Women’s Development Corporation (WDC) will redevelop 183 Washington Street, the former Ocean State Furniture Store, into 30 new housing units with onsite supportive services for building residents. The redeveloped building will also include first-floor commercial space for local businesses.

In addition to redeveloping a critical vacant building in the community, the services to be offered by WDC at 183 Washington Street will address the community's immediate and long-term needs for permanent supportive housing. With input from the Arctic Village Redevelopment Agency and others in the community, WDC has ensured that the project and building design is aligned with the Arctic Village Redevelopment Strategy and the Arctic Village Plan.  When complete, the property will also pay significantly more in property taxes to the town than in its previous use.  

By restoring this property, the presence of new residential and commercial tenants at 183 Washington will increase economic activity and reinvigorate the entire Arctic community.   By providing safe, affordable housing with comprehensive supportive services that will ensure long term resident stability, this project is a significant step in addressing the homelessness problem that has been affecting West Warwick and Arctic in particular.

The furniture store previously located at the property paid $16,381 in property taxes to the city of West Warwick. Our initial property tax estimates are around $40,000 annually.

WDC is partnering with Thrive Behavioral Health, Thundermist Health Center and other partners for the provision of supportive services to the residents of the building. Thrive & Thundermist have been key partner in the development of this project and are prepared to operate comprehensive support services for the residents of 183 Washington Street.   Both have a significant presence in West Warwick and extensive experience with the local population’s needs, having offered health services and outreach to the community for many years.

Plans for 183 Washington Street include an onsite office suite with treatment space, laundry, bicycle storage, a tech center, and a large community room. Utilizing these spaces, our residents will receive support including direct relief and resources for existing issues in the community, including food security, behavioral health, substance abuse, education and job retraining.  Case managers will assist residents with applying for and accessing vital documents, medical and behavioral health services, financial and medical benefits, as well as other community, educational and vocational resources. Indoor and outdoor on-site passive recreation spaces such as a community room, small sitting areas, and a screened outdoor cafe style patio will be provided as well.

183 Washington Street results from an innovative partnership between the West Warwick Health Equity Zone (HEZ) and WDC. West Warwick’s HEZ is a coalition of residents and community-based organizations, anchored by Thundermist Health Center. The West Warwick HEZ invited WDC to develop affordable housing to meet this serious community need - 183 Washington is the first step in that process.   WDC will work with HEZ members, Town officials and other local service providers, to support our residents with a long-term commitment from local service providers at a high level of engagement to meet the needs of the residents.

In 2020, the HEZ created a Healthy Neighborhoods workgroup to focus on the growing amount of housing insecurity in West Warwick.  This group included members of the HEZ, the Chief of the West Warwick Fire Department/Emergency Management lead, the West Warwick Town Manager, and the West Warwick Public Housing Authority.  It also included representatives from the Continuum of Care, Housing Works RI and the RI Coalition to End Homelessness. 

The work group’s vision was to ensure that all residents of West Warwick have access to safe, decent, affordable housing.  In 2022, the group invited WDC, an experienced community development organization with over 20 years of experience in West Warwick, to work together to develop a pipeline of potential affordable housing to meet this challenge. This project was born of that effort, as was the strong partnership between the organizations that will continue to work together to ensure the long-term successful operation of the project and housing stability of the residents.

Funding for new affordable housing requires many partners. The proposal does not, however, require any funds from the town.  For this project, RI Housing has committed grant funds both to acquire the 183 Washington Street property and for predevelopment expenses related to the development of permanent supportive housing.  The West Warwick Housing Authority has expressed support for the project and is interested in working to access rental assistance vouchers for the project. Additional support is expected from the Rhode Island Continuum of Care in the form of grant funding for rental assistance and services. WDC is preparing funding applications and working with investors to access all the resources needed for the full project development. 

WDC’s sister property management organization, Housing Opportunities Corporation (“HOC”), will manage facilities, including daily janitorial services for all interior and exterior spaces.     HOC currently manages more than 100 units in West Warwick and more than 900 across the state of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.

The property, which was on the market for sale due to the planned closure of Ocean State Furniture, was first identified through WDC’s collaboration with the West Warwick Health Equity Zone (HEZ). Easy access to public transportation, services, and jobs makes 183 Washington Street ideal for permanent supportive housing.  

The property is within a half-mile radius of numerous restaurants, the US Post Office, Thundermist Health Center, The Salvation Army Thrift Store, the West Warwick Housing Authority, Cumberland Farms, NATCO Products Corporation, CVS, and many other potential retail, services, and employers. Its location also lends itself to the development of retail on Washington Street, contributing to the redevelopment and restoration of this once vibrant street edge.

WDC is completing funding and investment plans while working with the Artic Redevelopment Agency and the community to develop full designs.   Our goal is to apply for funding in the State of Rhode Island funding rounds later this year. Construction is slated to begin in late-2025 then be completed and the property occupied during the winter of 2026-27.

Women’s Development Corporation currently owns and manages 103 affordable units of housing in West Warwick alone, and nearly 900 units across 13 communities statewide and nearby Southeastern Massachusetts. Women’s Development Corporation provides housing and supportive services to more than 2,000 Rhode Islanders annually.

Women’s Development Corporation is committed to providing regular updates on our website at 183washington.com, our email newsletter, and on the Women’s Development Corporation social media pages. WDC continues to own and operate every rental property that we develop. As long-term stakeholders in West Warwick, we are invested in the community and its success. Throughout the development, construction, and long-term operations phases, WDC will continue to be available to our neighbors if questions or concerns arise. As we welcome new neighbors into 183 Washington Street and become part of the fabric of the community, Women’s Development Corporation will make it a priority to stay in contact with the neighborhood and will remain one call away. Our property management team is on call 24 hours a day in case a need arises.

The criteria for tenant eligibility is being finalized now and WDC will share that information with the community when it is complete.  Women’s Development Corporation will work closely with the Town, West Warwick Housing Authority and other partners to make this housing available to current West Warwick residents who may be eligible.   

WDC operates several other properties serving this population and will apply that experience to ensure that 183 Washington Street succeeds and contributes to the West Warwick community. 

Governor Dan McKee and Rhode Island State Legislature recently made changes to state land use laws in response to the state’s housing crisis.    The rules were intended to simplify the process of developing housing units—particularly in the “adaptive reuse” of former commercial buildings like 183 Washington Street.  As a result, the current project’s approval process has been streamlined.

WDC’s plan for the project--residential units with street-level commercial spaces--is consistent with the Arctic Village Redevelopment Strategy and the Arctic Village Plan and the reuse of this vacant building will make a significant contribution to the Village’s revitalization.