Standard Communities Buys Rhode Island Senior Community

The new owner intends to preserve the affordability of the 103-unit property.

Riverstone Apartments

Standard Communities has purchased controlling ownership interest in Riverstone Apartments, a 103-unit affordable senior housing community in Pawtucket, R.I. The acquisition brings the company’s Rhode Island footprint to more than 500 units, with assets concentrated in Providence.

The buyer acquired the property through its Community Development and Affordable Housing Fund IV, which is focused on solving the affordable housing shortage in the greater New England area by preserving the affordability of the existing stock.

In Rhode Island, nearly 50 percent of the residents pay up to or more than 30 percent of their income on rent, according to a prepared statement from Joon Lee, managing director at Standard Communities. The new owner intends to maintain the affordability of Riverstone Apartments, with units available to residents earning up to 60 percent of the area median income.

The scatter-site community encompasses a five-story building at 475 School St. and six one- and two-story dwellings at 38-42 Mary St., 26-30 Rowland St. and 85-87 Ashton St. The 1981-built main building of the property is along the Seekonk River, with the Downtown Pawtucket Historic District less than 2 miles away.

Riverstone Apartments last traded in 2013, when an entity affiliated with The Arc of Blackstone Valley paid $5.2 million for it. This transaction was facilitated by low-income housing tax credits, which restrict the rents at the property.