Rau Fastener

Mill Complex

Providence Rhode Island

Introduction

Summer 2003 The Developer The Architect Reviving a Brownfield Tour the Site

Fall 2004 The Developer The Architect Tour the Site

Summer 2006 The Developer Tour the Site

The Numbers

Introduction

Touring the Rau site are architect Douglas L. Brown (left), David P. Parish (second from right), the Bank's senior vice president / housing and community investment; and Robert W. Varney (right), administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's New England office.

When the Rau Fastener Mill Complex ceased operating in a Providence, Rhode Island, neighborhood in the 1990s, the site soon became an eyesore. Weeds started to overgrow the property and people began dumping trash around the site. Prostitution near the vacant mill also became a problem.

Soon, neighbors were bringing their concerns about the condition of the site to Sharon Conard-Wells, executive director of the West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation. She had her own concerns because West Elmwood Housing had acquired land across from the mill complex and was interested in developing housing there.

Although Ms. Conard-Wells was determined to develop the site, she encountered a host of obstacles along the way. For one thing, the site was a brownfield that had almost certainly been contaminated by chemicals used in the mill's manufacturing process.

After enlisting the support of funders, West Elmwood Housing began to move forward with plans for a four-phase development on the site. Phase one involves the acquisition and rehabilitation of two historic buildings to create 69 lofts and apartments, 22 of which will be affordable for very low- and low-income residents.

Once the development team determined that the environmental issues weren't insurmountable, it began identifying funding sources for the initiative. Although the Rau development wouldn't be possible without the infusion of EPA cleanup funds, the Rhode Island Historic Building Tax Credit also provides a key piece of the financing puzzle.

Another critical piece of construction funding was a $313,000 grant and a $3.3 million advance awarded by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston's 2002 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) through member Fleet National Bank. "The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston's AHP is a phenomenal program that many nonprofits don't take advantage of," notes Stephen Soler, a consultant on the project.

Visiting the Rau site are, from the left, David Parish, the Bank's senior vice president; Sharon Conard-Wells, executive director of the West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation; and David N. Cicilline, mayor of Providence.

Ms. Conard-Wells says that both she and West Elmwood's board knew that developing Rau wouldn't be easy. But they decided that the difficulty of the undertaking signaled to them that it was something that needed to be done for the community.