Replacing Providence College With Taxable Residential Properties

Loss of 2.8 million

1. The City would add approximately $1.6 million in new gross tax revenue if the PC campus was replaced with residential properties 
   • The College’s 105-acre campus is surrounded by single, two-and three-family residential homes in the Elmhurst section of Providence.
   • PC would be replaced with an estimated 513 residential properties, using a plot map overlay of properties comparable in size and square footage to properties currently surrounding the campus.
   • If these 513 properties paid property taxes comparable to properties currently owned by PC employees living in the PC/Elmhurst neighborhood, the average annual tax bill of $3,039 would generate an estimated $1.6 million.
2. The City would not gain any new, net tax revenue if the PC campus was replaced with residential properties.
   • Using a very conservative estimate that only 25% of the proposed 513 residential properties were occupied by families with one child, on average, using the city’s public schools, the City would incur new costs estimated at $2.0 million (128 schoolchildren @ $16,336/child).
   • The $1.6 million in gross new tax revenues would be offset by the $2.0 million in additional public school costs, leaving a loss of $400,000.
3. The City is currently receiving $2,813,114 in combined PILOT payments from the State of Rhode Island and Providence College, alternative tax revenue that would be lost if the PC campus was populated with residential properties.  (This includes $315,845 paid by PC in 2014 as part of the 2012 transaction allowing the College to acquire portions of three city streets adjacent to the College.)
   • The four private colleges in Providence represent 56% or $13,567,197 of the $24,227,137 in State PILOT revenue to the City for FY 2014.
   • Providence College’s share of the State PILOT funds is approximately $2,225,020 or 16.4% of the total college and university PILOT allocation based on its assessed property value of $288 million (of $1.76 billion amongst the four institutions).
   • Providence College also paid an additional $272,249 in voluntary PILOT payments during FY 2014.