#MiddletownRI continues to work on ways to bring more housing to the community. According to recent figures, there are close to 600 units approved or proposed to be built in the community.
MIDDLETOWN CONTINUES WORK ON HOUSING
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (NOVEMBER 18, 2024) – Few would debate there’s a housing crunch in Middletown.
The rub is when the question comes up about whether anything is being done about the issue.
At a recent Town Council meeting in Town Hall, Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown provided a housing briefing to local leaders and the community.
In it, he said that despite the perception in certain circles that nothing was happening with housing, nothing could be further from the truth.
According to numbers provided during the session, Brown said close to 600 apartments, condos and houses have been approved or are on the boards in town — or close to 10 percent of the existing housing stock in the community.
“We’ve been working on housing diligently over the past couple years,” Brown said. “It may not be totally apparent because these things have to get approved, they have to go to the Planning and Zoning boards, they need financing and there are other things going on, so it takes time to develop these different projects.”
The most significant project moving forward now is Rosebrook Commons at 1747 West Main Road. The site of the former Skater Island indoor skateboard park, a total of 144-units are proposed as part of the development including 63 units classified as affordable.
Over the past several weeks, construction has been moving forward on the property across from Marshall Lane. This includes site clearing, leveling and the removal of a long vacant single family home.
Construction of 54 units of 55 and older housing is also ongoing around the corner at 417 Forest Ave. as part of the expansion of West House.
Those two efforts are furthest along in the pipeline and are showing regular progress. All told, Brown’s figures showed there were 593 total units on the horizon in Middletown. Of those, 360 were designated under state law as affordable.
The town has three affordable housing projects underway at 26 Oliphant Lane, 650 Green End Ave. and 361 East Main Road. Unfortunately, none of those projects have secured state support to help get them underway. All told, at least 75 affordable housing units would be created once each was built.
Figures from a recent Housing Works RI report showed there are 7,217 housing units in Middletown. Of those, 56 percent are owner occupied, with the remainder rented out.
The data showed of the owner occupied units, 33 percent were considered “burdened,” meaning they pay more than 30 percent of their gross pay towards housing. Those figures increased to 41 percent for those who rented.
Currently, the town has 360 affordable housing units, as defined by state law. That puts the total percentage of affordable units at close to 5 percent. The goal under state law is to have at least 10 percent of all housing considered affordable.
“The total number of units we’re looking at is 562 new housing units in the Town of Middletown,” Brown said. “Three hundred forty eight would be market rate, 214 would be affordable. I don’t think you’ll see similar development numbers like that in a similar community.”
Brown said the 562 figure does not include the 31 single family homes that have been approved or are in the pipeline too. That brings the total number of new housing units in town to 593.
Brown said in coming weeks, he and the town’s affordable housing consultant Frank Spinella plan on meeting with housing developers and others in the field. The goal, Brown said, was to see what Middletown can do to help jumpstart some of the projects and spur more housing construction where possible.
“We are going out to talk to some of these people, developers, to make sure they have the resources they need to keep their projects going or see how we can help move them along a little quicker,” Brown said. “We’ve also reached out to a couple of people who’ve talked about doing housing developments to see how we can spur on their desire to develop within the town.”
Given the projected growth at Naval Station Newport and other local entities, Brown said all forms of housing were critical.
“Preliminarily, we’re getting feedback that we would need an additional 250 housing units for people who will be moving into the area,” Brown said. “That’s 250 units within a 25 minute distance of Naval Station Newport.”
Document Link: https://mdl.town/NYCU-Housing
About Middletown
The Town of Middletown is a vibrant municipality located on Aquidneck Island, known for its scenic beauty, historic landmarks, diverse economy and strong sense of community. For more information about all we have to offer, visit MiddletownRI.gov online.
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