PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The R.I. Department of Housing has officially acquired the former Charlesgate Nursing Center, which shuttered earlier this year due to severe staffing shortages.

The state recently bought the former Providence nursing home, located on Randall Street, for $6.95 million. The purchase of the building will be covered by money set aside in the state budget to address the ongoing housing crisis.

R.I. Housing Secretary Stefan Pryor said the building will provide up to 100 rooms to Rhode Islanders experiencing homelessness.

Pryor explained that the purchase of the former nursing home is part of Gov. Dan McKee’s overarching plan to add more than 300 beds to the state’s shelter system.

The Amos House, a nonprofit organization that works primarily with the state’s homeless population, is currently leasing three floors of the Charlesgate building as an emergency shelter for unhoused families. In total, the Amos House expects to utilize up to 57 rooms this winter.

The planned closure of the nursing center received significant pushback from the caregivers who worked there. The caregivers urged the state to intervene and place the nursing center into receivership, but the R.I. Department of Health had already approved the facility’s closure plan.