Rhode Island may create a public developer to create more affordable housing

Last November, Rhode Island voters approved a $120 million housing bond to address the housing crisis that could create a public developer to build more affordable housing.

As much as $10 million could go toward creating a state entity to develop mixed-income housing that advocates would like to model on a program adopted by Montgomery County, Maryland. That model makes investments directly in mixed-income housing projects and uses the income to subsidize rents for lower-income people and reinvests equity in other projects.

This social housing concept, where housing is publicly developed for people with different incomes, has been used in a few U.S. cities including Atlanta, Chicago, and Seattle. These programs are intended to increase the supply of both market-rate and reduced-rate housing without large ongoing operating subsidies.

With federal housing policy under the second Trump administration uncertain, state and local governments may be prompted to use their own money to address housing challenges. Trump did not specify many housing policies during his campaign.