During a recent meeting, the Town Council targets the former Oliphant and Peckham schools as potential locations for affordable housing while leaving Linden Park off the list -- for now.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
FORMER OLIPHANT, PECKHAM SCHOOLS EMERGE
AS TOP AFFORDABLE HOUSING CANDIDATES
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (JANUARY 24, 2021) – The Oliphant administration building and former Peckham School are emerging as the leading locations for a Town affordable housing project.
During a recent discussion, the Town Council approved a contract for Frank Spinella to do designs for new senior housing at 26 Oliphant Lane and 650 Green End Ave., which is immediately next door to the Middletown Senior Center. An affordable housing expert, Spinella has been working with the Town to bring affordable and senior housing to the community.
However, the council left Linden School off the list for Spinella’s design work, generally agreeing they’d like to see that parcel at 141 West Main Road remain a park.
“I heard those residents who live around Linden Park pretty loud and clear,” Councilman Chris Logan said. “I’ve driven by there a few more times and open space is a necessity. I realize we have a housing crisis, but I also realize there’s a lot developments being proposed right now that could potentially gain some legs and I want to keep Linden as open as humanly possible.”
“Initially, I wanted to look at all areas,” council President Paul M. Rodrigues said. “You can’t lose sight of ignoring what the neighbors have to say. I agree with Chris that it was pretty loud and clear that they don’t want that…When you look at the west side (of Town), there’s not a lot of parks out there…Whether pickleball ends up being there or not, I would like to see a nice playground for that area, for those neighborhoods.”
Other council members agreed, saying they’d prefer to see Spinella focus on properties where affordable housing was more realistic. At the same time, Councilman Dennis Turano said nothing precluded the Town from pursuing Linden Park again for affordable housing if the other options didn’t work out.
“We can always go back and revisit this,” Councilman Dennis Turano said. “If we go and look at Oliphant and we’re looking at Peckham and we’re finding some of these other locations are falling through…we can always reverse.”
Going back several years, local leaders have identified affordable housing as the most significant issue facing Middletown. In response, the council and Town have attempted to push back, whether it’s implementing a new split residential tax rate aimed at helping residents save money or other steps.
Aware of the demand, local leaders noted the private sector has also heard the call, with more than 270 housing units approved or proposed in Middletown. Of those, close to 120 of those units are classified as affordable.
Previously, Spinella said the Town needs to put forward a project with at least 50 affordable housing units to make the numbers work.
At this point, there is no official, agreed upon plan from the council for any affordable housing concept. Rather, the council and its Affordable Housing Subcommittee remain committed to finding the best option for the Town as a whole before anything progresses.
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