VHCB Awards Funding to Create 202 New Homes in 5 Towns and add 21 Shelter Beds in Hyde Park
VHCB Awards Funding to Create 202 New Homes in 5 Towns and add 21 Shelter Beds in Hyde Park
At a meeting on January 26, the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board committed $23.3 million in state and federal funding to create 202 new homes statewide, both rental and homeownership, with 36 reserved for households that have experienced homelessness. Nine apartments in Rutland will be rehabilitated and the first year-round shelter in Lamoille County will be created with 21 beds.
Gus Seelig, Executive Director of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board said, “At locations around the state, our housing partners are using state and federal resources awarded by VHCB to add to our housing supply at an accelerating rate. Purchase subsidy grants for homebuyers will offset the steep prices and higher interest rates, helping buyers enter the market, and 185 new and rehabilitated apartments in Rutland, St. Albans, Burlington and Bradford will create new rental opportunities in those towns.”
Rutland – The Housing Trust of Rutland County will rehabilitate 9 apartments in two historic buildings on Columbian Avenue, and acquire an adjacent historic building to create 13 new apartments. Four apartments will be reserved for households that have experienced homelessness, with services provided by the Homeless Prevention Center of Rutland. The Board committed $3.9M in state and federal funding towards the development.
Burlington – The Champlain Housing Trust will develop 85 apartments at City Place, the full square block in the center of the city that has been largely vacant for 10 years. Part of a planned development that will ultimately provide more than 400 new condominiums and apartments, the CHT apartments will be affordable to low- and moderate-income households and 17 of the apartments will be designated for households moving from homelessness. The Board committed $3 million in state and federal funds and will reserve additional funds for the development pending further pre-development milestones.
Statewide – Five NeighborWorks® Homeownership Centers will use $1 million in funding awarded by VHCB to assist 21 homebuyers with purchase subsidy grants of up to $80,000 or 35% of purchase price under the Shared Equity Homeownership program. Habitat for Humanity chapters will use $300,000 in VHCB funding to develop approximately 12 new homes. The board also committed $50,000 for a program to assist shared equity homebuyers with closing costs.
Hyde Park – With $3.8M in VHCB funding, the Lamoille Housing Partnership will purchase and rehabilitate a residential care home to be operated by Lamoille Community House as Forest Hill Emergency Housing, a year-round shelter providing 21 bedrooms with an office as well as programming space for community service providers. Moderate rehab will include new flooring, kitchen, bathroom fixtures, heating system, windows, doors and siding, and improve energy efficiency. Fifteen current residents of the care home will be relocated by the Department of Aging and Independent Living before closing.
St. Albans – In the west end of downtown, developer Grant Butterfield will use $7.94 million in federal funds awarded by VHCB to develop a five-story building with 72 apartments affordable to lower income households. Common areas will include a gym, meeting space, laundry facilities, a bike maintenance area, and a recreation room. Working with local service providers, 11 homes will be targeted for families who have experienced homelessness.
Bradford – With $641,482 in federal funding awarded by VHCB, an historic downtown building on North Pleasant Street will be rehabilitated to create six apartments with up to four designated for residents exiting homelessness, in coordination with the Upper Valley Haven and Capstone Community Services. Work is expected to begin in early spring 2023 with occupancy expected in early 2024. The developers will use up to $200,000 from the Vermont Housing Improvement Program, which provides funding for property owners to restore vacant apartments, increasing the supply of affordable housing statewide.
Shelburne – On the Shelburne Road, with $2.6M in VHCB and federal funding, the Champlain Housing Trust will develop 26 condominiums for shared equity homeownership on the site of Harbor Place Motel, creating a new mixed-income neighborhood that will also include 68 affordable apartments. The 26 new homes will be built by Snyder Homes beginning in August 2023 with expected completion in August 2024. Together with funding from the Vermont Housing Finance Agency and other sources, the condominiums will be affordable to low- and moderate-income households, selling for well below market prices.