Two Aquidneck Island developments captured about 42% of the state’s latest round of homeownership funding, with Gov. Dan McKee announcing $12.7 million in awards Thursday at the future site of Aquidneck Green on East Main Road.
Aquidneck Green received $3,239,964, the largest of the 10 awards statewide. A Portsmouth condominium project from Church Community Housing Corporation received $2,126,108, the second largest. Together the two account for $5,366,072.
The money comes from the second and final round of the $20 million Housing 2030 Entry-Level Homeownership Program, funded by the 2024 state housing bond. The round supports 207 homes across nine municipalities, including 161 priced below $400,000 and reserved for households earning up to 120% of area median income, according to the Executive Office of Housing.
Aquidneck Green, Middletown
Marathon Development LLC will build 36 three-bedroom homes using modular construction on town-owned land — a mix of single-family houses, duplexes and triplexes.
Five homes will be reserved for households earning up to 80% of area median income, with proposed sale prices of $353,800. The remaining 31 will be reserved for households earning up to 120%, at a proposed $399,999.
Two homes will meet Type A accessibility standards and one will meet Type B. All 36 will be built to Type C standards.
“By making town-owned land available for this development, we’re helping turn an underutilized public asset into 36 new affordable homes for first-time homebuyers,” said Paul Rodrigues, Middletown Town Council president.
“For a lot of families on Aquidneck Island, owning a home has felt out of reach,” said Harry Angevine, CEO of Marathon Development. “With support from the Executive Office of Housing and the Town of Middletown, 36 households will become first-time homeowners in a community built to stay affordable.”
Sprague/Bristol Ferry/Turnpike, Portsmouth
Church Community Housing Corporation, the Middletown-based nonprofit, will develop 37 condominiums across two lots. The northern lot will hold 12 condominiums in a walk-up building; the southern lot will hold a 25-unit building with elevator access.
The development will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom homes for households earning between 80% and 120% of area median income, with proposed sale prices ranging from $200,000 to $395,000. State funding will support 22 of the 37 homes.
The ballot question
The announcement came five days before Rhode Island voters decide on a new housing bond, and both McKee and Secretary of Housing Deborah Goddard used the event to campaign for it.
“I urge Rhode Islanders to help us keep this momentum going by voting ‘Yes’ on Question 2 on November 3,” McKee said. He said new housing permits are up 150% since 2021 and cited a goal of 15,000 new homes by the end of 2030.
Goddard said the 2024 bond money dedicated to homeownership is now fully committed, having supported 377 homes, including 249 affordable to households at or below 120% of area median income. She said the proposed 2026 bond would add $25 million for affordable homeownership development.
The other eight awards
Scattered-site development in Providence and West Warwick, $2,099,974; 203 Douglas in Providence, $1,049,986; Residences at Mill River in Woonsocket, $899,988; a scattered-site development on Branch, Mowry and Charles in Providence, $825,000; the Block Island Housing Board’s O’Brien Affordable Housing Community in New Shoreham, $749,990; Village at Tiogue in Coventry, $650,000; 502 Bullocks Point in East Providence, $599,990; and the Robertson House Condominiums in Lincoln, $500,000.
