Residents restoring Quality Hill one stately home at a time

PAWTUCKET – When Joseph Asermely bought his brick home in the Quality Hill neighborhood 17 years ago, it was in tough shape and in danger of being torn down. Slowly but surely, Asermely has restored the historic William Park House, turning the 1910 home into one of the more recognizable residences in the area.

Asermely, who heads up the Quality Hill Historic District Association, says Quality Hill has always been a nice neighborhood, but the area of late has undergone quite a transformation. Houses that were previously used as group homes or other businesses have been purchased and are being restored as private residences, he said.

“We’ve seen some surprising changes,” said Asermely. “This neighborhood is a real secret.”

One of the more significant buildings to see a top-to-bottom restoration of late is the former Weeden Manor diagonally across from Asermely’s home on Walnut Street. Clay Hinrichs bought the former assisted living center in 2013 and has done a great job turning it back into a home, said Asermely.

A former group home across the street from Asermely, at 150 Walcott St., was purchased this month and will be restored back into a single-family home.

An old doctor’s office on the corner of Walcott Street and Underwood Street has also been purchased and is going back to being a private home.

According to Asermely, there has been a big shift in the mindset of many Rhode Islanders toward having more interest in restoring old homes. That shift is especially evident in the Quality Hill neighborhood, he said.

“People have definitely found a love of these old homes,” he said. “I think it’s a positive thing.”

With the cost of historic restorations being so high, said Asermely, he would think the trend would be going the other way, with more homes being converted for other uses. But what many people he talks to are finding is that homes aren’t built like this anymore, said Asermely, and that bringing back the original woodwork and other details in an old home can be very rewarding.

Asermely has completed many projects over the years. He originally converted the home from an illegal six-family home to a legal three-family home. Two apartments are located in the former servant quarters behind the home, he said, but one would never know that this isn’t a single-family home.

The Quality Hill Historic District Association has had a hand in many positive developments over the past few years, said Asermely. As residents have seen city officials working with them to add things like new historic district street signs, he believes they’ve become more willing to invest in improvements like new paint for their homes.

Officials have also added about 30 street trees in the neighborhood and are planning to break ground on a new overlook park near I-95 in the spring, said Asermely. Local City Councilor John Barry III has been very helpful on the park and other issues, he said. Talks on creating the park off Summit Street first began about 15 years ago.

The neighborhood association also worked with St. Raphael Academy to get new planters and banners installed last fall, among other projects, said Asermely.

What Asermely said he thinks is happening is that the great relationships between neighbors and city officials, as well as neighbors and the Catholic school, are paying off in the form of a better Quality Hill.

“It’s always been a nice neighborhood, but it’s taking it to the next step,” he said.

Asermely said Quality Hill is comparable to Oak Hill and he suspects his neighborhood also has less crime than the other upscale neighborhood. Residents here see “virtually no crime,” he said, with some of the few incidents in the past involving thefts from cars with unlocked doors.

Asermely started the Quality Hill Historic District Association about three years ago after the old Quality Hill Neighborhood Association went under. The association has been getting good attendance at its meetings. Others who serve with him on the association’s leadership team include Mary Healey as vice president, Clay Hinrichs as treasurer, and Alisha Sansone as safety officer.

Find the Quality Hill Historic District Association on Facebook.