Rhode Island Housing and KeepSpace Developments: Working together to bring you home
Q. What is KeepSpace?

A. KeepSpace is a groundbreaking approach to creating thriving, lasting communities. Initiated by Rhode Island Housing, KeepSpace embraces broad-based, respectful partnerships among those committed to building and preserving a Rhode Island in which families can thrive, children can learn and grow, and communities can prosper. We are reaching out to, and forging permanent productive partnerships with equally committed agencies, businesses and individuals whose disciplines touch upon the development and preservation of our natural and built environments. To accomplish the KeepSpace vision, partners will work together in a multi-disciplinary, welcoming environment with the ultimate, shared goal of building a better, healthier, stronger Rhode Island for the 21st century.

Q. What is a KeepSpace Community?

A. KeepSpace Communities feature homes that are safe, inviting and affordable while maintaining the natural beauty of the area. Jobs, schools, shops and services are easily connected to each other. Families and commerce prosper in attractive, secure settings that nourish community and purpose. By developing innovative systems for conserving and renewing resources, and designing homes and buildings that match the workforce needs, KeepSpace Communities thrive economically, socially and environmentally. Foresight and quality are designed into every interdependent building and system, fueling the engine of the KeepSpace promise: constructing and preserving a place in which families can thrive, children can learn and grow, and the Rhode Island community enjoys a sustainable future.

Q. How will the KeepSpace applications be scored? To what extent must each criteria component be included or integrated in the proposals?

A. Evaluation System – Proposals will be reviewed by Rhode Island Housing staff and then taken to the KeepSpace Advisory Board for its recommendations. The Rhode Island Housing Board of Commissioners will then review the proposals and make final decisions.

The KeepSpace applications will be evaluated based on the Threshold Requirements and Criteria referenced in the KeepSpace RFP. The development proposals will be evaluated against other applicants, other similarly-sited proposals, and contributions to the KeepSpace goals.

While various specific land-use models are sought – urban, suburban, and rural- it is possible that not all categories will be selected for initial funding or that more than one proposal in the same category may be selected.

Criteria Components – The highest-ranking proposals will be those that most effectively incorporate the greatest number of criteria and take an innovative and replicable approach to developing KeepSpace Communities. An effective proposal may or may not reflect every item listed in the criteria. However, Rhode Island Housing will select those proposals that best integrate as many of these criteria into the designs in order to create economically, environmentally and socially sustainable communities.

The KeepSpace Advisory Committee will review how well each proposal meets the KeepSpace goals, while the Rhode Island Housing Board of Commissioners will place greater emphasis on how each proposal will contribute to meeting the state’s affordable-housing needs. We strongly believe that both can be
served within this program.

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