RIHousing strives to ensure that all people who live in Rhode Island can afford a healthy, attractive home that meets their needs. A good home provides the foundation upon which individuals and families thrive, children learn and grow, and communities prosper.
Relationship to Local Government: Self-Supporting Quasi-Public Entity
Current Staff Size: 228
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1973
RIHousing established by the General Assembly
1988
Begins administration of Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program
1991
Begins administration of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program
2000
Begins Performance-Based Contract Administration
2007
Opened the RIHousing HelpCenter
2020
Launched Workforce Housing Program
Total Financing Provided Since 1973
Total Rental Units
Total Homeowners Served Since 1973
Signature Program
Ocean State Grad Grant
As a state that was one of the last to move beyond the effects of the Great Recession, and with a large percentage of residents held back by high student loan debt, RIHousing developed an innovative program to help recent college graduates put down roots in the Ocean State.
The Ocean State Grad Grant provided up to $7,000 toward the purchase of a home to prospective first-time homebuyers who graduated in the past three years.
Grad Grant Recipients: 367
Future Focus
Carol Ventura
Executive Director
“Homeownership can provide a path to economic stability, building wealth, and providing access to improved health and educational opportunities. For too long households of color have found that path blocked by the high cost of a down payment and mortgage qualifications that ignore non-traditional income and credit histories. RIHousing is committed to implementing innovative homeownership programs that support minority and first generation homebuyers with financial management education, mortgage products that provide a safety net, and long-term support for securing and maintaining a home.”
Greenridge Commons
Burrillville, RI
Developed by NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley, Greenridge Commons features 96 rental homes in the village of Pascoag, helping the town meet the state goal of 10% affordable housing stock. The development illustrates Smart Growth principles promoting compact design, historic building patterns, retention of open space, and use of existing infrastructure and transportation routes. Greenridge Commons has successfully preserved 116 acres of open space.
OpenDoors
Providence, RI
Rhode Island’s first large-scale development specifically created to support Rhode Islanders who are returning to the community after incarceration – OpenDoors – has successfully rehabilitated an historic former Sealtest Ice Cream Factory into affordable housing. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building, built in 1907, once housed an ice cream factory and prior to rehabilitation, sat vacant for the two decades. Beyond providing critically-needed affordable apartments.
