Central Falls breaks ground on new owner-occupied housing units
CENTRAL FALLS, RI – Today, Central Falls officially broke ground on two adjacent vacant lots at 229 Washington Street and 12 Hood Street that will soon transform into new owner-occupied housing units. The sites will become new four-bedroom single-family homes, built by local construction pre-apprenticeship students using discounted materials from a Central Falls supplier, and marketed by a Central Falls real estate agent to Central Falls residents.
“I’ve been extremely focused on increasing our city’s desperately-needed housing stock for our residents,” said Central Falls Mayor Rivera. “I made a goal to develop 200 new housing units in three years, and with dozens of housing projects already on a path to completion, these new owner-occupied homes will be an amazing addition to our city in the near future. Homeownership is a dream for many of our residents, and these homes will help make that a reality for more families.”
The homes will be built by Building Futures students – a local construction pre-apprenticeship program to prepare diverse low-income individuals for careers in the construction industry. The home-building project expands access to healthy, safe, and affordable housing for local residents, and focuses on hard-to-develop properties on the adjacent Hood and Washington lots. Approximately 10 pre-apprenticeship graduates (an estimated 21,000 hours of valuable on-the-job work experience) will participate over the course of the project.
"Building Futures is thrilled to partner with Mayor Rivera to expand our graduate service-learning program to Central Falls,” said Andrew Cortés, Founder and Executive Director of Building Futures. “Our program graduates will gain meaningful skills as they prepare to launch new construction careers, while making a tangible lasting impact in the city by building new sustainably designed homes for families in need.”
The City of Central Falls acquired the two adjacent lots, which had been sitting vacant, during 2015 and 2016, with a vision to develop additional housing for residents. The city's housing crisis has been exacerbated by the pandemic, and under Mayor Rivera’s administration, Central Falls has been prioritizing the creation of new housing units to support residents. Currently, just 7% of housing units in Central Falls are single-family homes (compared to a 56% statewide average), according to data from the HousingWorksRI 2021 Housing Fact Book.
The new owner-occupied units on Washington and Hood will be built using discounted materials thanks to Central Falls supplier Builders Surplus, and once completed, the homes will be marketed to city residents by Central Falls real estate agent, Carlos Ocampo from RE/MAX Innovations, soon opening an office in Central Falls. Plans for the new owner-occupied units were developed by KITE Architects. Stand Corporation will serve as the project's General Contractor, working closely with Building Futures, and FJS Associates Ltd. is serving as the project's housing consultant.
Monday’s groundbreaking was celebrated by city officials and Building Futures, and joined by state housing industry leaders and community members.
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