of the neighborhood.

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“I perceive why individuals are pushing again locally as a result of they’re attempting to maintain a maintain of what they’ve,” Harris informed commissioners.

However Crossroads says the established order just isn’t honest for the 176 individuals dwelling within the Tower’s tiny, single-room occupancy residences.

And enhancing the dwelling situations for the residents of the Tower ought to make it simpler to offer providers to these residents and assist scale back a number of the points neighbors are involved about. 

An artist's conception of a courtyard at the five-story apartment complex planned by Crossroads Rhode Island.

‘Full, correct condominium’ – not a room

“With Crossroads’ Summer season Avenue mission, we aren’t including individuals to a neighborhood. We’re transferring individuals who already dwelling right here,” mentioned Karen Santilli, Crossroads CEO. “They’re registered voters. They pay hire, however sadly they’re dwelling in … an 8-by-10 room with no non-public loos and kitchens.

“We’re transferring them right into a constructing the place they are going to have a full, correct condominium with toilet and kitchen that’s going to have a huge effect on their high quality of life and the way they’re as a neighbor.”

The brand new constructing is deliberate for a Crossroads-owned lot between Summer season and Stewart Streets. 

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It might be 58 toes tall with photo voltaic panels on the roof and a fundamental entrance on Stewart Avenue.

Town has zoned the RIPTA-served space for Transit Oriented Improvement, so it isn’t required to have any off-street vehicle parking, however Crossroads plans 13 areas. (It should even have 37 bicycle areas.)

Santilli mentioned Crossroads hopes to start development within the fall, and that it ought to take about 20 months to finish.

Financing for the brand new Crossroads constructing, like most low-income housing, is difficult and depends on some 15 totally different sources together with federal low-income housing tax credit, state reasonably priced housing bond proceeds and loans. Crossroads additionally hopes to faucet a number of the state’s American Rescue Plan funds.

Neighborhood liaison to be employed

In response to neighborhood complaints that it isn’t attentive to calls and considerations from abutters, Crossroads plans to rent a neighborhood liason who might be out there to reply to issues.

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 Requested whether or not Crossroads thought-about constructing a brand new facility elsewhere within the metropolis, Santilli mentioned that to take care of federal funding, the group wants to interchange the entire residences being closed within the Tower close by.

And a lot of the Tower residents do not wish to transfer, she mentioned.

“They don’t wish to dwell some other place. Lots of hem have lived right here for 10 years,” Santilli mentioned. “That is the place they wish to dwell.” 

As soon as the brand new Summer season Avenue condominium constructing is completed, Crossroads plans to renovate the single-room occupancy residences within the Tower.

The remainder of the constructing will keep open throughout development, including16 effectivity residences, a ladies’s shelter, training amenities, a clinic and 24-hour neighborhood room the place individuals can are available in off the road.

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Plans for the renovated tower name for 80 items as a substitute of 176, that means town will find yourself with greater than 90 further low-income items when every part is finished.

panderson@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7384

On Twitter: @PatrickAnderso_



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Rhode Island

Four found dead at house in West Greenwich, RI – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

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Four found dead at house in West Greenwich, RI – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


WEST GREENWICH, R.I. (WHDH) – An investigation is underway after four people were found dead inside a home in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, Friday. 

Officials say a co-worker of someone who lived at the house called police after the person didn’t show up to work for two days. 

Police say all appeared to have gunshot wounds.

(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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Rhode Island

Among US cities, Providence had fewest homes linger on the real estate market in November, Redfin says – The Boston Globe

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Among US cities, Providence had fewest homes linger on the real estate market in November, Redfin says – The Boston Globe


Nationally, over half, or 54.5 percent of home listings in November, lingered on the market for at least 60 days, up from 49.9 percent from the same time last year, Redfin reported. The total was the highest for any November since 2019.

Milwaukee, Wis., followed Providence at 38.8 percent, with Montgomery County, Penn., in third at 41.4 percent, according to the report released Monday.

