Vacant Schools

Repurposing of Vacant Schools for Affordable Housing

The repurposing of vacant schools for affordable housing program was created to explore the feasibility of converting identified vacant schools into affordable housing units. This program was created under RIGL § 45-53-10.

The Rhode Island Department of Education provides a list of identified vacant school properties to the Executive Office of Housing for assessment. The Executive Office of Housing consulted with a taskforce of the following members, who assisted in developing preliminary assessment criteria to determine if a building may be repurposed into affordable housing. The taskforce is comprised of the following (as named in statute):

The Secretary of Housing
The Department of Health
The Department of Environmental Management
The Rhode Island housing and mortgage finance corporation
A Rhode Island fire marshal

Based on the assessment criteria determined by the task force, the Executive Office of Housing may facilitate a feasibility study to estimate the anticipated costs to repurpose the building for affordable housing. All buildings for which a feasibility study has been completed are listed below. The cost estimates within are estimates to repurpose used buildings; neither the state, the corporation, the division, the commission, or any instrumentality of the state or of a municipality or school district shall be liable for any estimates that are incorrect.

Feasibility Studies:

Oak Haven Elementary School, 46 Pettine Street, Coventry, RI 02816

Signal Works Architecture has conducted an Adaptive Reuse Feasibility Study for the vacant Oak Haven Elementary School. The report demonstrates how the 29,000 SF building can be repurposed into 24 residential units through strategic interior demolition, the creation of two internal courtyards, and the conversion of the gymnasium into four lofted dwelling units. The 24 units are comprised of twenty one-bedroom and four two-bedroom units. There is existing vehicular access and ample off-street parking on site. Depending on the amount of energy upgrades that the developer commits to, the consultant estimates that the project would cost between $9.6 - $13.2 million.

South Road Elementary School, 1157 South Road, South Kingstown, RI 02879

This assessment was conducted with information provided by the Town of South Kingstown. Executive Office of Housing staff toured the school, reviewed site information provided by the Town, and completed the assessment. This assessment also produced information about the cost to redevelop the property. High level estimates conclude that the property would be costly to remediate from hazardous materials and install necessary infrastructure including septic systems, and access to the public water supply. Because the structure itself is not conducive for direct redevelopment, cost will vary significantly based upon the number of units proposed at the site. Due to this initial collaborative process, the Town Council decided to authorize funds to hire a consultant to evaluate the former South Road Elementary School (SRES) for affordable housing development.

A detailed cost breakdown of certain redevelopment activities is included in the feasibility study, but no topline redevelopment cost is estimated due to limited information and an unknown proposed project. The proposed number of units, finishes, and affordability considerations would significantly alter any estimates.

Alan Shawn Feinstein Elementary School , 1450 Broad Street, Providence, RI 02905

This assessment was conducted by Signal Works Architecture, a local architecture firm contracted by the Executive Office of Housing. The feasibility study found that the adaptive reuse of the former school building into affordable housing is a viable development opportunity with multiple implementation pathways. The design team was able to create a full residential program of one- and two-bedroom units, storage, and community amenities within the existing building envelope.

The cost estimates provided in the feasibility study ranged from $20,350,000 to $26,400,000, depending on the standard of energy efficiency targeted. The feasibility study envisioned a total of 40 units in the building.