NORTH SMITHFIELD – The Meadows, a $20.2 million affordable housing development for seniors, was honored as one of six national winners of an award for excellence from the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition this month.
The project, developed by a group led by NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley, is among the winners of the 15th annual Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Awards, according to Rhode Island Housing, one of the project’s development partners. The awards are given to honor the best affordable rental developments that used U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Low Income Housing Tax Credits.
“Developing high-quality, service-enriching housing for seniors – a population with fixed incomes and specific needs – can be challenging, especially here in Rhode Island where almost 69 percent of our seniors are low income,” Rhode Island Housing Executive Director Richard Godfrey said in a statement “The Meadows is a great model of what can be done. We had 400 applications for these homes, which shows we still have a long way to go.”
In June 2008, when the development opened its doors, NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley Executive Director Joseph Garlick said the project was unique in North Smithfield.
“There are a couple of other [senior developments] in town, but they don’t have elevators,” he said. “And here, all the units are handicapped adaptable. That means that if someone has a knee operation – or something else – the unit can accommodate a wheelchair.”
