This idea that people from other parts of the state will flock here to move into these apartments just doesn’t happen.”

Christian Belden, Church Community Housing Corporation

PORTSMOUTH — Since 2021, when voters approved a plan for the development of senior affordable housing and a new senior center facility, questions have swirled around town officials about the project:

• Will it end up being what voters actually approved?

• Who is eligible to live there, and will Portsmouth residents be prioritized?

• How will the senior center, which is sharing space with tenants, be operated?

It was more of the same at last week’s Town Council meeting. Before the council voted unanimously to approve a ground lease agreement with Church Community Housing Corporation (CCHC), which is developing the property under an agreement with the town, council member David Gleason asked for an update on the project.

The 2021 referendum question, approved by a margin of 54 to 46 percent, allowed the town to enter into a long-term lease with CCHC for the construction of a 54-unit age-restrictive affordable housing complex (known as Ade Bethune House), a new senior center facility and the possible redevelopment of the Anne Hutchinson School property at 110 Bristol Ferry Road.

Christian Belden, executive director of CCHC, tackled most of the questions, one of them being: Who can live there? Gleason said he wanted to know the difference between senior housing, elderly housing, and LMI (low- and moderate-income) housing.

“In this instance we’re developing senior affordable housing, and there’s a range of incomes that are eligible to live there,” Belden said.

The Ade Bethune House will be for people 55 and older, as opposed to elderly housing, which is for ages 62 and older, Belden said. (Later in the meeting, Mary Ellen Martin of Massachusetts Boulevard pointed out that the 2021 ballot question described the housing project as “elderly affordable housing.”) LMI is any housing that serves low- and moderate-income populations, and they can be for the both the elderly or younger persons, he explained. 

The housing complex will reserve the vast majority of units for tenants who are at 60 percent of the median income, Belden said. There will be six units for people below 50 percent of median income, and another six at 80 percent, he said.

“To give you a sense of what that means, the rents will range from $1,241 per month for a one-bedroom, to $1,723 a month for a two-bedroom,” said Belden, noting those are industry standards and also defined within Rhode Island’s general laws.

Gleason asked whether people age 55 or older with a family could bring their youngsters to live with them. Yes, Belden said, but it’s unlikely since the largest unit has only two bedrooms.

“Technically, someone over 55 could bring a younger person in as a roommate, but in terms of how likely that is, it’s very unlikely. We have over 300 senior housing units in our portfolio and we just don’t see that happening,” he said.

Priority for locals?

One of the biggest concerns residents have is whether locals will be given housing priority. While state or federal funding doesn’t allow such discrimination, Belden said most people who live at Ade Bethune House will be from Portsmouth and the surrounding area.

“This idea that people from other parts of the state will flock here to move into these apartments just doesn’t happen. People only want to live where they have a connection, where they grew up, or they worked here for many years, or they have family here,” Belden said.

He pointed out he’s got a list of about 25 people so far who are interested in living at the Bristol Ferry Road complex, and “they’re all people who fit that description.” He also invited residents to see for themselves by touring Anthony House on Middle Road or any other CCHC facility. 

Belden made it clear that while he keeps a list of potential future tenants so he can update them on the progress of the project, they are not official applicants for housing. The project must be 70 percent complete before Phoenix Property Management takes over the reigns and starts marketing the apartments, and a shovel isn’t even in the ground yet.

Senior center questions

Judging by the questions raised last week, it’s also clear that some are still concerned about the autonomy of the new senior center facility that’s part of the complex. 

Under the agreement with CCHC, the town will be provided at no charge with a 2,500-square-foot condo unit, which the town will then lease to the local senior center organization.

The entire senior center facility is about 8,500 square feet, and will be shared with the housing tenants. The housing development would enter into a service agreement with the senior center organization for the programming of the entire senior center space. 

The senior center will have the same hours as the current one does now: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. “It’s a shared space because outside the hours of 9 to 4, the residents will have access to it on the weekends,” Belden said.

Council member J. Mark Ryan said there is a “fear that the people in the apartments will somehow swarm into the senior center and displace Portsmouth residents who want to use it.”

Belden said he couldn’t imagine any significant conflict between the tenants and the senior center organization. Keep in mind, he added, that the current senior center is in a school building that was not designed for use as a senior center. This new space will be tailor-made for seniors, he said.

A few residents weren’t convinced. “Again, we keep missing what the voters approved. The senior center is not getting a facility; they’re getting shared space and the condo is for their office space, not for the use of their programs,” Martin said. “The plan has changed considerably from what voters approved.”

Margaret Rattay, who chairs the senior center board, agreed that the organization is not getting a “stand-alone” senior center. “There’s no guarantee that this shared space is even going to be offered to the Portsmouth senior center community,” she said.

Council President Kevin Aguiar and Town Administrator Richard Rainer, Jr., however, said the plans have not changed considerably since 2021. “We will enter into an agreement with (the senior center group) so they will be able to operate the space that the town owns,” Rainer said.

Belden added that the advisory group that was formulated to work with CCHC is satisfied with the plans.

“The senior center advisory group thinks they’re getting a senior center because they helped us design one for them. If they’re happy with it, I don’t know who else I have to please,” he said.