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According to a study, 16% of residential addresses in Providence had not received mail in over 3 years as of June 2015, indicating long-term abandonment, up significantly from 3.1% in 2010. Similarly, Central Falls saw rates rise from 2.9% to 22.7% and Pawtucket from 2.1% to 14.5% over the same period. The long-term abandonment of properties poses challenges to revitalizing neighborhoods and impacts municipalities financially. Officials in Providence and Central Falls are attempting to address the issue through receivership programs and nuisance task forces to help rehabilitate or secure vacant homes, which can cost $2,000-$3,000 each to clean and board up
![www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | AUG. 3-9, 2015 | 13
In Providence, 16 percent of the
apartment and home addresses served
by the U.S. Postal Service had not re-
ceived mail for more than three years
as of June, a status that is thought to
indicate abandonment, according to an
analysis by HousingWorks RI at Roger
Williams University.
In many cities, including Provi-
dence, the percentage of housing
that has remained unoccupied
long term, or for more than
three years, has grown
between 2010 and 2015. In
2010, Providence had 3.1
percent of its addresses
identified as unoccupied
for three years, compared
with the recorded 16 per-
cent.
In Central Falls, 22.7
percent of the residential
apartments or houses had
been vacant that long, an
increase from 2.9 percent in
2010. In Pawtucket, 14.5 per-
cent of the house addresses
had not accepted mail for
three years, compared with
2.1 percent five years before.
“The longer properties remain
abandoned, the harder it may be to
bring those properties back to have a
greater fiscal impact on our struggling
municipalities,” said Nicole Lagace,
director of HousingWorks RI.
SHARED PROBLEM
Providence is not unique among
many of the country’s older cities.
A report by the Brookings Institu-
tion in 2012 examined U.S. Census
Bureau data that found a 44 percent
increase in the total number of vacant
housing units in the U.S. between 2000
and 2010. Empty houses, as well as
commercial buildings, were dispropor-
tionately located in older, industrial
cities that had lost their employment
base and had declining populations,
according to the report.
Of the six cities examined in-depth
in the report, most had a proportion
of vacant housing that far exceeded
Rhode Island’s cities. In Detroit, 23
percent of the housing units were
vacant in 2010, according to the report.
In Cleveland and Youngstown, Ohio,
19 percent of the housing units were
unoccupied. In Baltimore, 16 percent of
the housing units were vacant, while
in Pittsburgh, 13 percent were vacant,
according to the report data.
In Rhode Island, by comparison, the
census in 2010 reported 12.7 percent
of the housing units in Central Falls
were vacant, the greatest percentage
of unoccupied housing reported in the
Ocean State by the Census Bureau.
Among other cities, Providence had
12.3 percent of its housing units listed
as vacant, while Woonsocket had 11.2
percent.
In Providence, the city registry of
vacant properties this year includes
475 structures, but not all vacant hous-
es have been identified. Abandoned
and boarded structures are in every
neighborhood, according to the data,
but hard-hit areas include Silver Lake,
Hartford, Lower South Providence,
Washington Park, Smith Hill, Valley,
Charles and Wanskuck.
In Central Falls, another city hard-
hit by the housing crisis, a nuisance
task force is keeping tabs on 47 vacant
and abandoned properties. Three-
quarters of these buildings are in
pre-foreclosure, meaning the lender
has not moved to acquire the property,
according to task force chairman Rob-
ert Weber. In the two years since the
12-member task force started meeting
with property owners, 20 previously
abandoned properties have been reha-
bilitated.
What is the impact of abandoned,
derelict properties? Officials and
community-development leaders in
several cities say vacant structures de-
press real estate values, attract a host
of public-safety problems and dissuade
private investment in neighborhoods.
“No. 1, it creates a public-safety
risk,” Weber said. “In most cases there
are squatters living in the property.
It’s unoccupied in the sense that no one
is renting it. But in most cases, when
we enter, you can see evidence that at
some point, someone was living in the
house.”
Neither Providence nor Central
Falls have tallied the economic impact
of vacant structures. But just cleaning
and securing an abandoned house can
cost between $2,000 and $3,000, said
Weber. “It’s lost money every time you
have a [vacant] house.”
