At its June 18, 2026 meeting, the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) committed $17,751,477 in state, federal, and philanthropic funding to advance affordable housing, emergency shelter, historic preservation, and land conservation projects across Vermont. The awards will help create 77 new rental homes, preserve and rehabilitate 45 existing homes, support 8 new community-living bedrooms for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, expand emergency shelter capacity in Barre City, preserve two historic civic buildings, strengthen conservation capacity, and conserve more than 2,130 acres of farmland, working forest, natural areas, and community lands.

The funding will move forward in White River Junction, Brandon, and Grand Isle; preserve critical senior housing and emergency shelter capacity in Brattleboro and Barre City; expand inclusive public access to trails, waterfront, and community recreation in Bolton, Burlington, and Jeffersonville; preserve historic community landmarks in West Fairlee and Putney; supporting conservation capacity in Addison County and southern Vermont; expanding affordable homeownership opportunities and accessibility improvements for Vermonters with disabilities statewide; and protecting important working lands, forests, and natural areas in Franklin County, Orange County, Caledonia County, and beyond.

“These projects demonstrate VHCB’s commitment to its dual mission of creating opportunity through affordable housing and protecting the land, buildings, and community assets that strengthen Vermont,” said Gus Seelig, VHCB Executive Director. “From housing and shelter that meet urgent needs today to conservation and historic preservation projects, these investments will strengthen Vermont communities and deliver lasting public value across the state for generations to come.”

Summary of Awards

Addison County

Monkton — Riverflow Community House #2 (Riverflow Community, Inc.): VHCB awarded $1,200,000 to support construction of House 2 at Riverflow Community, an intentional community serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The project will create 8 new affordable community-living bedrooms, including 4 for residents living with intellectual or developmental disabilities, and expand a rare housing model that integrates care, stability, and long-term support.

Middlebury — MALT Expansion Grant (Middlebury Area Land Trust): VHCB awarded $150,000 over three years to help Middlebury Area Land Trust hire a full-time Conservation Manager and expand its conservation impact across Addison County. The investment will help MALT build project pipeline, strengthen stewardship and landowner outreach, and advance its long-term goal of tripling conserved acreage in the county.

Caledonia County

Caledonia County — Farm Conservation (Vermont Land Trust): VHCB awarded $350,000 to conserve 170 acres of productive agricultural land, including 130 acres of prime or statewide important soils. Protecting this parcel will help sustain active agricultural use, reduce development pressure on an important working landscape, and protect streams and wetlands in the Passumpsic watershed.

Groton — Groton VAST Connection (Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation): VHCB awarded $180,500 to support acquisition and stewardship of 125 acres as an addition to Groton State Forest. The project secures a critical connection in the statewide VAST trail network, protects wildlife habitat and headwater streams, and expands permanent public access for year-round recreation in an important forest landscape.

St. Johnsbury — Moose River Shelter Project Related Capacity (RuralEdge): VHCB awarded $50,000 to support predevelopment work for the Moose River shelter expansion in St. Johnsbury. The funding will help secure a second site and advance design work for a project that would expand shelter capacity in the Northeast Kingdom and strengthen long-term emergency shelter operations in the region.

Chittenden County

Bolton — Driving Range Adaptive Trails and Working Forest (Vermont Land Trust): VHCB awarded $206,575 to conserve 203 acres of working forestland in Bolton and secure permanent public access to the Driving Range adaptive trail network. When completed with the help of additional fundraising, the project will protect the world’s first fully adaptive bike-friendly trail system, a section of the Catamount Trail, and an important wildlife corridor between Mount Mansfield and Camel’s Hump.

Burlington — 3181 North Avenue (Winooski Valley Park District): VHCB committed $746,000 to help Winooski Valley Park District acquire and conserve the 2.7-acre property at 3181 North Avenue. This project intends to preserve free public access to an iconic stretch of shoreline at the confluence of the Winooski River and Lake Champlain while protecting wetlands, floodplain habitat, and an ecologically significant river mouth landscape.

Franklin County

Fletcher, Fairfield, and Bakersfield — Wintergreen Forest (Trust for Public Land): VHCB awarded $815,000 to conserve 1,488 acres of working forestland in Franklin County. The project will protect one of the county’s largest remaining unprotected forest blocks, secure permanent public access for low-impact recreation, and safeguard important wildlife habitat, streams, wetlands, and climate-resilient forestland in the Missisquoi Bay watershed.

Grand Isle County

Grand Isle — 29 Faywood Road (Cathedral Square Corporation and Evernorth, Inc.): A $3,400,000 supplemental award will help move forward a preservation and redevelopment project serving seniors and people with disabilities in Grand Isle. The project will preserve 24 affordable homes by rehabilitating the existing Annex Building and replacing outdated units with a new, more sustainable building while maintaining deeply affordable assisted housing in an underserved rural .

