Where exactly does the housing bond intersect with the public developer?
“I think the bond resources and creation of a public developer are two entirely separate items," said Melina Lodge of Homes RI.
Members of Homes RI, a a “multi-sector coalition of organizations working together to increase and preserve the supply of safe, healthy, and affordable homes throughout Rhode Island,” joined elected officials and advocates at the Rhode Island State House on Thursday to rally in support of a $150m bond request that will help sustain affordable housing production and preservation.
Public developer:
Separate from the bond issue is the idea of a public housing developer. Housing Secretary Stefan Pryor has funded a public developer feasibility study is currently being conducted by New York University’s Furman Center. They will provide interim findings as soon as late April, which will inform the legislative process.
A statement from Homes RI about the housing bond seemed to subtely preclude the need for a public developer. It reads, “The state has an existing and effective way to administer bond resources through the Building Homes Rhode Island program, which has helped house thousands of Rhode Islanders since its inception” but when asked about the intersection of the housing bond and a potentail public developer, Melina Lodge of Homes RI told me, “I think the bond resources and creation of a public developer are two entirely separate items. Our comments related to the bond pertain to our position on the bond and nothing else.”
The group leading the charge on a public developer, Reclaim RI, agreed that a larger housing bond is needed, but pushed back against any supposed pre-judgement on the possibility of a public developer.
“We are grateful that Governor McKee and Secretary Pryor have proposed a major investment in solving our dire housing crisis. But the amount currently proposed isn’t enough - we can do bigger and better with $150 million, spending that would come closer to matching the scale of the housing nightmare Rhode Islanders face today,” said Daniel Denvir, co-chair of Reclaim RI, a leading tenant rights and housing justice organization. “We continue to call for a substantial portion of the housing bond to be dedicated to a public housing developer and also directly to the state’s underfunded public housing authorities. We thank the McKee administration for exploring that possibility through the Furman study now underway. Our current system has resulted in Rhode Island ranking dead last in housing production - we urgently need new and innovative ideas like a public developer to spur new housing production.”
Press release from Homes RI:
Homes RI is a multi-sector coalition of organizations working together to increase and preserve the supply of safe, healthy, and affordable homes throughout Rhode Island.
State leaders are set to consider Article 5, Question 3, proposing a $100 million bond to expand affordable and middle-income housing production and infrastructure, support community revitalization and promote homeownership. Advocates are requesting that the Rhode Island General Assembly increase the governor’s proposed bond amount by $50 million to reflect increased need, rising construction and financing costs, and help sustain the momentum gained by recent investments in housing.
Housing Network RI executive director Melina Lodge acknowledged and thanked Governor Daniel McKee and the Department of Housing for the “historic investment of $321 million from State Fiscal Recovery Funds over the last two years, and their continued recognition of the importance of housing investment with their introduction of a $100 million housing bond in FY2025. Building upon recent investments and capitalizing on the new opportunities for increased housing production generated by recent legislative reform, we are here to advocate for a $150 million housing bond.”
Rhode Island’s economy is modestly growing, but our state faces challenges with an aging population, falling labor force participation, stagnant growth, and constrained housing supply. Increases in rent and sales prices have far outpaced income gains, placing a heavy burden on virtually every Rhode Islander who is currently renting, looking to purchase a home, or seeking a change to their living situation.
Rhode Island General Treasurer James Diossa said there have been “historic leaps forward for Rhode Island” to address the housing crisis, which he said is one of the greatest challenges facing Rhode Island residents. “But there’s an opportunity here to go big... $50 million more, big... to continue housing production. I’m confident we can solve this challenge and ensure all Rhode Islanders have access to a quality and affordable home.”
“It has been my privilege to chair the House Housing Affordability Commission for more than two years now,” said Representative June Speakman (Democrat, District 68, Bristol, Warren). “The experts on the commission and those who have presented to us have made it crystal clear that we must continue to devote significant financial resources to the construction and preservation of housing so that all Rhode Islanders can have access to clean, comfortable, affordable homes. This bond is essential in that effort.”
Rhode Island has repeatedly been ranked last in the nation for new building permits even as more and more residents feel the impacts of the housing crisis, notes Homes RI. When housing bonds are introduced as a resource, they help leverage millions more in public and private funds to build housing and support thousands of construction jobs. Housing development - the production of new and preservation of existing long-term affordable homes - is the single best use of bond funding.
Kim Simmons, interim executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, said she’s “glad to see that the governor has proposed the largest housing bond Rhode Island has ever seen, but not all of those funds are set to be used for affordable housing production. Every day we hear from community members looking for housing, and often add them to a waiting list for housing. We just don’t have enough homes to meet the demand.”
In the state’s most recent funding allocation of housing production and preservation funding, 75 applications were submitted to build, preserve, and fill financing gaps for affordable homes. The requests totaled $192 million - $102 million more than the available $90 million in the current round. This indicates that Rhode Island affordable housing developers are ready to build - but continue to need more resources in the face of rising costs.
Rhonda Mitchell, executive director of the Newport Housing Authority, said with more than 10,000 applicants on the waiting list for subsidized housing, “it would take us more than 200 years just to address the current need,” noting that previous bond funds have allowed NHA to create “quality homes for Rhode Islanders.”
“The bond dollars work. We are at a point where the housing crisis has reached catastrophic levels. We must take equitable and aggressive action,” she said.
While every Rhode Islander is affected, the impacts are not felt equally. More than half of the lowest-income renters and homeowners are severely housing cost-burdened, spending over 50% of their income on housing, and most at risk of experiencing homelessness. Rhode Island has a shortage of roughly 24,000 affordable rental homes available to households who are extremely low income (for a household of three people, this equates to approximate yearly earnings of $30,000 or less).
“Market rents are too high, even for people working decent jobs, sometimes more than that. Good people, trying to navigate all of life’s challenges, should not have to spend so much time finding a place to call home or so much of their income on rent. This is why a $150 million bond to support creating more affordable rentals and homes for purchase is so critical,” said Wendy Sanchez, resident services manager at ONE Neighborhood Builders. “We all need a place to call home.”
The state has an existing and effective way to administer bond resources through the Building Homes Rhode Island program, which has helped house thousands of Rhode Islanders since its inception. Now, we have an opportunity to build on that momentum while ensuring that the investment targets housing opportunities for the individuals and families who need it most.
"Building Homes Rhode Island Bond funds are critical for the development of homeownership opportunities for hard-working, low-income Rhode Islanders who otherwise would struggle significantly to realize their dream of owning a home,” said Colin Penney, executive director of South County Habitat for Humanity. “Without continued investment, programs such as Habitat for Humanity will have lost one of its most important tools in creating a Rhode Island where everyone has a safe and affordable place to call home."
“Having a stable, affordable place to live and improving education, economic opportunity and health go hand in hand. We can’t achieve our goals unless we begin making serious strides in housing production,” said Rhode Island Foundation president and CEO David Cicilline in a statement before Thursday’s event. “Affordable housing is key to expanding opportunity and economic growth. The problem with housing is we don’t have enough of it, and what we have is becoming less and less affordable for too many Rhode Islanders. This is a smart investment that will strengthen all of our communities.”
Right now, housing is the single best investment that we can make to strengthen our collective well-being and economic prosperity. Approving a $150 million housing bond is essential to produce and preserve more critically needed affordable homes.