TAX INCENTIVES
A new state law will create property
tax incentives for builders to rehab
unoccupied structures purchased
through a bank, a foreclosure or an
auction. The new law will waive up
to two years of taxes on the improve-
ments, or until the developer sells the
rehabbed structures. The law, which
took effect in July, also affects new
construction of housing on specula-
tion, or without a contract in place for
a purchase.
In Providence, officials have tried
to use existing programs to pare the
number of vacant or unoccupied dwell-
ings, including through a receivership
program. This allows the city to peti-
tion the Providence Housing Court to
turn over an abandoned property to a
private party, or a “receiver,” who will
make improvements.
In 2013, the administration of for-
mer Mayor Angel Taveras announced
the receivership program would be
used to rehabilitate the city’s vacant
houses. But it has been used since only
in limited numbers.
Four apartment houses in the
Charles neighborhood, on Greeley
Street, were among the first placed
under receivership. Last week, they
remained boarded with plywood and
barricaded with metal security fenc-
ing, but receivers had begun interior
work.
In late May, the City Council envel-
oped Greeley Street in a redevelopment
district, adding 57 properties in the
neighborhood behind the San Miguel
School to a 35-year-old redevelopment
zone that covers much of Charles
Street, north of Branch Avenue.
The redevelopment district didn’t
sweep any of these properties under
city control. But the new designa-
tion will make it easier for the city to
acquire bank-owned, vacant properties
in that area, according to Councilman
Nicholas Narducci, who represents the
neighborhood.
“It would make it easier for us to
take the properties over, say, if the
bank is taking too long to do what they
need to do,” he said.
Banks, in fact, are some of the most
troublesome property owners, because
they do not foreclose on abandoned
properties, which prolongs the rede-
velopment period. Sometimes called
“zombie foreclosures,” these proper-
ties are in limbo between an owner
who has walked away and a lender
who has not followed through to take
PROVIDENCE
Properties
SOURCE: PROVIDENCE MAYOR JORGE O. ELORZA’S OFFICE
475
VACANT PROPERTIES
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23
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19
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6
24
53
30
‘It’s lost money every time you have
a [vacant] house.’
ROBERT WEBER, Central Falls nuisance task force member
CURBINGBLIGHT
3 properties
19 properties
47 properties
41 properties
40 properties
53 properties
6 properties
PARTS of WAYLAND
PARTS of MANTON
UPPER SOUTH PROVIDENCE
45 properties
41 properties
39 properties
23 properties
32 properties
30 properties24 properties
32 properties
LISTED BY WARD
PBN MAP: LISA LAGRECA](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/a33cc339-8c34-4372-926c-78df24011848-160922134048/85/BlightChart_web-1-320.jpg)
BlightChart_web
- 1. www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | AUG. 3-9, 2015 | 13 In Providence, 16 percent of the apartment and home addresses served by the U.S. Postal Service had not re- ceived mail for more than three years as of June, a status that is thought to indicate abandonment, according to an analysis by HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University. In many cities, including Provi- dence, the percentage of housing that has remained unoccupied long term, or for more than three years, has grown between 2010 and 2015. In 2010, Providence had 3.1 percent of its addresses identified as unoccupied for three years, compared with the recorded 16 per- cent. In Central Falls, 22.7 percent of the residential apartments or houses had been vacant that long, an increase from 2.9 percent in 2010. In Pawtucket, 14.5 per- cent of the house addresses had not accepted mail for three years, compared with 2.1 percent five years before. “The longer properties remain abandoned, the harder it may be to bring those properties back to have a greater fiscal impact on our struggling municipalities,” said Nicole Lagace, director of HousingWorks RI. SHARED PROBLEM Providence is not unique among many of the country’s older cities. A report by the Brookings Institu- tion in 2012 examined U.S. Census Bureau data that found a 44 percent increase in the total number of vacant housing units in the U.S. between 2000 and 2010. Empty houses, as well as commercial buildings, were dispropor- tionately located in older, industrial cities that had lost their employment base and had declining populations, according to the report. Of the six cities examined in-depth in the report, most had a proportion of vacant housing that far exceeded Rhode Island’s cities. In Detroit, 23 percent of the housing units were vacant in 2010, according to the report. In Cleveland and