Magaziner Doesn’t Know Cost of His Proposal to Build 5,000 New Housing Units

Magaziner Doesn’t Know Cost of His Proposal to Build 5,000 New Housing Units

On Monday, gubernatorial candidate Seth Magaziner issued a press release that if elected, he would “build thousands of new units of affordable housing with a goal of building and preserving at least 5,000 units in his first term in office.”

He also promised to “invest in Infrastructure to spur affordable housing development and to reduce red tape for affordable housing development.”

So, GoLocal asked how much Magaziner estimated the cost of building 5,000 units would be. 

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In response to GoLocal’s question about the cost of building 5,000 new units, the Magaziner campaign wrote in an email, “This plan is a high-level outline of what Magaziner will prioritize as Governor. Rhode Island is receiving an unprecedented influx of federal dollars through ARPA while also going out to bond for affordable housing developments, as approved by voters this past March.”

“As the details of the federal funding continue to be developed and we look at state budget priorities, we will have to make informed decisions about how to fund each proposal and ensure sustained service as an investment in Rhode Island's economy,” Magaziner added.

So, since Magaziner did not seem to know what the cost of his proposal was, GoLocal asked Rhode Island’s housing guru, Brenda Clement, the Director HousingWorks RI, who said there are a number of factors to consider — new construction versus rehabbing an existing structure. Also to consider the regulatory restriction in certain communities and the cost of land.

But, Clement said on average the cost is about $175,000 to $200,000 per unit.

Thus, the cost of Magaziner’s proposal, whether he knows it or not, is about $875,000,000 to $1 billion.

As a side note, affordable housing advocates in Rhode Island are proposing spending nearly half of the state’s $1.1 billion of federal pandemic recovery funds from the American Rescue Plan to tackle the issue.