Grow Smart RI Announces 12th Annual Award Winners
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Grow Smart RI Announces 12th Annual Award Winners
In announcing the award winners, Grow Smart RI Executive Director Scott Wolf said “Each year, committed, creative and resourceful Rhode Islanders show us the way to tap our state’s full potential through projects, plans and policies that play to Rhode Island’s strengths and generate enduring economic benefits and expanded opportunities, both statewide and in specific neighborhoods.”
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The awards will be presented on Friday, May 3rd, during the luncheon of Grow Smart RI's biennial Power of Place Summit before a projected gathering of up to 500 business, civic and elected leaders, development and real estate professionals, architects, builders, conservationists, policy advocates and community stakeholders from across Southern New England.
This year’s honorees include:
Outstanding Smart Growth Leader
HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University
Under the outstanding leadership of Brenda Clement and Annette Bourne, Housing Works RI at Roger Williams University has become the premier Rhode Island go to source for data and policy analysis regarding our complicated and urgent housing crisis. They highlight clearly how increasing Rhode Islanders' access to healthy, affordable homes can advance such other key smart growth objectives as stronger transit, increased economic opportunity, revitalized Downtowns and Main Streets and improved public health. Their annual, rigorously researched Housing Fact Book has become Rhode Island’s "go-to" or essential resource on housing affordability. Their more recent initiatives, including the RI Zoning Atlas and a report on mobile home parks, are also encouraging policy changes critical to digging us out of our severe housing production and affordability hole.
Outstanding Smart Growth Projects
The Pine Street Project, (SHRI Studio+) Pawtucket
In collaboration with numerous community stakeholders and partners, Citizen Developer Alison Bologna brought to fruition the creative redevelopment of the historic office building within the Conant Thread / Coats & Clark Mill Complex in Pawtucket, just a short walk from the Pawtucket Central Falls Transit Center. Bologna’s SHRI Yoga Studio, offering low-cost and free yoga classes to Rhode islanders of all backgrounds, was growing rapidly in 2019 when the city’s mayor, Donald Grebien, convinced her to explore rehabbing the mill office building. She closed on the property in January 2020, just three months before the global pandemic shuttered the economy and a massive fire destroyed a cluster of eight nearby mill buildings. Despite many setbacks the project was completed in August 2023 and now boasts several thriving social enterprises and eight mixed-income residential apartments. Since opening, two adjacent developments are now underway bringing an additional 400 units of housing to the Train Station District.
Outstanding Smart Growth Policies /Plans
East Providence "Main Street" Mixed Use Overlay Districts
With many of the City’s commercial corridors in need of reinvestment, East Providence recognized the negative impacts that outdated zoning had on these areas. To incentivize mixed-use development and affordable housing located adjacent to services, jobs, and transit, the City adopted in December 2022. a series of “Mixed Use Hub” overlay districts. Currently approved for four of the City’s Main Street areas, these districts are noteworthy for their reduction and/or elimination of parking requirements, especially for adaptive reuse affordable housing projects. Simultaneously, the City allowed mixed-use development in all commercial districts, reduced many other parking requirements, and allowed for increased multi-family density. Numerous commercial and housing projects on key sites have resulted from these overlay districts, and the City is considering expanding them to additional corridors.