Miami saw the highest percentage of “stale” listings, with 63.8 percent remaining on the market after 60 days, followed by Austin, Texas, and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The only New England city besides Providence included in the top 50 most populated metropolitan areas is Boston, which saw a rate of 44.2 percent.

“A lot of listings on the market are either stale or uninhabitable,” Meme Loggins, a Redfin real estate agent in Oregon, said in the report. “There’s a lot of inventory, but it doesn’t feel like enough.”

So what’s different about Providence?

There are a number of factors in play, including demand for rental properties, according to Alysandra Nemeth, a local Redfin real estate agent.

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Nemeth told the Globe on Friday several multifamily homes she sold in the last few months moved quickly.

“If you have a multifamily [listing] that comes up and you’ve got an investor or someone that’s looking to owner-occupy a property and rent some out … it’s the perfect scenario because there’s no shortage of people that are looking to rent within the area,” Nemeth said.

Nemeth thinks the lack of inventory in the Rhode Island market is also keeping listings fresh.

Data released by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors in December showed there was a less than two months worth of supply of single-family homes across the state — well below the six-month supply level considered indicative of a healthy real estate market.

Driven, in part, by the competition for properties, the median statewide home price soared more than 11 percent year over year to $480,000, according to the association.

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“It just continues to be a battle where, you know, if a good home comes on the market and it’s priced right, it’s probably going to go quicker, and entertain more offers than some other areas,” Nemeth said.

Providence’s location is also desirable for buyers, Nemeth said. There’s easy access to Boston and New York City, all with a considerably lower price point than those metro areas, Nemeth said.

And Providence has plenty of appeal of its own, too.

“There’s just a lot of, like, great culinary experiences in Providence — like the food here is amazing,” Nemeth said. “So that also goes hand in hand with it. There’s a lot going on. This city is probably like the next city to watch out for.”


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Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.





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The 6 biggest business news stories to watch in Rhode Island in 2025 – The Boston Globe

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The 6 biggest business news stories to watch in Rhode Island in 2025 – The Boston Globe


Here are the biggest business news stories to watch in Rhode Island in 2026.

1. Will Hasbro leave Rhode Island for Boston?

Hasbro Inc. has been teasing Rhode Island’s leaders in mulling a move to Boston, and officials are tossing out all sorts of ideas — tax credits, an annual “Rhode Island Hasbro Day,” special access to airport lounges, subsidies for on-site child care — to see what might keep the century-old toy company anchored in its home state.

State leaders pitched Hasbro earlier this winter on six potential locations in three cities where Hasbro could relocate. But in that same meeting, leaders from Rhode Island Commerce and Governor Dan McKee’s office also pitched a series of incentives for the maker of Monopoly, My Little Pony, and Nerf, according to a report and videos released to the Globe on Monday in response to a public records request.

Hasbro spokespeople maintain that they have “no updates” on any potential relocation, but CEO Chris Cocks told employees in late 2024 that they would hear from the company’s leadership team sometime in the first quarter of 2025 about whether they’d be heading for greener pastures beyond Rhode Island.

Antonio Afonso, McKee’s chief of staff and the state’s “point person” on Hasbro, declined to be interviewed.

The Vanderbilt hotel in Newport, R.I. was once a mansion built in the early 1900s.Auberge Resorts Collection

2. The company buying up Newport restaurants

In Newport, there’s one man who seems to be everywhere: Nicholas S. Schorsch.

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A wealthy entrepreneur and investor, Schorsch has been on roll with his Heritage Restaurant Group since relocating to Newport from New York City 12 years ago, and has amassed a growing portfolio.

In 2024 alone, the group acquired restaurants Caleb & Broad, Flo’s Clam Shack, The Reef, The Red Parrot, The Brick Alley Pub, and many more. In late December, the group also announced it would acquire the historic Vanderbilt hotel, a Georgian Revival mansion. It’s not yet clear what the Heritage group paid for the hotel, but the transaction is expected to close in early 2025.

