North Kingstown, RI – August 16, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Crossroads Rhode Island and Rhode Island Housing, along with U.S. Senator Jack Reed, U.S. Representative Jim Langevin, and their community partners, celebrated the beginning of the redevelopment of a former Navy housing complex in North Kingstown, which will transform the property into a vibrant, healthy, environmentally friendly neighborhood for the North Kingstown community.
Kingstown Crossings I will replace 58 former military apartments with 58 new, safe, attractive, service-enriched homes for families who live and work in the area. Residents will have convenient access to childcare facilities, social services, recreation areas, transportation and jobs – all within walking distance. Ensuing phases call for 46 additional homes, office space for program staff, a playground, basketball court, new daycare center, community center with conference room, and parking areas. The development will allow for larger front and backyards and parking.
Crossroads Rhode Island, the state’s largest provider of immediate and long-term assistance to Rhode Islanders who are homeless, will be the developer of Kingstown Crossings, with approximately $8.6 million in funding from Rhode Island Housing. In keeping with its mission to help more families successfully journey from homelessness to a better quality of life, Crossroads is breaking ground on Kingstown Crossings at a time when more Rhode Islanders than ever are finding themselves homeless due to reduced income or job loss.
“Crossroads Rhode Island is excited to break ground on this long-awaited development,” said Anne Nolan, President of Crossroads Rhode Island. “Fifty-eight families will have the opportunity to raise their children in new, beautiful, energy-efficient and respectful homes – something every family should have. Crossroads is grateful for the funding provided for Kingstown Crossings and is proud to be able to offer affordable homes to formerly homeless families in Rhode Island.”
“This is an exciting new development, returning surplus military land back to the community and creating over 300 jobs here in Rhode Island,” said Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee who helped secure over $5.4 million in federal funding for the project through a variety of federal resources that are an integral part of the development’s financing. “Kingstown Crossings will breathe new life into the neighborhood and be a huge upgrade for the community, creating sustainable, energy-efficient, affordable homes for more residents. I commend Crossroads and Rhode Island Housing and their partners for making this a reality, and I am pleased that construction is now underway.”
“This development is an excellent example of so many in our community coming together to give families a healthy, safe and affordable environment to live,” said Langevin. “It is also encouraging to see this site continue to evolve to meet the needs of the community. From Navy housing to a neighborhood, Kingstown Crossing is filling an important need in North Kingstown.”
“Kingstown Crossings is a great example of the type of creative, innovative thinking we need in Rhode Island – redeveloping under-used or worn-out properties with nice, affordable homes that have a positive impact on our environment and the whole community,” said Richard Godfrey, Executive Director of Rhode Island Housing. “At a time when so many Rhode Islanders are struggling to keep their homes and finding themselves without a safe, healthy place that they can afford, we need committed agencies like Crossroads to develop more proactive solutions like Kingstown Crossings.”
Funding sources for Kingstown Crossings I include:
Rhode Island Housing/Bank Rhode Island First Mortgage: $3,350,000
Tax Credit Assistance Program (TCAP): $4,750,000
Affordable Housing Trust Loan: $1,000,000
HOME Funds: $500,000
Building Homes Rhode Island (BHRI): $2,500,000
Neighborhood Opportunities Program (NOP): $240,000
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG): $260,000
Sponsor Equity: $840,000
Deferred Developer Fee: $32,000
FHLB of Boston’s Affordable Housing Program Grant: $258,500
Total Sources: $13,730,500
Bank Rhode Island, in partnership with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, has provided a below market interest rate loan in the amount of $3,350,000 through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Affordable Housing Program. In addition, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston provided a direct grant for Kingstown Crossings in the amount of $258,500. Sponsor equity included funds from Rhode Island Housing, Home Depot Foundation, Fannie Mae Foundation, Town of North Kingstown, and Enterprise. Corporation for Supportive Housing and Rhode Island Housing provided pre-development financing.
Kingstown Crossings will be one of the first family developments in Rhode Island to be LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