Youngstown, Ohio, 19 percent of the housing units were unoccupied. In Baltimore, 16 percent of the housing units were vacant, while in Pittsburgh, 13 percent were vacant, according to the report data. In Rhode Island, by comparison, the census in 2010 reported 12.7 percent of the housing units in Central Falls were vacant, the greatest percentage of unoccupied housing reported in the Ocean State by the Census Bureau. Among other cities, Providence had 12.3 percent of its housing units listed as vacant, while Woonsocket had 11.2 percent. In Providence, the city registry of vacant properties this year includes 475 structures, but not all vacant hous- es have been identified. Abandoned and boarded structures are in every neighborhood, according to the data, but hard-hit areas include Silver Lake, Hartford, Lower South Providence, Washington Park, Smith Hill, Valley, Charles and Wanskuck. In Central Falls, another city hard- hit by the housing crisis, a nuisance task force is keeping tabs on 47 vacant and abandoned properties. Three- quarters of these buildings are in pre-foreclosure, meaning the lender has not moved to acquire the property, according to task force chairman Rob- ert Weber. In the two years since the 12-member task force started meeting with property owners, 20 previously abandoned properties have been reha- bilitated. What is the impact of abandoned, derelict properties? Officials and community-development leaders in several cities say vacant structures de- press real estate values, attract a host of public-safety problems and dissuade private investment in neighborhoods. “No. 1, it creates a public-safety risk,” Weber said. “In most cases there are squatters living in the property. It’s unoccupied in the sense that no one is renting it. But in most cases, when we enter, you can see evidence that at some point, someone was living in the house.” Neither Providence nor Central Falls have tallied the economic impact of vacant structures. But just cleaning and securing an abandoned house can cost between $2,000 and $3,000, said Weber. “It’s lost money every time you have a [vacant] house.” TAX INCENTIVES A new state law will create property tax incentives for builders to rehab unoccupied structures purchased through a bank, a foreclosure or an auction. The new law will waive up to two years of taxes on the improve- ments, or until the developer sells the rehabbed structures. The law, which took effect in July, also affects new construction of housing on specula- tion, or without a contract in place for a purchase. In Providence, officials have tried to use existing programs to pare the number of vacant or unoccupied dwell- ings, including through a receivership program. This allows the city to peti- tion the Providence Housing Court to turn over an abandoned property to a private party, or a “receiver,” who will make improvements. In 2013, the administration of for- mer Mayor Angel Taveras announced the receivership program would be used to rehabilitate the city’s vacant houses. But it has been used since only in limited numbers. Four apartment houses in the Charles neighborhood, on Greeley Street, were among the first placed under receivership. Last week, they remained boarded with plywood and barricaded with metal security fenc- ing, but receivers had begun interior work. In late May, the City Council envel- oped Greeley Street in a redevelopment district, adding 57 properties in the neighborhood behind the San Miguel School to a 35-year-old redevelopment zone that covers much of Charles Street, north of Branch Avenue. The redevelopment district didn’t sweep any of these properties under city control. But the new designa- tion will make it easier for the city to acquire bank-owned, vacant properties in that area, according to Councilman Nicholas Narducci, who represents the neighborhood. “It would make it easier for us to take the properties over, say, if the bank is taking too long to do what they need to do,” he said. Banks, in fact, are some of the most troublesome property owners, because they do not foreclose on abandoned properties, which prolongs the rede- velopment period. Sometimes called “zombie foreclosures,” these proper- ties are in limbo between an owner who has walked away and a lender who has not followed through to take PROVIDENCE Properties SOURCE: PROVIDENCE MAYOR JORGE O. ELORZA’S OFFICE 475 VACANT PROPERTIES 9} 10} 11} 13} 12} 6} 5} 3} 4}14} 2} 1} 8} 7} 15} 32 45 41 23 39 40 41 19 4732 3 6 24 53 30 ‘It’s lost money every time you have a [vacant] house.’ ROBERT WEBER, Central Falls nuisance task force member CURBINGBLIGHT 3 properties 19 properties 47 properties 41 properties 40 properties 53 properties 6 properties PARTS of WAYLAND PARTS of MANTON UPPER SOUTH PROVIDENCE 45 properties 41 properties 39 properties 23 properties 32 properties 30 properties24 properties 32 properties LISTED BY WARD PBN MAP: LISA LAGRECA