The group also operates Newport Craft Brewing, La Forge Casino Restaurant, La Costa Lobster Rolls and Tacos, Cluck Truck, Cluck House, A Mano Pizza & Gelato, Wiener Wagon, and Wally’s Wieners. It also owns Newport Lobster Company, one of the largest seafood wholesalers in the area, and runs concessions at Easton’s Beach.

Many of the restaurants Schorsch has acquired were family-run operations where the owners were nearing retirement age. His purchase, some say, was a lifeline so they could step away from their businesses. But critics are concerned about the powerhouse the group is becoming, saying that much control over businesses on Aquidneck Island could raise prices and stifle competition.

3. The expansion of Brown University Health

Rhode Island’s largest health care system, Brown University Health, previously known as Lifespan Corp., acquired St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River and Morton Hospital in Taunton from bankrupt Steward Health Care for $175 million in 2024. This year, the hospital owner plans to expand in Foxborough, Mass., by bolstering two outpatient clinics it purchased from Steward that could generate $43 million annually by fiscal year 2027. The clinics could be an opportunity, officials told investors in December, to expand cancer care and ambulatory surgery into Massachusetts. They also plan to broaden their specialty physician groups.

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Demolition on the Washington Bridge in Providence, R.I.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff

4. Continued fallout from the Washington Bridge closure

The Washington Bridge westbound on Interstate 195 abruptly closed more than a year ago, leaving drivers scrambling, and a long list of questions about went went wrong. The bridge — meant to last at least two more decades — needs to be demolished and rebuilt. Demolition is expected to take another year, and there is no timeline currently for when a new span will be completed. Chicago-based Walsh Construction Company will compete with a joint venture of American Bridge Company from Pennsylvania and New York-based MLJ Contracting Corp. to build the new bridge.

The state has sued 13 companies who were previously hired by the state to inspect the bridge, or do construction or design work. Several defendants have already pushed back on the suit, calling it a political “blame game.” A judge is expected to consider their motions to dismiss the lawsuit this month.

5. More shakeups at the state Housing Department

On New Year’s Eve, Tara Booker, the executive director of homelessness response for the R.I. Department of Housing, submitted her resignation. In a phone conversation with the Globe, Booker declined to comment as to why she would leave, and said she would remain at her post “through at least Jan. 31, and potentially longer.”

“I have a transition plan,” said Booker. “I don’t really want to comment on anything right now. I’m still working and want a productive transition.”

Booker also declined to comment on any winter shelter plans, which is a program she has overseen at the department since she was hired in March 2024. She is one of several of the department’s high-ranking leaders who have given their notice in the last year. Over the summer, former secretary Stefan I. Pryor resigned. Under his leadership, the department faced internal struggles and incomplete projects, and was circumventing procurement rules that may have cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars, the Globe reported. In November, after less than a year on the job, deputy housing secretary Deborah Flannery resigned.

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Leaders in the General Assembly, including Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, said they have been “disappointed” in the department’s former leadership. In late November, agency consultant Deborah Goddard was appointed by Governor Dan McKee as the department’s fourth housing secretary since it was created in 2022. Her appointment will need the Senate’s approval.

Like her predecessors, Goddard will face a housing crisis that has been worsening for more than 30 years, developers who may want to build affordable housing but are facing red tape, and inflation.

Work at the “Superman” building in Downtown Providence has been limited.Lane Turner/Globe Staff

6. A funding request from the ‘Superman’ building developer

It’s been two years since the state unveiled plans to redevelop the long-vacant “Superman” building in downtown Providence ― the tallest building in the state ― into apartments with room for commercial space. It was seen as a major win for the McKee administration, but not much has been done since. When asked if the idea of redeveloping 111 Westminster St. from office space into 285 residential units was dead, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio said, “They’re hanging on by their fingernails.”

“They want money,” Ruggerio told the Globe. “The problem is, they never told us how much.”

In August, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley told the Globe that the owner of the Industrial National Bank Building is asking for more than $10 million in additional support to convert the 26-story skyscraper into apartments, but wouldn’t say exactly how much.

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Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.





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