Man of the house Al Valliere Jr. honored for leadership in affordable housing
WOONSOCKET – If you’re watching Al Valliere Jr. from a distance, you might think he’s a guy who builds houses. Wrong. He transforms lives. As the driving force behind citybased Nation Wide Construction, Valliere has spent most of his professional life helping move people from substandard living situations to decent, affordable housing.
“Al Valliere has earned a lifetime reputation for doing well by doing good,” says Scott Wolf, executive director of Grow Smart RI. “His commitment to the principles of affordable housing go beyond the work of Nation Wide Construction.”
Now, saying Valliere’s dedication and “fine workmanship” have been a boon for affordable housing from the Blackstone Valley to South County, Grow Smart has named Valliere “Outstanding Smart Growth Leader” of the year.
A non-profit think tank on land-use issues, Grow Smart will recognize Valliere during its annual awards ceremony – to be held on local turf for the first time this year, at the Stadium Theatre, on June 6.
Valliere took over Nation Wide from his father more than 40 years ago as a doorto-door sales outfit specializing in roofing and siding projects.
“I had no idea what affordable housing really meant,” he says.
Valliere began doing affordable housing work with the Women’s Development Corporation in the late 1980s in Central Falls, rehabbing old tenement houses targeted for the working poor. For the first time he got an up-close look at how improving the condition of the housing stock and providing affordable tenant space could change people’s lives.
Soon Nation Wide began building a reputation as a willing partner for so-called Community Development Organizations – non-profit vehicles with access to funding for affordable housing projects through a smorgasbord of state, federal and philanthopic organizations.
“I started to figure it out,” says Valliere. “This is an opportunity for people to live a normal life. We can come in and salvage a neighborhood. We can at least salvage a couple of streets. It raises the selfesteem of the people who live in those houses. And they know they don’t have to work three jobs just to pay the rent.
One community development organization that Valliere began working with is NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley. Originally known as the Woonsocket Neighborhood Development Corporation, NeighborWorks made a name for itself in the late 1980s with a vision for a sweeping overhaul of one of the city’s oldest and most blighted neighborhoods, Constitution Hill.
NeighborWorks poured some $10 million in private and government-backed money into the area, reclaiming dozens of multi-family housing units from the abyss of urban decay. Nation Wide has done work on some of the latter phases of the project.
In recent years, Nation Wide became one of NeighborWorks’ steadiest partners, helping develop scores of affordable housing units in projects hailed as models of the craft, including 96 Burnside Ave., a transitional housing complex for housing veterans; Clocktower Apartments, a mill-to-apartment conversion that’s now a centerpiece of a resurgent Harrisville center; the mixeduse makeover of the Mulvey Hardware Building in Market Square; and – a work currently in progress – Greenridge, in Burrillville’s Pascoag section.
It’s no surprise that NeighborWorks Executive Director Joseph Garlick, a former city planner in Woonsocket, nominated Valliere for the Grow Smart leadership award.
“Al’s firm’s work has been a revitalization catalyst in many city, town and village centers throughout Rhode Island,” said Garlick. “Al understands and appreciates the positive impact that his firm’s work has on the lives of the residents who live in the housing his company builds, and the neighborhoods where they are located.”
Over the years, advocates for affordable housing say, Valliere morphed into not just a specialty construction con- tractor, but one of their own.
Valliere has sat through – and offered – many hours of testimony in legislative hearings at the State House on issues affecting the affordable housing industry, providing valuable insight into the hurdles private sector builders face in developing houses for families struggling to make ends meet.
“The affordable housing sector has been fortunate to have someone of his caliber in its corner,” Housing Network of Rhode Island Director Melina Lodge wrote in support of Valliere’s nomination. “He has dedicated himself to community service and engagement through his involvement on the board of directors of a number of organizations.”
His company is “a leader in developing affordable housing that respects the land on which it is built, honors the heritage of the community and gives dignity to the families that reside in it,” she said.
Amy Rainone, director of government and policy relations for Rhode Island Housing, said, “I have worked with Al for many years and can’t think of a better candidate for this prestigious award.”
She said his work includes some of the best examples in the state of high quality housing that’s within reach of working Rhode Islanders, citing examples in Barrington, Woonsocket and Providence. His portfolio, said Rainone, includes new homes clustered to preserve open space and the restoration of historic properties.
But Valliere’s commitment goes beyond the work of a mere tradesman, according to Rainone.
“He understands that the greatest challenges to developing affordable housing are the local land use barriers and misconceptions that can stop these developments in their tracks, and the lack of resources to meet the state’s growing housing needs,” she said. “Whenever there was an opportunity to push for these critical investments or change the perception of what affordable housing is, Al has been there to do what he can.”
A resident of North Smithfield, Valliere holds the title of vice president and board chairman of Nation Wide Construction, which was founded by his father in the mid 1930s. The company employs 26 full-time workers, mostly carpenters, and Valliere co-owns it with Marc Pincince, the president and chief executive officer.
At 70, Valliere is in the process of divesting from the company and is not involved in day-to-day operations.
Perhaps because his father came from Constitution Hill and his wife from nearby Fairmount, Valliere says he’s always had a soft spot for working class families.
The improvements by NeighborWorks in the area were a big inspiration to him.
“It was a mess,” recalls Valliere. “Too many barrooms, constant police calls. When Joe Garlick came in – and I wasn’t doing his work then – you could see it was different. Every building they did up there improved the area. It’s still a lovely area. It’s a safe area. It’s a community. They do things in a very holistic way. They bought a school up there and there’s a child-care center in it.”
Valliere is flattered that he getting an award for doing what he loves, but he seems a little uneasy with all the attention.
“I just do what I do,” says Valliere. “I don’t really think of it as doing anything but the right thing.”