R.I. Department of Housing closing in on Charlesgate purchase

The Rhode Island Department of Housing expects to close on its purchase ??of the former Charlesgate Nursing Center in Providence within the next 10 days, and for $100,000 less than anticipated last fall.

After nearly a year of negotiation and property inspections, the State Properties Committee gave its final approval Tuesday morning for the $6.85 million purchase and sale agreement for the tower located at 100 Randall St. A copy of the agreement was not immediately made available.

“This acquisition will be a large step forward in addressing the state’s homelessness crisis,” Interim Housing Secretary Daniel Connors told the committee.

The state set out to acquire the property after its owner, Davenport Associates, closed the nursing home in May 2023 citing staffing shortages. Charlesgate had been a nursing home for five decades. Since last summer, the Housing Department has paid $72,000 in monthly rent to Davenport in order to shelter homeless families.

A total of 57 rooms (which can vary on the number of beds) were made available with support services administered by Amos House, a Providence social services nonprofit organization. Plans call for the building to provide up to 105 rooms for shelter space, Connors said.

The state initially engaged Amos House for a one-year contract through Sept. 30, 2024, and now plans to extend it for another year, Housing Department spokesperson Emily Marshall told Rhode Island Current.

“It would be very discouraging if we weren’t extended,” Amos House CEO Eileen Hayes said in an interview Thursday afternoon. “The need is just so great — and nobody else has 57 families.”

Hayes called the state’s Charlesgate purchase “one of the most important initiatives” undertaken in boosting the number of available shelter spaces. The 2024 Point in Time count conducted by the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness found that 2,442 individuals across the state were unhoused during their annual count in January — 534 of whom were living in outdoor spaces.

“We need to identify more buildings that can be converted into housing, that should be the state’s plan,” Hayes said. “We do need a transitional plan over the next three to five years as we develop housing, because we don’t have enough shelter right now.”

Portions of Charlesgate are also leased out to Woonsocket-based Community Care Alliance and YWCA, which both have active contracts through the end of the year, said Housing Department attorney Christopher Fragomeni.

Davenport’s initial asking price for Charlesgate was $7.15 million, but was lowered by a total of $300,000 to factor in a $200,000 repair credit last fall as part of the state’s preliminary purchase and sale agreement and another $100,000 announced Tuesday because more repairs will be needed, Connors said.

Fragomeni said much of the work needed is toward maintenance and upkeep.

Charlesgate will also require some environmental remediation work, Fragomeni said — though it was not specified what needs to be done. 

The maximum remediation cost is roughly $575,000, which Fragomeni said was based on an estimate provided by Providence-based SAGE Environmental.

“There’s a possibility in dialoguing with Rhode Island DEM that they won’t require a full remediation,” he told the committee. “Maybe it’s something just like a land use restriction.”

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management spokesperson Evan LaCross said he could not comment on any specific contaminants at Charlesgate. LaCross said the Housing Department had yet to file any formal site inspection reports.

Davenport Associates is liable for any additional contamination found on the premises, Fragomeni added.

This story was updated to include comment from Amos House CEO Eileen Hayes and the correct Charlesgate building set for purchase.