WHA recipient of $3.4M for capital improvements
WOONSOCKET — The Woonsocket Housing Authority was a big winner in the recent round of federal funding for upkeep and capital improvements, receiving nearly $3.4 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Capital Public Housing Fund.
The allotment represents a substantial share of some $21.7 million in HUD funding for two dozen public housing authorities in the state. Among them, only the Providence Housing Authority received more – about $6.5 million, according U.S. Senator Jack Reed, who announced the awards Tuesday.
Other recipients in the area included the Burrillville Housing Authority, $183,806; Central Falls Housing Authority, $712,010; Cumberland Housing Authority, $265,517; East Providence Housing Authority, $901,339; and the Lincoln Housing Authority, $538,886.
WHA Executive Director Robert Moreau said the funds will allow the agency to complete work that includes three major components. They are:
• Replacement of all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors at the Morin Heights and Veterans Memorial housing developments, as well as the Park View Manor and Kennedy Manor high-rises.
• Replacement of water heating utility systems at Crepeau Court and St. Germain Manor
• Re-siding of the administration building and residential Buildings 1, 2 and 3 (closest to Winthrop Street) at the Morin
Heights family housing development
“We’re greatly appreciative of Sen. Reed’s efforts in making this funding available to us,” said Moreau. “It allows us to keep housing safe and secure for the people who live in our family developments and high-rises.”
Reed says the funds help housing agencies provide Rhode Islanders of limited means with the decent housing they deserve.
“This is a smart investment in improving housing conditions for vulnerable families and preventing more people from being forced out onto the streets by preserving public housing units, a critical source of affordable housing,” said Reed. “These federal funds will help ensure that local housing agencies can improve their buildings, preserve affordable housing, and help us build stronger communities.
Local agencies can use the funding for a broad array of improvements, as well as programs that foster the “economic empowerment” of residents, Reed said.
In a separate but related announcement, Reed said NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley in Woonsocket will receive $284,000 from its national affiliate, NeighborWorks America.
Joseph Garlick, the executive director of NWBRV, located at 40 South Main St., said the funds would allow the organization to expand the Millrace Initiative, including the redevelopment of three mills in the Island Place Historic District, in Market Square. The project calls for converting the former manufacturing space into 70 mixed-income, live-work housing units, plus 23,000 square feet of space for retail, office and arts-driven commercial uses.
Garlick calls the Millrace Initiative “a comprehensive community development project that will strengthen Main Street Woonsocket through a variety of economic development, housing, entrepreneurship, and creative place-making activities” aimed at transforming the vacant mill district into “a vibrant, artistic hub.”
“We appreciate Senator Reed’s longstanding, strong support for NeighborWorks America,” said Garlick. “The resources it provides to NWBRV are part of our core operating budget and allows us to undertake some of the most significant community development and housing projects in the Blackstone Valley.”