Brown Is Hoarding Houses While Providence Has a Housing Crisis

Brown Is Hoarding Houses While Providence Has a Housing Crisis

 

On Brook Street in Providence, there are two multi-family homes that have fallen into disrepair. The dilapidated buildings are marked by boarded-up windows, peeling paint, and broken wooden front steps.

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The owner of the homes is Brown University, which has held title to the properties for decades.

 

Trash is spewed in the backyard. According to one neighbor who asked not to be identified — no one has lived in the homes for 20-30 years. The Ivy League university has been hoarding the properties.

 

In 2010, according to Art in Ruins, Brown promised to revitalize homes and return them to private ownership — and to the tax rolls. Multi-family houses like those in that area with three units fetch upwards of $1.5 million restored.

Brown, whose endowment is more than $7 billion, is half the state of Rhode Island’s entire annual budget.

According to Providence tax documents, the homes feature three units each. The properties were built about 1870.

 

 

 

Housing Crisis

But while the Brown-owned homes continue to degrade and sit vacant year after year, the housing crisis in Providence continues to get worse.

Providence had a 12% increase in rents last year, the highest of any major city in the country, according to rent.com.

The median price of a single-family home hit $435,000 in Providence in January, up nearly 6% over the previous year.

The lack of affordable housing has been identified as one of the biggest issues in Rhode Island. The state has directed about $500 million in recent years in federal and state monies to build more affordable housing. 

“Our housing shortage and homelessness crisis are very much intertwined. As home prices and rents increase, it’s not just working families who are getting priced out of the housing market: people on the lower end of the income spectrum are disproportionately affected, and the data shows that homelessness increases in correlation with the cost of housing. I am so appreciative of all of the partners who continue to work with me to address our housing shortage,” said Speaker Joseph Shekarchi in recent weeks, announcing more legislation to combat the housing crisis.

 

 

Taxes Increasing for Homeowners and Rents to Increase

While these homes sit on the sidelines, taxes in Providence are expected to increase by 8% or more.

For those who own single-family homes, the revaluation value of property has exploded.

As a class, single-family homes have increased by ward from 29% to 41%.

The impact of tax increases will have no impact on not-for-profits like Brown University.