PRESS RELEASES:

July 9 2003: Latest VHCB grants will help conserve 1,178 acres, create 94 units housing

June 2003: Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association adds 130 acres to wildlife corridor stretching from Dummerston to Cambridgeport

July 9, 2003

VHCB Grants Boost Housing and Conservation Efforts

At a meeting on June 16, 2003, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board awarded loans and grants to 11 organizations around the state for the development of 94 units of affordable housing in historic and new buildings, to conserve 1,178 acres of farmland, add 164 acres to Alburg Dunes, a new state park, conserve 71 acres of the oldest fossil reef in the world on Isle La Motte, and rehabilitate and preserve historic community buildings in Ferrisburgh and Brookfield.

Essex Junction With $500,000 in VHCB funds, a development team comprised of the Lake Champlain Housing Development Corporation and Housing Vermont will develop 84 family rental units on a 14-acre site in the first phase of a planned 185-unit intergenerational development Park Street near the five corners in Essex Junction. Housing Vermont anticipates raising more than $4.7 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credit Equity to augment the project budget.

Grand Isle Sixteen apartments will be constructed by the Lake Champlain Housing Development Corporation and Housing Vermont on a 20-acre site on Hyde Road near the Town offices, fire station, library and elementary school. Construction is anticipated to be complete in the summer of 2004 with occupancy by the fall of that year. A VHCB grant of $400,000 and $130,000 in federal HOME funds awarded by VHCB will be matched with $1.4 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credit Equity, a private loan and funding from the Residential Energy Efficiency Program.

Rutland – The Rutland County Community Land Trust (RCCLT) will use a Vermont Housing and Conservation Board grant of $325,000 and $390,00 in federal HOME Program funds awarded by VHCB to acquire the Tuttle Building at 9-13 Center Street, creating thirteen affordable apartments and renovating three commercial spaces. Built in 1906 just off Merchants Row in the heart of downtown Rutland, the Tuttle Building housed the offices and production spaces of the Tuttle Printing and Engraving Company. RCCLT will renovate the two commercial spaces on the ground floor and add one apartment on that level, renovate and occupy office space and create two apartments on the second floor, and develop 10 apartments on the third and fourth floors. A mixture of one and two-bedroom apartments will be affordable to households earning less than 60% of median income. Tuttle Block, 9-13 Center Street, Rutland

Brattleboro The Brattleboro Area County Community Land Trust will use a $286,000 VHCB loan to acquire and rehabilitate 20 apartments located in four prominent, historic buildings at 50, 58 and 64 Canal Street and at 42 South Main Street. Three of the buildings are owned by limited equity cooperatives; they will be transferred to BACLT for rehabilitation and management as rental housing. The buildings were the first properties acquired and rehabilitated by the Brattleboro Area Community Land Trust fifteen years ago when a citizens group formed to protect the properties from demolition and construction of a mini-mall on the site.

Vergennes With $65,000 in VHCB funds and $200,000 in federal HOME funds awarded by VHCB two prominent historic buildings with 19 apartments and one commercial space located at 206 and 224 Main Street will be redeveloped by the Addison County Community Action Group and Housing Vermont. The layout of some apartments will be reconfigured, new wiring, water supply and a sprinkler system will be installed, and exterior trim, siding and porches will be repaired. Rural Development funding will provide rental assistance for the apartments, making them affordable to low-income households.

Round & Square Dances at the Old Town Hall, early 1940's

Brookfield The Brookfield Community Partnership will purchase and renovate the Brookfield Old Town Hall using $72,500 in VHCB funds. Built in 1850 as a boarding house for the nearby mill, the town hall is the centerpiece of Brookfield Village Historic District. An addition in 1900 served as the town hall and a gathering place for many functions in the town. The Town Clerk's office will move into the rehabilitated building and town meetings and a variety of community events will be held there. The upstairs may serve as art or dance studios and private office space.

