Four developments have been selected to receive $3.4 million in low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) in Vermont.
The housing credits will generate about $31.5 million in equity to help build the developments, which will provide 128 affordable homes, according to the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA).
Selected out of seven applicants, the developments reserved LIHTCs are:
· Stevens Branch Apartments in Barre: Located in a community that has experienced significant loss of housing due to flooding in recent years, the development’s 31 homes will include 24 apartments rented to households with incomes at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI). Of those homes, six will be designated for residents coming out of homelessness. Two additional units will be set aside for individuals with developmental disabilities. There will be three studio, 12 one-, 12 two-, and four three-bedroom apartments. Three units will be designed as fully ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) compliant. Supportive services will be provided in part through Washington County Mental Health, including help with employment and job training; budgeting; and connecting residents with community services. The developers are Evernorth and Downstreet Housing & Community Development. Downstreet Housing & Community Development will also be the property manager;
· Chalet Apartments Phase 1 in Brattleboro: This multi-phase project will provide 31 new apartments in its first phase, including 24 apartments rented to households at or below 60% of the AMI, many of which will serve people experiencing homelessness and at-risk households. Fifteen apartments will serve as permanent supportive housing units. Groundworks has partnered with Evernorth and Windham & Windsor Housing Trust to provide voluntary, comprehensive on-site services in the building for all residents. Later phases of the project will include 30 mixed-income homes and a restored historic building, formerly the Chalet Motel. This project will introduce new affordable housing options to a community plagued by lack of rentals since the pandemic;
· Riggs Meadow Apartments in Hinesburg: This project will add 36 new homes across four buildings consisting of 14 townhouses in two blocks and 22 apartments in two multifamily buildings. Twenty-eight homes are housing credit units and will be affordable to households below 60% of the AMI. Three apartments will be fully ADA accessible with another 12 on grade and adaptable. Evernorth, the developer, and Champlain Housing Trust, co-developer and property manager, have a successful history of working together to create affordable housing in Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle counties; and
· Highgate Village Housing in Highgate: The Highgate Village project will add 30 homes, helping to relieve a lack of publicly subsidized rental housing in the area. Of the homes, 24 apartments are designated as affordable to households at or below 60% of the AMI. Two apartments are fully ADA compliant, and one additional apartment will be audio/visual accessible. SASH (Support and Services at Home) services will be offered on-site at no cost to residents. Cathedral Square Corp. is the project sponsor and property manager.
In addition to LIHTCs, other funding sources for the developments include grants and loans from VHFA, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, the federal HOME program, Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, congressionally directed spending, the National Housing Trust Fund, the Vermont Community Development Program, Leahy Legacy Funds, and Efficiency Vermont.
