Heat Emergency for Seniors and Disabled Residents at Providence 10-story, 200 unit Charles Place; Repairs a Week Away

Today, RINewsToday learned that residents living in the 200 apartment units at Charles Place, a 10-story building at 460 Charles Street in Providence had no or insufficient heat for the last several days.

Charles Place is familiarly identified as “Section 8” – housing for the elderly and disabled — and managed by Wingate Companies. 

Our source described the situation for the residents as:

“They are freezing, uncomfortable, and stressed.  No consistent hot water to wash or bathe. Some are using their stove to keep warm; others are using electric heaters — and need blankets to keep warm.   They have been informed by the management company that the condition won’t be fixed until at least next Friday.   Apparently, the problem has been going on and off for a few weeks — but now the weather is so cold, making the situation worse.”

In speaking to another source familiar with the heating issue – “we were told that the building has two boilers and one is not working and scheduled to be replaced “next week” – the other unit is not capable of pushing the heat to an acceptable level for the entire building. Space heaters are in use by some residents in their apartments.”

It was not clear who provided the residents with space heaters for their apartments, but it appears to be the management company.

For Thursday night, the DaVinci Center, located directly next door, opened up to provide safe heating and food for whoever needed to come over – and was set to close at 8pm.

We contacted the Governor’s office and the Mayor’s office and at publication we were awaiting their response.

The property management company – Wingate – has an emergency maintenance person on-call but corporate could only be reached during “regular business hours”.

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A source provided a statement from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouses’s office, who had been notified: 

“We just heard back from property management, and this is what they said:

“I want to provide an update on the steps being taken to support residents and address the concerns.

 At this time, we have 20 heaters on site and are available for residents who are in need.  An additional 30 heaters are scheduled to arrive tomorrow to further ensure resident comfort and safety. 

We have partnered with the DaVinci Center to offer additional support. Between the hours of 8am – 8pm, residents are welcome to relax in the community area, where the DaVinci Center will be providing food and snacks to those who may be hungry or in need.

In addition, we have executed a contract with our HVAC company to install a new boiler.  The boiler will arrive tomorrow, with installation will beginning early next week and an anticipated completion date of Friday. This work is being prioritized to provide a long-term solution and improve system reliability. We will continue to monitor conditions closely.”

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Providence Fire Department

The Providence Fire Department was informed and asked when a large building like this that serving a special population loses heat if space heaters are a safe solution. We are awaiting return comment from them.

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DaVinci Center steps up

The DaVinci Center will stay open until 8pm as a “warming center” Thursday night —- and the Executive Director, Norma Gonzalez, and her staff/volunteers will prepare some evening food. The Center has a history of helping out for the homeless last year and the year before. At last check, over 60 people were served an evening meal.

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Housing advocates and homeless advocates are working together to notify the agencies and officials who should be notified. But for most, today was the first day they had heard of the situation.

This is a developing story