EveryHome goal elimination of abandoned property

NO VACANCY: Providence Assistant City Solicitor Sean Creegan, left, discusses the city's EveryHome initiative with fellow Assistant City Solicitor Samuel Budway. / PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO
NO VACANCY: Providence Assistant City Solicitor Sean Creegan, left, discusses the city's EveryHome initiative with fellow Assistant City Solicitor Samuel Budway. / PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

Sean Creegan is an assistant city solicitor for Providence.

He heads the Law Department’s housing unit and is part of the EveryHome team recently tasked by Mayor Jorge O. Elorza with having the city free of abandoned properties within six years.

He discusses the EveryHome initiative and why it’s important.

What’s behind the EveryHome initiative?

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The EveryHome initiative is kind of the packaging of a lot of different initiatives. … Mayor [Jorge O.] Elorza, who is very keen about the elimination of vacant properties that are creating a public nuisance in our neighborhoods, has packaged all the different tools together.

But the idea to eradicate abandoned properties started under former Mayor Angel Taveras’ administration, right?

Yes, the previous administration was interested in it because there’s a problem in our neighborhoods. There are vacant properties that owners have walked away from, banks have walked away from, and no one is interested in taking care of them.

So what’s the problem with an abandoned property?

They attract criminal activity. People are breaking in and stealing valuable materials, like copper, and the properties themselves are open and accessible for other people who’re looking to engage in illegal activities. In the winter, they pose a very serious fire hazard to neighboring homes because people will light fires in them … and it’s not always in a fireplace.

What role do you play?

I’m really a coordinator. I help coordinate departmental communication, external communication and I help all the different players who need to be involved. I also coordinate the legal action or receivership process in court.

So how many properties are we talking about here?

We work closely both with city departments and external sources to keep our list as updated as possible and although it’s a bit of a moving target, we’ve been working around the target of 600 [abandoned properties].

Is eradicating all 600 properties in the next six years a realistic goal?

Yes. I mean, it’s a very ambitious goal, but it is the right goal to have. We have the right kind of tools and motivated people working in this city to keep this project at scale, so I do think it’s possible.

How do you measure success?

There are a number of different options. If you have someone living in the property and it’s habitable, that’s a clear success. But in some circumstances these homes have sat vacant for so long and are so dilapidated it’s almost completely impossible to rehabilitate them, so at that point we look at other options.

Such as demolition?

That’s certainly not the first tool we reach for, but for those properties that are so far gone, they will never be reclaimed by the private market, and because they create an enormous amount of problems and require resources and monitoring, we would consider [demolition] a success as well.

So how does the receivership process work?

The city determines whether there’s evidence a home is abandoned and whether it’s a public nuisance. We then ask housing court for assistance. The judge will assign a court officer and that person – the receiver – will develop a plan to determine whether the property can be rehabilitated – all with the oversight of the court. If the court approves and the home is rehabilitated, the receivership will recoup the money spent from an interested party or, if necessary, from the sale of the home.

Does an owner have the right of first refusal to pay the rehabilitation costs?

The owner has the opportunity to step in before a receiver is appointed to say they have a plan to pay for the costs.

What happens if an owner is financially sound, but wants to sit on the empty home?

The owner has to show that it’s not a public nuisance. If the judge decides it is a public nuisance, to sit on it is not acceptable.

What kind of economic impact do you think this initiative will have on the local construction industry?

We’re trying to get our arms around that number, but private-sector jobs will be created. When a property is going to be rehabilitated, we will make sure that everyone that’s expressed interest in this project is contacted with the scope of the work. I would say by spring of next year we’ll know really how many jobs are being created.

Finally, why do this now?

These properties are creating a serious danger to our neighborhoods and it’s our responsibility to protect our citizens and to force the issue. Ultimately someone is going to do it because it’s no longer acceptable to sit on a public nuisance. •

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