On a corner of Taunton Avenue that sat empty for years, a small affordable homeownership project is offering three more families a way in.
NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley is accepting applications for three homes at Ivy Place, its mixed-use affordable homeownership development along Ivy Street and Taunton Avenue in East Providence, the nonprofit announced Oct. 7. Prices run from $185,500 to $254,800, and applications are being taken on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ivy Place has 13 units: nine three-bedroom townhouses and four two-bedroom live/work homes with first-floor commercial space. NeighborWorks describes the three available homes as brand-new.
The three homes
The priciest is 3 Ivy Street, listed at $254,800. It is an ADA-accessible, three-story townhouse with three bedrooms, two and a half baths and 1,449 square feet. An Elevette provides access between floors, and the home has accessible bathrooms, lower countertops, energy-efficient heating and cooling and two deeded parking spaces. Household income can't exceed 80% of area median income, and buyers must show a need for an accessible home.
At 9 Ivy Street, a three-bedroom, two-bath townhouse of 1,138 square feet is listed at $185,500. It has a first-floor garage, ductless heating and cooling and laundry hookups. That home is limited to households earning no more than 60% of area median income.
The third, 166 Taunton Avenue, is a live/work townhouse listed at $230,000. The three-story building has first-floor commercial space with a half bath and living space on the upper floors, with two bedrooms, one full and two half baths, and two deeded parking spaces. Income is capped at 80% of area median income, and buyers must provide proof of their business.
For 2026, the East Providence income limits posted by NeighborWorks run from $47,100 for one person to $78,060 for a family of six at 60% of median, and from $62,800 to $104,100 at 80%.
Buyers must be first-time homebuyers under FHA standards, meaning they have never owned a home or haven't owned one in the past three years. They must also meet with a NeighborWorks HUD-certified coach, pay $35 for an educational credit check, take an eight-hour homebuyer course and secure eligible mortgage financing.
Ivy Place is deed-restricted and monitored by the Community Housing Land Trust of Rhode Island. Homes must be owner-occupied year-round, can never be rented out and carry limits on resale price and future buyers' incomes. The land trust sets resale prices and reviews any refinancing or home equity lines.
NeighborWorks broke ground on Ivy Place on Sept. 6, 2022, according to an earlier post on its website. The development was completed in the summer of 2024, according to architect Union Studio, which said more than 280 applicants competed for the original 13 homes. The project sits on the long-vacant site of the historic Bomes Theater. NeighborWorks has said the lot had been empty since 2008. It sits in the East Providence Waterfront Commission's Taunton Avenue sub-district, within walking distance of City Hall and Weaver Library. When it was planned, NeighborWorks reserved four homes for households at up to 60% of median income, six at up to 80% and three at up to 100%.
The project drew funding from sources including the American Rescue Plan Act, the Rhode Island Housing Investment Fund, the East Providence Waterfront Commission and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, according to NeighborWorks.
Union Studio wrote that Ivy Place "is a welcome solution for thirteen individuals, couples, or families, but its completion also serves as a reminder: the need for equitable and attainable housing in our communities remains great."
Why it matters for Contractors
Ivy Place shows what a small infill lot on a commercial corridor can hold: 13 ownership homes, including four live/work units with storefronts, on land that had sat vacant for years. For builders, that mix of townhouses and ground-floor commercial space calls for a little of everything, from accessible design and in-home lifts to storefront framing and separate commercial and residential systems.
The price points matter too. Homes selling for $185,500 to $254,800 only work with layered public and nonprofit funding, and the land trust model keeps them affordable for future buyers.
With more than 280 applicants for the original 13 homes, according to Union Studio, demand is clear. Contractors who can deliver small infill projects like this on tight budgets, including accessibility features, are well suited to the work nonprofit developers like NeighborWorks take on.