PROVIDENCE - As the city moved forward with plans to turn a desolate
area alongside the Woonasquatucket River into a 9-acre park, and local
organizations worked to renovate homes and spruce up storefronts several
blocks away, one thing became clear to Olneyville neighborhood
visionaries: something would have to be done with the neighborhoods in
the middle, off Manton Avenue.
For years, those streets have been lined with vacant lots, abandoned
houses and blighted buildings.
"This area -- the core area of Olneyville -- needed some investment,"
said Frank Shea, executive director of the Olneyville Housing
Corporation.
Now investment has come, in the form of an $11.4-million development
project that aims to remake the neighborhood by linking housing and
shopping to the riverfront park.
The project, dubbed Riverside Gateway, is being developed by the
Olneyville Housing Corporation.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held last week at the corner of Aleppo and
Pelham streets, near Anthony's Pharmacy.
The plan is for Riverside Gateway to create 37 affordable rental
apartments and 20 condominium townhouses on a brownfield site. The
project also involves renovating two storefronts on Manton Avenue.
The units will be created from the renovation of two existing buildings
and the construction of 10 new buildings, according to Chris Barnett, a
spokesman for Rhode Island Housing.
"We're still doing homeownership," Shea said. "But this is a part of a
concentrated effort to take advantage of the park and bike path."
Shea said Mayor David N. Cicilline and other supporters of the project
signed a "wall of honor" at the event. Vendors will be on hand to
provide samples of "signature Olneyville cuisine."
There will be information available for those who would like to apply to
live in the homes.
Shea said the project has been more than three years in the making, as
Olneyville Housing worked with the city and environmental officials to
acquire and clean up properties that would provide a visible link to the
park.
Financing is being provided by Rhode Island Housing, Bank of America,
the state Neighborhood Opportunities Program, the city, Federal Home
Loan, the Bank of Boston Affordable Housing Program, the Fannie Mae
Corp.'s American Communities Fund, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and its National
Equity Fund affiliate, and The Urban Revitalization Fund.
While there have been many apartments and condominiums constructed from
downtown to the corridor along the Woonasquatucket River, Shea said the
Riverside Gateway units will be among the first that are truly
affordable housing.
Barnett said at least three of the apartments will be affordable for
households earning minimum wage; the remaining will be affordable for
families earning $43,920 for a family of four, which is 60 percent of
the median family income.
Work on the project has already begun.
Shea expects the project to be completed in 18 months.
The project is designed to complement the riverside park that has been
in the works for more than a decade.
Since 1994, the Woonas-quatucket River Watershed Council has worked with
the city and environmental agencies to clean up the contaminated former
Riverside Mill Complex and turn it into a park with a nearby community
center.
The planned River Greenway running along Aleppo Street also includes a
bike path which, when completed, will connect Olneyville to downtown
Providence, Johnston and communities beyond.
The park is expected to open as early as next spring.
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