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Vermont To Help Displaced Vermonters Through CDBG Funds

Posted February 2, 2012

VPR News interview with Jen Hollar, Deputy Commissioner  of the Vermont Department of Economic, Housing, & Community Development

A lot of Vermonters displaced by Irene are hoping their home will be bought out by the FEMA hazard mitigation program, which pays up to 75 percent of the home’s pre-storm fair market value.

Jennifer Hollar, Deputy Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development, says the state is committed to helping homeowners who qualify for FEMA mitigation make up that remaining 25 percent gap. Hollar tells VPR’s Mitch Wertlieb, that even for families who don’t qualify for Hazard Mitigation, help could be available in the form of Community Development Block Grants awarded to Vermont from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, in a pool of money totaling more than $21 million.

To listen to the VPR interview

 

 


Vermont Housing & Conservation Coalition Legislative Day

Posted January 23, 2012

SAVE THE DATE: VHCC Legislative Day will be Thursday, February 23, 2012 at the State House in Montpelier.

PLEASE SET ASIDE FEBRUARY 23rd as a day that you and your organization’s key supporters will spend in Montpelier talking and advocating in the Legislature on the importance of Vermont Housing and Conservation Board funding for your organization and the communities it serves.

Governor Shumlin has proposed $14 MILLION FOR VHCB – a $1.2 million increase.  With a $60 million budget deficit, this is a very positive development.

We need members to TURN OUT IN FULL FORCE to support his request and show appreciation.  Already voices in the Legislature have been raised saying that we don’t need to fund conservation when the state needs all available resources to help recover from Irene.  As the Governor has proposed, VHCB will play a key role by providing $2 million over two fiscal years to help homeowners who want buyouts of their destroyed homes, and to towns which seek to convert those parcels to open space and park land.

We need to reaffirm our core message that BOTH conservation and affordable housing are critical economic development investments that must remain a priority as the State meets the challenges of recovery and the fifth consecutive year of budget shortfalls.

Full Information & Tentative Schedule

For further information, contact:

Erhard Mahnke at 233-2902 or erhardm@burlingtontelecom.net

John Shullenberger at 373-2590 or jdsdiann@together.net

Adam Necrason at 223-9988 or necrason@snlawvt.com

 

 


Roundtable Discussion of Affordable Housing Preservation in Vermont

Posted January 17, 2012

Please join us on Tuesday, March 13 for a Roundtable Discussion of Affordable Housing Preservation in Vermont.  It’s taking place at Noble Hall Lounge in Montpelier from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm – welcome and introductions at 9:15.  A map of the campus of the Vermont College of Fine Arts and a parking pass for on-site parking are attached.

This discussion is intended for affordable housing funders, developers, managers and advocates.  Our hope is to reflect and build upon your work in recent years and discuss policy priorities to help preserve existing affordable housing. The format for the day will include individual presentations, panel discussions, and open group discussion on key preservation topics including:

  • Today’s Preservation Landscape in Vermont with  Gus Seelig,  Sarah Carpenter, Jen Hollar and Bob McDonald
  • An Overview of the National Housing Preservation Effort
  • Doing Preservation Deals – Housing owners and developers discuss challenges and opportunities in their recent preservation projects
  • Strategies and Resources for Acquisition of  Federally Subsidized Housing Projects
  • Preservation Policies, Issues and Concerns for Vermont Housing Providers

Join us beginning at 8:30 am for a continental breakfast.  After the morning presentations and discussions we’ll break for lunch and have some time for networking. We expect to conclude the day at 3:00 pm.

There is no fee for the day but please register to help us organize the event. Panelists and speakers don’t need to register.

Reply to laurie@vhcb.org by March 1.   Include your name, title, organization, and telephone number. Noble Lounge is wheelchair accessible. Please contact us in advance if you require special accommodations. For more information contact me at 828-3526 or rick@vhcb.org

 

On Behalf of the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board,

Rick DeAngelis

 

 


Mobile homes razed; officials laud a first step in resolving post-Irene, low-income housing issues

Posted January 4, 2012

December 29, 2011 – Andrew Nemethy – www.vtdigger.org

MONTPELIER – A statewide effort to clean up widespread devastation at Vermont’s mobile home parks after tropical storm Irene was lauded Thursday for its remarkable partnerships, volunteers and accomplishments.

Lt. Gov. Phil Scott said the cleanup effort disposed of 68 badly damaged mobile homes in six parks around the state through a unique partnership of state, private and nonprofit organizations and a host of people who pitched in with time, money and equipment.

“I think that’s what I’m most proud of,” said Scott.

Vermonters from all walks of life just started “solving” the problems, as he put it, that cropped in the effort to remove mobile homes swamped by Irene.

More than $300,000 was raised to assist the project through donations big and small, and in a race against the onset of winter, 68 units were demolished and removed in six weeks at an approximate cost of $2,500 per unit, according to Scott.

Scott spearheaded the cleanup when it became apparent many mobile home owners did not have the $3,500 to $4,500 in funds to dispose of their homes – which meant recovery after the Aug. 28 disaster would be delayed since new units could not replace damaged ones, hard-hit mobile park owners would be left without rental income for their lots, and valuable low-income housing sites would be removed from the state.

