Around 75 people were on hand Monday night to hear more about the latest affordable housing plan in #MiddletownRI. After, Town Council members agreed there was a difficult decision ahead, balancing the needs of the town with the neighbors.
COUNCIL, COMMUNITY TALKS AFFORDABLE HOUSING
MIDDLETOWN, RI (APRIL 1, 2025) – The consensus at a Town Council special meeting Monday night seemed to be that Middletown needs affordable housing.
What was up for debate in Town Hall was whether the plans for 72 total units at 650 Green End Avenue and 26 Oliphant Lane were the right locations.
Following close to three hours of discussion, questions and comments, the council thanked the crowd of about 75 people for expressing their views in a respectful manner and said they have a difficult decision ahead.
In his closing remarks, council President Paul M. Rodrigues summed it up best — noting it was a balancing act for everyone.
“Me personally, I really need to think about this,” Rodrigues said from the council dais. “I need to think about the need versus the neighbors. That’s always what drives it, right? And really what’s best for all of Middletown. That’s what we have to think about it. Yeah, nobody wants it in their backyard. I get it. I think we all understand that, but that’s what we’re faced with.”
Town affordable housing consultant Frank Spinella said if the proposal earns the eventual blessing of the council, there were still a number of hurdles to clear.
First, it would need to go to the Planning Board for review — an open, public process. Should that occur, the project would need comprehensive permit approval before the application was submitted for consideration of state funding by the end of the year.
And then he said it would need to be selected from a likely list of projects across the Ocean State vying for state support from Rhode Island Housing.
No date for the council’s next discussion about the affordable housing plan was discussed. Rodrigues reminded everyone the meetings about the affordable housing proposal would be well advertised so residents and businesspeople had a chance to speak.
Monday’s special session was the latest step taken as part of a multi-phase effort to make the community more affordable for all. This issue has been identified by the council time and again as the No. 1 priority for Middletown.
Opening the meeting, Town Councilor Charles Roberts recused himself from the discussion, saying he would speak as a resident who lived across from the Oliphant Lane site.
Later, Roberts said he understood the need for affordable housing, especially as a dad whose two stepchildren can’t afford to live here. But adding more units, more traffic and 80 parking spaces onto an already overburdened Oliphant Lane was tough to stomach, he said.
“We have an issue here on the island and I understand that, but we can spread this around,” Roberts said. “It doesn’t have to just go in my neighborhood. Just because it looks good on a spreadsheet does not mean it looks good in our town or in my neighborhood.”
Most of the crowd focused on the perceived shortcomings of the Green End Avenue site, which is next door to the Middletown Senior Center.
Many said the concept was too much for too small an area. Adding a third story to the building was almost universally panned, a step taken to improve the likelihood the project gets funded.
There were objections to the institutional look and feel of the proposed building that would be less than 40 feet in height.
Added traffic, the loss of open space, the lack of a bus line, adverse impacts to neighbors, the difficulty walking in the area were cited, among other issues. There were questions about why Linden Park at 141 West Main Road wasn’t on the table for affordable housing.
“People need a place to live, I agree with that totally, but I don’t feel that’s the best place to squeeze everything in,” said Bill Kelly, a retired Middletown police officer. “By doing so, you start changing some of the parameters for how much you have to set your property back. Everything’s out to the fences to make it work.”
Members of the town’s Affordable Housing Committee said their group has worked tirelessly to help. And based on their findings, the proposal before the council was the best option of the ones available to the community.
“Some have parroted the economist Adam Smith, saying supply and demand will come to the rescue,” Frank said. “This is a fantasy. As long as unrestricted profit motive prevails, affordable housing will be at risk. The development of these properties presented to you this evening are significant. Not only is there an increase in housing, but many of the apartments are truly affordable, not in an idealistic sense, but in a practical sense. The town should embrace these two developments.”
Under the latest plan, the Middletown Senior Center and Peckham School gymnasium space at 650 Green End Ave. would not be moved.
Instead, the town would create 30 one- and two-bedroom affordable housing units for senior citizens in a three-story building basically in the footprint of the old school next door.
At 26 Oliphant Lane across town, the buildings and land home to the school administration and maintenance offices would be repurposed for 42 total one-, two- and three-bedroom affordable housing units for families.
