On Monday, June 15, Stop Wasting Abandoned Property Inc. will break ground on a 22-unit elderly housing complex on Thurbers Avenue. The affordable housing project will be funded by $3.14 million from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and $470,000 from the Providence Planning & Development’s HOME Funds.
SWAP Executive Director Carla DeStefano talked about the project.
PBN: Could we start with a little background on the project?
DESTEFANO: Actually, SWAP applied twice to HUD to build this new, 22-unit senior apartment complex. They were very, very competitive rounds with HUD.
And [SWAP] and HUD determined need based on available units in the area. So if there were too many units, they wouldn’t grant anyone money to build more. So the need was established. And the second part of the equation is the location. This location scored very high for its proximity in a neighborhood with high need, its proximity to the highway. The bus line and transportation proximity are very important for senior citizens. And there’s its proximity to the hospital complex.
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PBN: The groundbreaking is on June 15. Do you have a timetable for construction?
DESTEFANO: Construction starts right after the groundbreaking and we have a completion schedule for May 31, 2010, with the first folks moving in hopefully on July 1, 2010.
PBN: The project was designed by David Presbrey Architects. Can you tell me a little about the design and how it fits into the neighborhood?
DESTEFANO: The surrounding neighborhood is lower South Providence, which has very traditional architecture. There are lots of one- and two-family houses, lots of clapboard, lots of wood shingles. There’s a brand new school across the street and another single-family development just across the street on Rugby Street.
So instead of trying to break new ground architecturally, we asked the architect to drive around, look at the New England architecture there and design something that would fit in. Although its 22 units, it’s really designed to fit into the neighborhood. So it hopefully doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. … We designed it to fit in, rather than stand out.
PBN: How does this fit into SWAP’s mission?
DESTEFANO: We actually have another project that we’re working on that, hopefully, should be breaking ground before the end of summer. That includes some houses on Broad Street and Elmwood Avenue.
But this is really our first foray into elderly housing. SWAP will celebrate its 35th anniversary next year and we have never built an elderly apartment building. For us, it gives us a continuum of housing for low- and moderate-income folks in the neighborhood. We have first-time homebuyer houses. We have apartments, your first one when you get your first job and larger ones for when you get married and have a family. So this is sort of a continuum with elderly housing, which is also much needed in the neighborhood.
PBN: Has the ground space of SWAP’s Southside Gateways been filled yet?
DESTEFANO: They’re business condominiums and, I have to tell you, the interest has been enormous. The ability of some folks to get financing these days, though, [is not as good as it was.] We’re affected by the credit markets just like everyone else. We’re considering doing some lease-purchases with some tenants.
So let’s put it this way: if the economy were a whole lot better and the credit markets were a whole lot better, the building would be full. I know I sound like every other real estate developer, but our goal when we set out was to bring to the business district on Broad Street some stability and ownership and first-class commercial space. The interest is there and we’re working with every financing organization to try to get some of the units closed. We have one unit closed – a cell phone and electronic store – and he loves it there.
