Elorza outlines city budget, affordable housing crisis

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Mayor Jorge Elorza officially signed the $568 million 2023 Fiscal Year budget Friday morning.

The budget decreases residential and commercial property tax rates, funds a new city police academy, and also offers $5 million to the development of the Superman building.

Elorza also explained that affordable housing is a primary focus in 2023. He said this will be addressed by $17 million of complementary federal covid funding.

“You see a lot of development downtown,” said Elorza. “Almost all of the development that you see downtown are hotels and residential apartments. What we are also seeing area lot of conversions. Buildings that were commercial are being turned into residential in the downtown space.”

Lawmakers on Smith Hill pushed legislation Thursday evening to turn vacant schools into housing — addressing the affordable housing crisis.

Elorza plans on taking advantage of this housing opportunity in, saying, “If you look at all of the mills that were perhaps abandoned or even active as mills 20 years ago, they’ve almost all been converted in residential at this point. There just aren’t that many left out there to be converted.”

Elorza said all the complementary federal funds Providence allow the city to address more projects — in addition to affordable housing.