Under the latest Pennrose plan, 12 of those affordable housing units would go into the existing brick school building along with a commercial space to be used by a nonprofit serving residents of Aquidneck Island. Thirty units would be constructed into four separate buildings on the land now used for a community playground and local sports groups.
The historic schoolhouse at the corner of Oliphant and West Main Road would be reused for office and maintenance space.
During the last round, Middletown learned in May 2024 application wasn’t competitive because it didn’t have enough density. This was especially true when compared to other projects across the state.
In response, Pennrose went back to the drawing board and amplified its proposal. Most notably, this included boosting the number of affordable housing units from 57 to 72 to create more density. The newest plans also have three-bedroom apartments, additional amenities, are more sustainable and other aspects intended to make this application more competitive.
To see the latest designs from Pennrose, visit https://mdl.town/AH-Pennrose online. A printout of the plans is also available at the Town Clerk’s office during normal business hours.
Previously, local leaders have said any use displaced by the affordable housing project would be relocated in the future to a better site, whether that’s ballfields, playgrounds or office spaces.
For example, the school administration and maintenance offices will be moved to what’s now the Middletown High property as part of a sweeping overhaul of the district’s buildings and facilities.
That move is spotlighted by construction of a new middle-high school at the former Starlight Drive-In property at 1225 Aquidneck Ave., with work expected to begin next month. For more about the school project, go to https://mdl.town/NewSchool online.
Affordable housing on the town’s land at 361-393 East Main Road is before the town’s Affordable Housing Committee. They’re expected to make a decision on a conceptional design at the group’s meeting later this month. The town bought most of the site across from Town Hall in April 2023 to create up to 20 units of affordable housing.
The situation in Middletown is by no means unique. Based on the headlines, communities in most parts of the country are increasingly feeling the squeeze in terms of housing and affordability.
Well aware of those concerns, the council has led an aggressive campaign to make the town more reasonable for its residents and businesses.
The lynchpin of this effort has been the council’s Tiered Residential Tax Program (TRTP), which has been in place since 2022. Over that time, thousands of residents have taken advantage of the program, which reduced the tax bills for eligible homeowners by 30 percent this year. March 15 was the deadline to submit the latest round of that paperwork.
The council recently adopted new ordinances to make it easier to create Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and multi-family developments, an initiative pushed by the General Assembly to boost the amount of available housing stock.
Language was approved by the council giving tax breaks to residential landlords who rent their properties longterm. The goal is to offer additional incentives for property owners to rent year round instead of day-to-day like in the short-term rental market.
Before this incentive goes live, language clearing the way for the move must be okayed by the General Assembly in Providence. Applications are being accepted now at the town’s tax office through May 1. For more, visit https://mdl.town/Tax-Help or drop by the assessor’s office on the first floor of Town Hall during normal business hours.
Town officials — led by Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown — have stressed the importance of holding the line wherever possible with the proposed Fiscal 2026 budget. They’ve said this was not the year for new programs and spending unless absolutely necessary.
Per town charter, Brown is expected to submit proposed numbers today to the council for consideration. The council has a weekend budget workshop with all department heads planned for April 26 in Town Hall.
Public hearings on the proposed budget are slated for May 21 and 28, with the council expected to okay the totals for Fiscal 2026 after the second hearing. Residents and businesspeople are asked to submit their questions, concerns and ideas for the proposed budget to https://mdl.town/Helps online.
Town officials have said close to 600 apartments, condos and houses have been approved or are on the boards in town — or about 10 percent of the existing housing stock in Middletown.
This includes the Middletown Center project at 600-740 West Main Road and the Rosebrook Commons development currently under construction at 1747 West Main Road.
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 indicated 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.
As defined by state law, the town has 360 affordable housing units. 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.
Towards the end of the meeting, Spinella warned there was proposed legislation before the General Assembly now that could have a significant impact on Middletown in terms of affordable housing.
“There’s state law pending that would actually take all control out of the town’s hands,” Spinella said. “If you are below the 10 percent, then they will mandate that developments be built not on your own property, but on private property. Somebody could come to you and you couldn’t turn them down.”
Document Link: https://mdl.town/NYCU-AH-Meet-33125
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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