Scott Administration awards more than $3.5 million for affordable home repair financing, mixed-income housing, and community facility improvements.
Montpelier, Vt. - Governor Phil Scott and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) today announced $3.5 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding awards through the Vermont Community Development Program. The funding will support 14 projects in all 14 counties, including affordable home repair financing for low-income homeowners, improvements to community facilities, and the building of new mixed-income housing.
“The Community Development Block Grant program continues to be a very useful resource for Vermont and fills a critical need,” said Governor Scott. “The program relies on strong public and private partnerships to empower redevelopment and revitalization throughout all corners of the state.”
Among the 14 projects receiving the $3.5 million include:
The town of Bristol and Addison County Community Trust was awarded $535,000 for the Firehouse Apartments project. This project aims to create 20 new units of housing at Firehouse Drive in Bristol. This mixed-income housing development includes one 16-unit building and two duplex buildings.
“This will be a very important project for the community of Bristol. We understand there is already a growing waitlist of people hoping to live there, which is just one indicator of the need for affordable housing in our community,” said Valerie Capels, the Bristol Town Administrator.
“Firehouse Apartments is a good example of how a community can address their needs by utilizing CDBG funding. Bringing new housing online, especially in a growing community like Bristol where there are limited affordable housing options, is critical right now,” said Housing and Community Development Commissioner Josh Hanford.
The town of Stowe and the Lamoille Housing Partnership was awarded $350,000 for the River Bend Apartment project to acquire and rehabilitate 14 units of housing located at 603-605 Maple Street. Of the 14 units, 10 apartments will be available to Low- and Moderate-Income (LMI) households and four units will be reserved for families and individuals experiencing homelessness.
Town of Brattleboro and the Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development Inc. was awarded $50,000 to fund an engineering feasibility study of the municipal water and sewer infrastructure to support the potential development of between 100 and 500 units of mixed-income housing.
The Vermont Community Development Program, a division of the DHCD, awards approximately $7 million annually in competitive grants to Vermont cities and towns. The grants are funded through the federal CDBG program, administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. CDBG funds enable communities to effectively address local community development needs by providing federal funds to develop viable communities through the provision of modest housing and a suitable living environment. Funds are also used to expand economic opportunities geared to low-and moderate-income individuals and to improve infrastructure critical to community health and welfare.
Vermont’s congressional delegation, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.), has been committed to supporting the funding that makes the program possible, including $1.5M in Recovery Housing funding to assist individuals in recovery and build recovery homes and an additional $8.8 million in CDBG-CV funding to support businesses, public facilities, and service programs that were impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
In a joint statement, Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I), and Representative Peter Welch (D) said: “These projects assist our communities in improving housing and living conditions as well as expanding economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income persons. As a delegation, we support the Community Development Block Grant program as it is an important tool to help our local governments and the rest of the nation tackle serious challenges in their communities as they recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
For a full listing of all CDBG, CDBG-CV, and affordable home repair financing awardees click here.
For more information on home repair financing options for low-income homeowners visit: http://www.vthomeownership.org/.
###