Ferrisburgh The former Grange Hall, which is owned by the town, will be renovated and restored for use as new town offices and a community center with the help of $47,500 in VHCB funds. Located on the west side of Route 7 in the village, the building will be stabilized and historic features will be restored, including the slate roof and two brick chimneys. Constructed in 1868 as the Ferrisburgh Congregational Church, the building was conveyed to the local Grange in 1949. The Italianate style church features elaborate exterior trim and a two-tiered bell tower. The lower level will serve as town offices, while the upper level, with its open hall, raised stage and balcony will be used for community meetings and as a theatrical and musical performance venue for the school and community.

480 million year old fossil of the gastropod Maclurite Magnus

Isle La Motte The Isle La Motte Reef Preservation Trust is working with the Lake Champlain Land Trust to conserve sections of Goodsell Ridge, the world’s oldest reef dating back over 48 million years. A $100,000 VHCB grant will assist with the acquisition of 71 acres of land known as Goodsell Ridge, adding to 24 acres conserved at the Fisk Quarry in 1999. An interpretive display erected at the Fisk Quarry describes the ancient reef, which was formed 480 million years ago. The Isle La Motte reefs have long been studied by paleontologists, college students, amateur geologists, school groups and tourists. A visitors center, walking trails, and an outdoor museum are planned for the Goodsell Ridge site. Read more

Alburg Using $500,000 in VHCB funds, the Agency of Natural Resources will add 164 acres including 4,500 feet of frontage on Lake Champlain to Alburg Dunes, a new state park created in 1995. The additional land will allow for construction of a bath house, picnic facilities, campsites, hiking trails, rental cabins, concessions and septic areas. Additional wetlands, woodlands and meadows on the property will expand hunting, fishing and trapping opportunities accessible to the public. Alburg Dunes has become one of Vermont's more popular day use state parks.

Statewide $1,212,000 in VHCB awards will result in the conservation of more than 1,178 acres of farmland in the towns of Shoreham, Bridport, Charlotte, Whiting, Hyde Park, Salisbury and Benson. The Vermont Land Trust and the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets will acquire conservation easements on six farms.



June 2003

Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association adds 130 acres to Wildlife
Corridor Stretching from Dummerston to Cambridgeport

Westminster and Athens -- A Vermont Housing and Conservation Board grant of $109,700 to Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association will allow for the acquisition of a 131-acre parcel for addition to an assemblage of conserved lands being pieced together to create a nature preserve and 16-mile, multi-use trail running the length of Pinnacle ridge from Dummerston to Cambridgeport. The acquisition will extend the Windmill Hill Pinnacle Ridgeline Trail by more than a mile, bringing the length of the trail to more than 10 miles. To date, WPHA, a grassroots organization with 1200 members, has conserved over 2500 acres through fee and easement acquisition, both donated and purchased.

A conservation easement on the land will be co-held by the Vermont Land Trust (VLT) and VHCB, assuring access by the public "for low-density, non-motorized recreational uses, including hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, bird watching, and, in season, hunting and trapping."

Beverly Major, Chairperson of WHPA, said that the $109,000 grant will be used towards the purchase of a 131.5 acre piece of land that lies north of the existing Pinnacle trail, with access off Bemis Hill Road.

"This piece will extend the trail 2 miles north towards Bemis Hill," she said. "It is a significant step forward that brings us that much closer to the north end."

Carol Westing, WHPA board member, said that the new piece of land, known as the Jewett parcel, contains a colonial-era cellar hole, an old road, and provides habitat for moose and bear. She said that the piece is crucial for WHPA to be able to extend its trail system to the north.

Major said that the work on a new trail may start as early as this summer.

She said that while the VHCB grant pays for the direct land purchase, WHPA must raise an additional $30,000 for its share of the project. This would cover legal, mapping, and closing costs, and the moneys needed for the stewardship endowment fund. This fund enables the maintenance of the nature reserve in perpetuity.

If you are interested in helping WHPA with donations, trail building, or time, contact Allison Latham 387-5711.