Link to Full Article

Link to Article PDF

 

 


$1.47 million in VHCB funding to assist households affected by Hurricane Irene

Posted

www.vermontbiz.com

Thu Dec 22 2011

At a meeting on December 6, the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board presented funding awards to the Addison County Community Trust and the Central Vermont Community Land Trust to create affordable rental housing in the towns of Hancock and Barre. The Windham and Windsor Housing Trust will rehabilitate two properties with 12 apartments in Chester and Gageville. Grants to the network of HomeOwnership Centers and non-profit housing organizations will provide financial counseling and homebuyer education to households who lost their homes in Hurricane Irene and assist communities in rebuilding after Irene. The Upper Valley Land Trust, the Nature Conservancy, the Stowe Land Trust, and the Vermont River Conservancy will use VHCB funding to conserve 413 acres of agricultural land, recreational land and wildlife habitat.

Christine  Hart, Chair of the Board, said, “These VHCB grants will be used in communities across the state and will complement flood recovery efforts, provide economic stimulus, support the agricultural economy, and provide public access to recreational land for generations to come … ”

Link to Full Article

Link to Article PDF

 

 


Manchester affordable housing moves forward

Posted December 21, 2011

Manchester, Vermont – December 18, 2011

WCAX.com

Manchester, Vermont has always been a hot spot for vacationers and second home owners but a new initiative aims to make living in Manchester more attainable for first time homeowners.

Nail by nail, members of the Manchester community are volunteering their time and creating new opportunity for a local family.

“The concept of housing being affordable has been a huge issue in this community for many years,” said Lee Krohn, Manchester’s Town Planner.

In Manchester, where the average home price is over 400-thousand dollars, many who work in the town can’t afford to live there

“Our goal is to live, work, send your kids to school — all in Manchester,” said John O’Keefe, Manchester’s Town Manager. “We don’t feel that the jobs that we attract should allow you to work in Manchester but have to live somewhere else.”

And thanks to Habitat for Humanity, 22 new homes will be constructed completley by volunteers in a neighborhood that will meet state requirements for planned affordable housing developments. The one being built now is the first home of what will be the largest Habitat community in New England …

Link to Full Story

PDF of Article

 


Fourteen new affordable apartments in Randolph

Posted December 12, 2011

There was standing room only at the Salisbury Square Apartments’ ribbon cutting in Randolph yesterday. Julie Iffland, Executive Director of Randolph Area Community Development Corporation (RACDC), thanked supporters and provided tours of the fourteen new, energy efficient, affordable apartments.  Ten apartments are located in two new buildings on School Street, and four apartments are in a new addition to a historic building that was once part of the Ethan Allen Furniture Company.

Adjacent to Randolph’s downtown, the apartments are within walking distance of services and stores. RACDC spent years cleaning up the site which had been environmentally contaminated. The site includes open space and permits are in place to build for-sale homes as the real estate market improves.

RACDC’s board and staff devoted considerable planning time and care to ensure that this new neighborhood meets the needs of the Randolph community. Sixty applications have already been submitted for the 14 new apartments.

This project was funded with a combination of sources including: pre-development loans and Housing Credits and Tax Credit Assistance Program funding from VHFA; HUD’s Economic Development Initiative; Vermont Housing & Conservation Board; Vermont Community Development Program; Vermont Community Loan Fund; Vermont Brownfields Revitalization Fund; Vermont Community Foundation; and Housing Credit Investors Mascoma Bank and Housing Vermont’s Green Mountain Equity Fund.

Link to Original Posting

 

 


Housing Preservation Workshop Postponed

Posted November 29, 2011

Dear Housing Colleagues

The Housing Preservation Workshop scheduled for December 9 in Montpelier has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.  I will be in touch in the coming weeks to announce the new date and I hope you will be able to participate.

Any payments of registration fees that we received will be returned by mail in the next two weeks.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Rick DeAngelis

Associate Housing Director

Vermont Housing and Conservation Board

 

 


Celebrate the Opening of 30 New Apartments

Posted November 3, 2011

Join the Champlain Housing Trust and Housing Vermont, with special guest Senator Bernie Sanders (schedule permitting), to celebrate the opening of 30 new apartments.

When: 10:00 am

Where: 47 Susie Wilson Road, Essex Junction

Please RSVP to Chris Donnelly at (802)861-7305 or chris@ champlainhousingtrust.org


 


Rutland project new affordable housing model

Posted November 1, 2011

Rutland, Vermont – October 28, 2011

A new generation of affordable housing was unveiled Thursday in Rutland.

The Hickory Street community is the first of it’s kind in New England. The project includes 33 mixed income units ranging from one bedroom apartments to single family homes.  The neighborhood was ten years in the making.  It has new streets, energy efficient buildings, solar panels, basketball courts and even onsite maintenance.

“I think that the unique part of Hickory Street Apartments is that we moved out of a traditional public housing model, which tends to isolate folks from the rest of the community, into more of a mixed income community that sort of naturally flows into the surrounding neighborhood,” said Kevin Loso with the Rutland Housing Authority.

Leases have already been signed for nearly two-thirds of those units.

Article Taken From wcax.com

PDF: Rutland project new affordable housing model

URL:Rutland project new affordable housing model

 


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