BVCAP helps first homebuyers of '09 realize American dream

PAWTUCKET - A beautiful two-family home now stands where a burned out five-family tenement once stood.

As if the benefits of removing an eyesore and a health hazard weren't enough, say officials, a hard-working local man who has never owned a home now has the chance of a lifetime.

City officials and representatives from the Pawtucket-based Blackstone Valley Community Action Program will next week celebrate with local resident and longtime BVCAP employee Javier Centeno, the completion of Centeno's first home, a spacious two-family house complete with a three-bedroom unit he can rent out - all for just $145,000.

"We're all thrilled for him," said Cindy Paliotto, housing coordinator with BVCAP, during a tour late last week.

Centeno is one of two new owners of homes built through BVCAP this year, his at 644 Main St. and a second at 125 West Ave., the second with a sale pending to Providence resident Tanya James.

Both projects were started more than two years ago, according to Paliotto.

Centeno, who for the past 10 years has helped run various BVCAP programs in schools all over northern Rhode Island, is the beneficiary of $400,000 in total development costs at 644 Main St., but BVCAP employees say the benefits to both him and the community cannot be measured in dollars.

The Main Street project was funded using federal money through the Pawtucket HOME Program administered by the Planning and Redevelopment Office and the Rhode Island State Energy Office Weatherization Program.

Some $236,500 went into the actual construction costs on the site, according to Paliotto, but a number of other costs associated with overhauling the property caused costs to balloon.

The $400,000 price tag includes acquisition and closing costs, legal fees, architect fees, construction fees, any fees charged by the city for items like a development plan review and any variances, utility connection fees, including moving a utility pole, re-paving and laying concrete after new utility lines were laid, upgrades in furnaces, boilers, insulation and other items to ensure Energy Star compliance, landscaping fees, a developer fee and others.

Centeno's name was selected out of a jar after a number of people qualified for the Main Street home based on income guidelines and other criteria. He is receiving a deed-restricted first-time homebuyer grant, bringing the overall purchase price on his home down to $145,000 despite being recorded in city records as a $160,000 sale.

Since HOME funds were used to build his home, Centeno must abide by a 30-year affordability covenant with the city Pawtucket, meaning he must rent out the second unit to tenants who fall under certain income guidelines.

According to Pawtucket's Planning and Redevelopment Director Michael Cassidy, city officials are considering whether to purchase more run-down properties in the immediate vicinity of 644 Main St. as efforts to change the landscape there continue.

Centeno's home was designed by Ayoub Engineering Inc. and built by the Bailey Group.

James' home was designed by Ed Wojcik Architects Ltd., and built by Pezzuco Construction Company. A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. today, Nov. 18, at 125 West Ave., while the 644 Main St. ribbon cutting will happen at the same time next Tuesday morning, Nov. 24.

Long a fixture in the Rhode Island community, the Blackstone Valley Community Action Program offers a number of assistance and education programs, including pregnancy prevention classes, heating assistance, weatherization, and a food cupboard meant to help better the lives of those in need and to improve their station in life.

"The goal is to get them to be self-sufficient," said Paliotto.