Lamoille County

Jeffersonville — Cambridge Community Center (Cambridge 360, Inc.): VHCB awarded $183,231 to support acquisition and conservation of the 7.4-acre Cambridge Community Center property in Jeffersonville. The project will preserve a major recreation and wellness resource, protect public access to the Brewster River and surrounding outdoor assets, and support a high-priority flood resilience strategy for the village.

Orange County

West Fairlee — Bean Hall Roof Project (West Fairlee Community Trust and Preservation Trust of Vermont): VHCB awarded $150,000 to support the first phase of restoration at Bean Hall. The investment will stabilize the roof of a landmark historic building, protect rare interior plasterwork, and advance plans to return the structure to active community use.

Thetford — Houghton Hill Natural Area (Upper Valley Land Trust): VHCB committed $252,000 to conserve 119.49 acres at Houghton Hill in Thetford. The project will protect a locally beloved forested hilltop with existing trail use, scenic views, important wildlife habitat, and strong statewide conservation values while securing permanent public access for hiking and other low-impact recreation.

Newbury — Tucker Mountain Town Forest II (Vermont Land Trust): VHCB awarded $227,450 to expand Tucker Mountain Town Forest by 127 acres in Newbury. The addition will increase public recreation opportunities, help prevent further parcelization of a large forested tract, and strengthen habitat connectivity, water quality, and climate resilience in the Connecticut River watershed.

Rutland County

Brandon — Three 33 Jones Drive (Cornerstone Housing Partners): A $3,500,000 supplemental award will help Cornerstone move forward with adaptive reuse of a vacant building into 29 new multifamily rental homes in Brandon. The project will redevelop a blighted and vacant structure on the former Brandon Training School, completing the redevelopment of the campus.

Washington County

Barre City — Barre City Emergency Relocation & Floodway Site Restoration (Good Samaritan Haven): VHCB awarded $700,000 to support relocation of Good Samaritan Haven’s emergency shelter from a floodway site to a safer location in Barre City. The project will create a 24-bed low-barrier shelter, improve resilience and accessibility for vulnerable residents, and allow the former site to be restored as flood-resilient open space. The project received significant investment from the State of Vermont through the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program, and VHCB’s investment helps to close a critical gap.

Windham County

Brattleboro — Ann Wilder Richards HVAC Replacement (Brattleboro Housing Authority): VHCB committed $960,000 to replace failing mechanical systems at the Ann Wilder Richards building in West Brattleboro, preserving 21 senior apartments. The investment will support conversion to modern heat-pump technology, stabilize operations, and protect residents from disruption tied to imminent HVAC failure.

Putney — Renew Putney Town Hall (Town of Putney and Preservation Trust of Vermont): VHCB awarded $150,000 to support rehabilitation of Putney Town Hall. The investment will help restore an 1871 landmark as a more accessible, energy-efficient, and climate-resilient home for town government, community use, and the Putney Historical Society.

Athens — Athens Community Forest Expansion (Bull Creek Common Lands, Inc.): VHCB awarded $80,000 to expand the Athens Community Forest by 15.4 acres. The project will strengthen wildlife connectivity, protect frontage along Bull Creek, improve flood resilience, and create an additional public access point to the community forest trail network.

Windsor County

White River Junction (Twin Pines Housing Trust and Evernorth, Inc.): A $3,899,411 supplemental award will help move forward a new 48-home affordable apartment building in White River Junction. The project will provide a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes, including units reserved for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and the affordable housing investment will unlock the development of complementary market rate housing in the growing community.

Southern Vermont

GMC Expansion Grant (Green Mountain Conservancy): VHCB awarded $150,000 over three years to help Green Mountain Conservancy transition from an all-volunteer organization to professional staffing in Windham County and parts of Bennington County. The investment will strengthen conservation planning, stewardship, and organizational capacity in a region facing ongoing development pressure and important landscape connectivity needs.

Statewide

FY27 Home Access Program (Vermont Center for Independent Living): VHCB approved $545,000 for the FY27 Home Access Program. The program helps low-income Vermonters with physical disabilities remain in their homes by funding accessibility improvements such as ramps, bathroom modifications, and entrance upgrades.

Shared Equity: VHCB approved $1,000,000 to recapitalize its shared-equity homeownership pool for FY27. The funding will support the development, rehabilitation, or purchase of approximately 13 permanently affordable homes through buyer-driven purchases and small-scale Habitat for Humanity construction.

About the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board

The Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (vhcb.org) invests in permanently affordable housing, farmland conservation, forest and natural area protection, historic preservation, and community revitalization across Vermont. Since its creation, VHCB has helped create and preserve affordable homes and conserve working lands, natural areas, and historic properties in partnership with local communities, nonprofit organizations, and public agencies.