02/04/2026
By Ethan Hartley
It is no secret that finding truly affordable housing in Rhode Island can be a tall task. For senior citizens within the LGBTQ+ community, however, advocates say it can be especially daunting.
Last Wednesday, city and state officials, housing advocates, activists within the gay community, and personnel from Aldersbridge Communities joined together at East Providence City Hall to officially announce the beginning of a project intended to alleviate those challenges in a modest but meaningful way.
Breaking ground at some point in the spring of 2026 with hopes to open in 2027, The Landing at East Point is a planned, four-story, $18.5 million project that intends to construct 39 units of affordable housing for those 55 and older making up to 80% of the area median income ($64,000 for a one-person household). Thirty-five of those units would be one-bedroom, with the remainder being two-bedrooms.
Uniquely, the development is being marketed specifically towards seniors within the LGBTQ+ community and their allies.
The project is being initiated by Aldersbridge Communities, an East Providence-based assisted/independent living and rehabilitation nonprofit organization. They currently operate four facilities for assisted and independent care, including one specifically for those with dementia and other memory ailments.
The development became possible through a land deal made in partnership with Richard Baccari II, President and CEO of Churchill & Banks, whose subsidiary (Noble Development) is developing the former Ocean State Steel site off Roger Williams Avenue in Rumford into a 392-unit housing project called “East Point”.
That development required a 10% allocation of affordable units to earn approval, and that’s where Aldersbridge saw an opportunity.
“We went to Richard with our plan and said we'd like to do the affordable part of your project, and we told him about the concept of marketing it to LGBTQ and their allies,” said Rick Gamache, CEO of Aldersbridge Communities. “And he was completely supportive, all in favor, and that's how it began.”
Utilizing grant money, partnerships with Valley Affordable Housing (of Cumberland, RI), Barbara Sokoloff Associates, and federal dollars allocated through Rhode Island Housing, Aldersbridge was able to buy a parcel of land formerly included within the East Point footprint, where The Landing at East Point will be built. The location, Gamache said, will enable residents of the building to enjoy the amenities available to residents in the nearby condos and townhouses.
“Because we're part of this greater complex of East Point, there are walking paths and places that you can ride your bicycle right down to the water,” he said. “Also you're not far from a nice coffee shop and a couple of good restaurants and that kind of stuff.”
Gamache added that residents will also be able to utilize Aldersbridge’s “health navigator”, an individual who works with people living in their residences who can plug them into various services and resources to assist them with problems common to people who are aging.
“As people age, it becomes harder and harder for them to remain in place unless they have support,” he said.
A safe place to call home
For someone like Dr. Jodi Glass, a member of the Aldersbridge Board of Trustees since 2018 and a senior citizen member of the LGBTQ+ community herself, the development is the culmination of decades of work and slow, societal progress.
“This is something that we've been trying to establish for about 20 years now,” she said. “We all know about the need for affordable housing, and within this community it’s even greater.”
Gamache, to illustrate that the need was indeed great, said that they had already received 44 inquiries from people interested in living in one of the 39 units at The Landing at East Point.
Glass, a New York native living in Rhode Island since 1978 who practiced for 40 years as an audiologist, said that it cannot be overstated how important it was for members of the gay community to know that they were living in a place where they wouldn’t be subject to harassment or even violence by their neighbors and peers.
“It’s a tremendous concern, just to be in a place that you can call home,” she said. “This is a place for LGBTQ folks and their allies. So you know that you’ll be in surroundings that are a warm, friendly, and accepting space.”
While the building cannot close itself off to non-gay seniors due to federal anti-discrimination laws, Glass and Gamache made the point that it should be known that those who have prejudices against the gay community should be aware of the potential consequences of holding those views could have if you wind up with one of the units.
“We abide by fair housing. You don't ask someone what their sexual orientation is,” Glass said. “But you come to this building with the interest in being fair and decent.”
“Within Aldersbridge communities we retain the right to evict someone who is bullying other residents,” Gamache added. “I think if there's any adverse behavior, we will certainly seek to evict someone for that. We wouldn't evict just because they're not LGBTQ. But if they were bullying or discriminating in any way, we would not tolerate that.”
Asked if the project was in jeopardy due to the policies of the Trump Administration, which has frozen or reversed funding decisions based on issues surrounding gender and sexual orientation ideologies, Gamache said that they seemed to have gotten through unscathed.
“If we were further into the current administration, we may not have gotten it,” he said.
“It's a fear that we have, but we're going forward, and we will go forward no matter what,” Glass added.
At the announcement event last week, Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, Joe Shekarchi, along with Senate President Val Lawson, each provided remarks and displayed their loud support of the project. It was an indicator to Glass that a lot has changed for the better over the years in regards to the acceptance of LGBTQ people.
“East Providence has been so supportive. They've marched with us in the pride parades, they've been everywhere with us by our sides,” she said. “It's a different world. It really is a different world because we could just not exist. And to have [Speaker Shekarchi] stand there and say he's among friends, he's along safety, he's in a space where there is positive growth, it means the world. It really does.”
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