The bill amends Section 45-53-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-53, establishing a program for the repurposing of vacant school buildings into affordable housing. The program will be administered by the Department of Housing and aims to provide guidance and assistance in identifying and repurposing unused school buildings. Each municipality is required to submit a complete list of buildings abandoned or no longer being used by the school district for feasibility assessments, regardless of their current low- or moderate-income housing percentage.

The bill introduces a task force, convened by the secretary of housing, comprised of the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation, the Department of Environmental Management, the Department of Health, and a fire marshal. This task force will develop assessment criteria to determine if a building may be repurposed into affordable housing. If a building meets the established criteria, the Department of Housing may facilitate a feasibility study to estimate the costs of repurposing.

Once a building is determined to be appropriate for repurposing through a completed feasibility study, the Department of Housing, in collaboration with the respective municipality, may invite prospective developers to submit proposals for redevelopment of the site through a competitive process. The act will take effect upon passage.

Statutes affected:
6067: 45-53-10
6067  SUB A: 45-53-10