Hinesburg is one of several communities that was recently awarded a Community Development Block Grant from the Vermont Community Development Program. Read how Champlain Housing Trust, Housing Vermont, and Snyder Homes plan on using these funds to build 23 new affordable housing units in this article from the Burlington Free Press:
Hinesburg recently was awarded a grant of $675,000 under the Vermont Community Development Program, for the purpose of helping to fund affordable housing in the Green Street project. The grant, announced last week by Gov. Shumlin and Patricia Moulton, secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, was the second largest among those awarded to 13 Vermont towns and cities, for a total of $4,287,000. The other grants, from $19,830 to $850,000, are expected to fund accessibility, disaster recovery and housing. The Green Street development will be built south of the southwest corner of Vermont 116 and Charlotte Road, along a newly constructed road. It received approval from the town Development Review Board in October for 23 units in townhouse-style homes including two one-story accessible apartments. A 2010 housing assessment for the Hinesburg Affordable Housing Committee reported a strong need for more rental access in Hinesburg for people earning less than 60 percent of the average median income. Chris Snyder of Snyder Homes, builder of the project, said the company plans to start construction about May 15. A sidewalk will connect the units with Vermont 116 for access to the community school and other amenities in the village. About eight acres of open space west of the built area will be available for agricultural use and a 100-foot buffer for the LaPlatte River. An earlier different application for the area had received water allocation from the town; the State of Vermont will issue a revised water permit, Snyder said. It would be in effect when the town’s new wells are online. Community Development Program grants must go to municipalities, which then lend the funds to the prospective owners — in this case Champlain Housing Trust and Housing Vermont. Amy Demetrowitz of Champlain Housing Trust said, “We had a very good relationship with Snyder on a successful project in Williston. We are happy to partner with Snyder Homes on a turnkey project.”
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