Gary Charpentier

Gary Charpentier joined SWAP’s team over 30 years ago, serving as Construction Manager and as Interim Director. He brought with him a wealth of experience in construction and development, as well as first-hand familiarity with living and working in inner-city neighborhoods both in Cleveland, Ohio, and in Providence.  

Early on at SWAP, he noted the limited impact of the sporadic development of a new home here and, maybe, another one several blocks away. Working with others in the community and from SWAP, he suggested mapping the entire South Providence neighborhood. “We could identify specific buildings, lots, and blocks where SWAP could focus redevelopment 'en masse' and work outwards from there. Not only would this create a bigger impact on a specific street, but it would also increase resident stakeholders at each home. Development was realized, pulling the neighborhood a bit closer together and increasing the impact of redevelopment across multiple city neighborhoods. Neighborhood associations, locally owned businesses, improved infrastructure, city services, and resident equity were the vision.”

“With Carla's leadership and doggedness, SWAP has been able to continue that vision and impact, seeking and realizing better programming and neighborhood-connected developments, not only with housing but also locally owned businesses and dramatically increased housing and commercial space production. Hundreds of affordable housing units have been delivered to the families of Providence, and beyond.”

Full Story

I first came to work with SWAP over 30 years ago.

I owned and operated a design/build construction company in SE Mass for almost 10 years and after experiencing two recessions between the early 1980s and 1990s, I sold off the company and worked around building a bit and pursuing an artist's life. The economy was not good, and sustainable work was hard to find.  A friend knew the office manager at SWAP and let me know they were looking for a Construction Manager. I sent a resume, interviewed and was offered the position.

Upon arrival, I found an organization with an admirable mission, but which was struggling with funding, staffing and production. The Director was new, about 3 months in, and a couple of homes needed building. We got them built and over the next two years we built a few more as well as planning SWAP's first rental development, Princeton Place. After closing on financing for Princeton Place, the Director left. This was during Dan Dewey's tenure as Board President and Dan asked if I would not only continue the construction management position but also act as Interim Director.

Though daunting, I was not new to the challenges of inner-city life and neighborhood disinvestment and re-development. While in school in Cleveland, and for a couple of years after, I lived in a reclaimed industrial building in a rough skid row area of Cleveland's industrial river basin before seeing it become a major redeveloped arts and residential district. While this was a tremendous revitalization of a blighted area, it also displaced me and hundreds of other creatives, urban pioneers and lower income people from the area due to increased housing and workspace costs

During this time, I was building solar homes, additions and greenhouses while also working with local minority neighborhood organizations redeveloping vacant city lots for year-round food production via UDAG grants. I led building skills workshops for inner city youth, volunteered as a Big Brother and worked with regional nature interpretative centers presenting the potential for solar energy collection in the NE Ohio region.

Upon relocating to Providence, I initially lived in the shadow of the Armory and, later, in a dilapidated former mill, just around the corner from SWAP, which I turned into a work/live space and experienced first-hand the challenges of the West End and South Providence neighborhoods.

In my first few years with SWAP, I recognized that though we were providing a housing opportunity for a family or two, it was sporadic, a new home here and, maybe, another one several blocks away. This limited opportunity for an affordable home ownership or rental was not making much of an impact on a specific street or neighborhood suffering from disrepair with disinvestment, crime, drugs and prostitution prevalent on the streets. Many of the multi-family homes throughout the greater neighborhood were owned by absentee landlords and many businesses were as well.

SWAP was host to the anti-Arson Coalition's Judy Craig who had tracked and identified near 900 vacant buildings across the city susceptible to possible arson. Using that as a jumping off point, I presented a plan to Dan Dewey that we map the entire South Providence neighborhood and identify specific buildings, lots and blocks where SWAP could focus redevelopment 'en masse' and work outwards from there.

Not only would this create a bigger impact on a specific street, but it would also increase resident stakeholders as each home and development was realized, pulling the neighborhood a bit closer together. This would increase the impact of redevelopment across multiple city neighborhoods. Neighborhood associations, locally owned businesses, improved infrastructure and city services and resident equity was the vision.

After a year of working on this planning with Dan, Carla Destefano, a SWAP Board member at the time, was hired as the new Director. She

shared the vision of this plan. This was first initiated on Gallup St. with the redevelopment of several existing dilapidated buildings resulting from the RISDIC crisis. SWAP subsequently went on to build and sell nine additional new homes along a three-block stretch with dozens more within a six-block area.

With Carla's leadership and doggedness, SWAP has been able to continue that vision and impact, seeking and realizing better programming and neighborhood connected developments, not only with housing but also locally owned businesses and has dramatically continued to increase its housing and commercial space production since. Hundreds of affordable housing units have been delivered to the families of Providence, and beyond, in that time.

SWAP has evolved and changed over the years with many supporting contributors and financial partners, including key local architects and builders as part of the development team.

Without that team approach the work would not get done. SWAP staff has used its talent and initiative to evolve and adapt over time to meet the need. The need keeps growing. I see no reason why that pattern shouldn’t continue as the organization and the community needs change and evolve as well. The key is not just the people doing the work but the availability of sufficient and expanded funding to sustain the vision and the work.