The Housing Conversation Has Shifted from Theory to Execution.
For the last several years, everyone has talked about the shortage of housing. But the more important question is no longer whether demand exists. It is whether supply can be created quickly enough, intelligently enough, and in the right locations.
In this issue of the Seaport Multifamily Brief, we highlight two real examples: The Anchor Building in Niantic, a new mixed-use development, and The Tides in Groton, a hotel conversion that is actively delivering apartment inventory into the market.
The Data Supports the Need for More Quality Housing
The numbers continue to tell the same story: vacancy remains tight, rent growth is still positive, and supply is difficult to deliver at the pace required.
Multifamily vacancy, with 364 units absorbed over the prior 12 months.
Submarket asking rent per unit, according to CoStar market data.
Multifamily vacancy in the Washington County, RI submarket.
Year-over-year asking rent growth in the broader Providence multifamily market.
Source: CoStar Group and Apartments.com underwriting, rent comparable, and market analytics reviewed by Seaport Commercial. Market data is subject to change.
The Anchor Building
The Anchor Building is the kind of project every coastal village needs but very few can actually deliver: new construction, walkability, residential density, and ground-floor commercial activation.
Located at 344 Main Street in Niantic, the project brings modern apartments into a downtown environment where residents can walk to restaurants, shops, beaches, the boardwalk, and village amenities.
View The Anchor Building
New Construction Is Hard. That Is Exactly Why It Matters.
Every new unit delivered in a high-barrier coastal market matters. Construction costs, zoning, financing, land availability, and entitlement timing make these projects difficult. When they work, they become more than buildings — they become proof of what is possible.
Walkability Creates Value
Residents want access to food, coffee, shops, beaches, parks, and daily conveniences without depending on a car for every activity.
Mixed-Use Strengthens the Street
Ground-floor commercial activity paired with residents above creates more consistent daily energy for the surrounding village.
Supply Is the Pressure Valve
When demand remains high and inventory is constrained, the only long-term solution is to create thoughtful new housing.
The Tides
The Tides shows the other side of the housing solution: repositioning an existing asset and converting it into modern apartments faster than traditional ground-up development.
In a market with demand from regional employers, renters, service workers, young professionals, and downsizers, speed matters. Adaptive reuse can bring units online while new construction faces longer entitlement and construction timelines.
View The TidesBuild New Where Possible. Reposition Existing Assets Where Practical.
The market needs both approaches. New construction adds long-term quality inventory, while adaptive reuse delivers housing faster by transforming existing buildings into modern, livable spaces.
The Best Projects Are Not Just Built. They Are Underwritten.
At Seaport, we are not just looking at pretty renderings or surface-level rent assumptions. We are looking at vacancy, absorption, rent growth, replacement supply, comparable assets, concessions, operating expenses, and investor appetite.
That is what separates a listing from an advisory process. The real question is not simply, “Can this project lease?” The better question is, “How does this project fit into the larger supply-and-demand story of the region?”
New London 12-month absorption units
New London 12-month delivered units
Washington County asking rent per unit
Providence multifamily units under construction
This Is the Moment Where Strategy Matters.
The market is not simply asking for more units. It is asking for the right units, in the right locations, with the right basis, the right financing assumptions, and the right leasing strategy.
The Anchor Building and The Tides are not just two projects. They represent two different answers to the same regional challenge: how do we deliver housing in markets where demand remains real and supply remains difficult?
Data-Driven Multifamily Guidance for Owners, Developers, and Investors
Our team combines CoStar market intelligence, Apartments.com rental data, local underwriting, property-level due diligence, and boots-on-the-ground advisory to help clients make better multifamily decisions.
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