NEWPORT -- The City Council will consider tomorrow whether to throw its support behind a proposal to transform the Navy's surplus Anchorage apartments into affordable housing.
Last month, Councilwoman Jeanne-Marie Napolitano said the council should pass a resolution backing Church Community Housing Corporation's plans to convert the military housing into a mixed-income development. But several council members said they were reluctant to vote for the resolution without knowing the wishes of the town of Middletown.
Since then, Napolitano approached Middletown officials and asked them to express their wishes in a letter.
"The Town Council feels that any effort to satisfy the town's affordable-housing needs, with a partner which enjoys the superb credibility that [Church Community Housing] possesses, is very important and beneficial to all neighboring communities," Middletown Town Council president Paul M. Rodrigues and vce cairman Charles J. Vaillancourt wrote in a letter.
"The Middletown Town Council has been working alongside [Church Community Housing] housing for many months in an attempt to bring all parties to a successful conclusion in the hopes of preserving the tax base, preventing negative educational impacts and meeting our goal of affordable housing."
Last year, the Navy privatized most of its housing on Aquidneck Island and across the Northeast. It chose GMH Military Housingof Pa., to manage and refurbish its housing and to sell off surplus units. The apartments at the Anchorage site, off Coddington Highway, were deemed too small for the modern Navy family. Now GMH is looking for a buyer for the property.
But talks between GMH and representatives of the town and Church Community Housing have continued to hit snags. While negotiations are ongoing, no agreement has yet been reached.
Napolitano's resolution cites Newport's efforts to revitalize the North End, including the opening of the Community College of Rhode Island Newport County campus and the redevelopment of the Tonomy Hill housing project into mixed-income Newport Heights.
The resolution backs Church Community Housing and urges the congressional delegation, the General Assembly and the governor to "support and assist in any way possible" the Anchorage redevelopment.
"Thank you for your consideration of the important and difficult task of bringing GMH and [Church Community Housing] to a successful conclusion to accomplish this most vital initiative," reads the letter from the Middletown Council to Newport.
Reporter Richard Salit can be reached at (401) 277-7467 or by e-mail at rsalit@projo.com.
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