Thirty-six first-time homebuyer households are set to land in a new Middletown neighborhood called Aquidneck Green, and just down the road in Portsmouth, Church Community Housing Corporation is lining up a 37-unit condominium project across two lots. Together, the two Aquidneck Island developments pulled in $5,366,072 of the $12.7 million Rhode Island just handed out in its latest homeownership funding round.
Aquidneck Green alone received $3,239,964 in the second round of state homeownership awards, according to the Governor's Office, State of Rhode Island. The project sits on town-owned land, and Middletown official Paul Rodrigues said that land would help create affordable homes for first-time buyers, pointing to the 36 new homes planned there, as reported by What's Up Newp. Harry Angevine added that the project would turn 36 households into first-time homeowners, per the same outlet.
What's Going Up at Aquidneck Green
Marathon Development LLC will build 36 three-bedroom homes using modular construction on the Middletown town-owned parcel, the outlet's report notes, with the mix including single-family houses, duplexes and triplexes. All 36 homes will be built to Type C accessibility standards, with one home meeting the stricter Type B standard and two homes meeting Type A standards, the report states.
Pricing will be tiered by income. Five homes are reserved for households earning up to 80% of area median income, with a proposed sale price of $353,800, while 31 homes are reserved for households earning up to 120% of area median income, with the remaining homes priced at $399,999, the same report notes.
Portsmouth's Two-Lot Condo Plan
Church Community Housing Corporation, based in Middletown, is also behind the Portsmouth proposal, which would develop 37 condominiums across two lots. The report describes the northern lot as holding 12 condominiums in a walk-up building, with the southern lot containing a 25-unit building served by an elevator. At a September 2025 Portsmouth Planning Board meeting, testimony described the overall proposal as a mixed-income development of 40 homeownership condominiums, according to Town of Portsmouth meeting minutes.
The Portsmouth homes would offer one, two and three bedrooms for households earning 80% to 120% of area median income, with proposed sale prices ranging from $200,000 to $395,000. State funding will support 22 of the 37 homes, and the project received $2,126,108 in state money. CCHC already operates elsewhere on Aquidneck Island, with 50 apartments for seniors in Middletown and 54 affordable senior units and a senior center in Portsmouth.
A Statewide Push, With a Ballot Question Looming
The $12.7 million round supports 207 homes across nine municipalities statewide, including 161 homes priced below $400,000, with affordable units in the round reserved for households earning up to 120% of area median income. Aquidneck Island's two projects accounted for roughly 42% of that statewide total. Other awards in the round included $2,099,974 for a scattered-site development in Providence and West Warwick, $1,049,986 for 203 Douglas in Providence, $899,988 for Residences at Mill River in Woonsocket, $825,000 for a scattered-site development on Branch, Mowry and Charles in Providence, $749,990 for the O'Brien Affordable Housing Community in New Shoreham, $650,000 for Village at Tiogue in Coventry, $599,990 for 502 Bullocks Point in East Providence, and $500,000 for Robertson House Condominiums in Lincoln.
Governor Dan McKee announced the awards Thursday at the future Aquidneck Green site on East Main Road. He pointed to housing permits up 150% since 2021 and reiterated the state's goal of building 15,000 new homes by the end of 2030. McKee also urged Rhode Islanders to vote yes on Question 2 on November 3.
Why the Timing Matters
Deborah Goddard said the money dedicated to homeownership from the 2024 state housing bond is now fully committed, after supporting 377 homes statewide, including 249 affordable to households at or below 120% of area median income. That's the backdrop for the new ballot question: voters will decide on November 3 whether to approve an additional housing bond, which Goddard said would add $25 million for affordable homeownership development if approved.
The Housing 2030 Entry-Level Homeownership Program, which drew its funding from the 2024 state housing bond, has committed up to $20 million toward expanding homeownership statewide, according to the Rhode Island Executive Office of Housing. With that pot of money now spoken for, the outcome of November's vote will shape whether similar Aquidneck Island projects can get built in the years ahead.
