Prospect Heights

 

 

Project Location

The Project has frontage on Prospect Street and Jacques Street in Barre, Vermont. The entrance to the Project would be roughly .5 miles from Main Street in the City of Barre.

 

Project Purpose and Benefits

The Project expects to increase affordable to market rate housing in the City of Barre to support current workforce development needs and future growth.

 

The Project is assuming 128 units assessed at an average of $250,000 that would increase the grand list in the city by 32,000,000 when fully constructed. At the current tax rates the economic benefit to both would be around $1.1 Million in tax revenue, as follows:

 

Municipal Taxes & Local Agreement $32,000,000/100 x 2.0319 = $6510,208

 

State Education

-If Non-Homestead $32,000,000/100 x 1.5837 = $492,384

-If Homestead $32,000,000/100 x 1.3187 = $421,984

 

If the average family size in Vermont remains in the 2.5 range, the Project has the potential to add approximately 320 residents to the city over a phased period.

 

New residents contribute to the community both financially and through volunteer efforts. The Project will provide much needed housing to those looking to work in Central Vermont but struggling to find housing. By providing housing, it also has the potential to advance workforce development and bring future employees to local businesses, while supporting businesses who want to move to the area and have workforce housing.

 

With the current average household income in the State of Vermont at $83,767, the Project has the potential to bring the approximate household income close to 11 million to Barre City; assuming the increase in additional residents to the City.

 

A portion of that income will be distributed to local grocery stores, local food and leisure and retail establishments. This further supports the local economy, and those employed by these establishments.

 

Project Timeline, Milestones, and Status

The Project was designed and received local approval in 1991. The Subdivision Plat was properly recorded in the local records, and it has been confirmed by the City of Barre that the Plat approval is in perpetuity and valid. The Project will require approvals from the State of Vermont including but not limited to: Land Use, Water Supply, Wastewater and Stormwater. City infrastructure is at the street and the developer will work with the City to determine the final design for any offsite mitigation or repairs necessary to accommodate the Project. Barre City engineering identified the offsite items in the original review and approval. The project engineering is largely complete. The difference between the design and current rules, including water, wastewater, and stormwater, will need to be incorporated to comply. Permitting costs are part of the expenses being requested in this submission. No additional funding has been requested at this point. Once permitting commences, it is estimated to take 6-8 months to complete. Assuming a decision in early 2024, the infrastructure work could commence construction in the Fall of 2024, or early 2025. Home construction could commence in 2025. The build-out, in phases, assumes 10-15 units per year, and could be expected to be done over 10 years.

 

Project Principal Experience and Executive Biographies

 

Principal 1) Barre Area Development, Inc. (BADC) BADC is a nonprofit organization founded in 1961 with the goal of promoting economic development in Barre Town and Barre City. BADC assists with growing the local economy by working with stakeholders to create and retain jobs, assisting with housing development, enlarging the tax base, developing infrastructure, and promoting industrial growth. BADC is jointly funded by Barre Town and Barre City and works equally on behalf of each municipality. As the sponsor of the Project, BADC will coordinate all aspects of the Project, and act as the facility lead for all stakeholders.

 

Project Board Member David Sichel recently retired from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns after a thirty-year career working in various roles in the Risk Management Services Department. Prior to this he worked in local government in planning and zoning, and finance. He has been a member of the Barre City Planning Commission for over twenty years. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Barre Area Development Corporation and the Aldrich Public Library. David also serves as the Chair of the All in For Barre Housing Task Force.

 

Principal 2) City of Barre (City) The City of Barre is Vermont’s third largest metropolitan area, with a growing workforce needing housing support. Barre is a city built on the tradition and prosperity of the Granite Industry. In recent years, City leadership and partners have worked to create a vibrant downtown center with shopping, restaurants, and creative art installations. The City has a remarkable past and exciting future. The City of Barre will support varying aspects of the Project including but not limited to: permitting review and approval, management of grant funds, Project timelines and approvals.

 

Project Board Member Nicolas Storellicastro was appointed City Manager of Barre in July 2022. As City Manager, Storellicastro is appointed by the Council and is responsible for: serving as the chief administrative official of the city, appointing and supervising department supervisors, negotiating contracts and agreements for the city, participating in Council meetings, and making recommendations to Council regarding city business. Since his administration began, the City has implemented its first Capital Improvement Plan (which was recently recognized as the 2023 Best Capital Plan in Vermont by the Bond Bank), negotiated a new labor contract with AFSCME, and implemented a $1 million paving program. His first budget was approved by the voters in March

2023 by a 2-1 margin, and Storellicastro’s leadership has been exemplary in the flood management response to the historic July 2023 flood.

 

Over his career, Storellicastro has served as Associate Budget Director for Education, including City University of New York, at the New York City Office of Management and Budget. He oversaw the largest portfolio in the City budget, covering over $30B in the expense budget and over $17B in capital plans. Storellicastro left the City’s Office of Management and Budget to work on school bus insourcing and became the inaugural Chief Financial & Administrative Officer at NYC School Bus Umbrella Services, Inc., a nonprofit school bus company affiliated with the City of New York. At NYCSBUS, Storellicastro oversaw a $160M budget, Human Resources for a 1,700-employee workforce, and labor relations with two unions, among other responsibilities.

 

Principal 3) Town of Barre (Town) The Town is home to four small unincorporated villages; including East Barre, Websterville, Graniteville, and South Barre. Each village has a post office, stores, a playground and churches. Barre Town is known for its large granite quarries, panoramic mountain views, beautiful natural scenery, outstanding school, great residential neighborhoods, modern recreation facilities and attractive industrial park. As an integral part of the Barre-Montpelier urban area, our families enjoy all the conveniences of an urban area while residing in some of the state's most beautiful, rural environments. Come visit our community anytime. There are many ways to enjoy our Town Forest, bike paths, and recreation facilities all year-round. With our rich history of entrepreneurship, some of the world’s hardest working and most creative people, and an unparalleled quality of life, there is no better place than Barre Town to live, work, raise a family, grow a business, or recreate.

 

Project Board Member Chris Violette is a lifelong resident of the Town of Barre, Vermont having grown up in the village of Graniteville. He attended Spaulding High School and upon graduation has been in the customer service field since. Chris began his career in public service in 1987 when he joined the Barre Town Fire Department, becoming Chief of the department in 2004. In 1998, Chris joined the Town of Barre as a full-time employee as the Planning Director and Zoning Administrator. He was later named as the Acting Town Manager during the absence of the Town Manager. Chris also has served as a Justice of the Peace, was a member of the Planning Commission, the Board of Civil Authority, and other various committees. In January of 2023, Chris was named the Town Manager of Barre Town after the retirement of long-time manager Carl Rogers.

 

Principal 4) Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC) As the largest employer in the Central Vermont region, with over 1700 employees at twelve locations, CVMC has a critical need for housing to support our workforce recruitment and retention efforts. Over the past year, CVMC has secured multiple rental units to sublease to staff in an attempt to alleviate the hurdle of relocating to central Vermont to work at our organization. With their ongoing workforce needs, CVMC stand as a partner in this effort and Project and recognizes its importance to the vitality of the Central Vermont community.

 

Project Board Member Kimberly Patnaude is CVMC’s CFO. Kim joined the CVMC’s Senior Leadership team as the Chief Financial Officer in 2021. With over 30 years’ health care experience, Kim returned to Vermont after working for 14 years in the Christus Health system affiliates in Louisiana – most recently as Chief Financial Officer/Regional Vice

President – Finance at Christus Health Ochsner Southwest Louisiana – part of a $5B health care network with U.S. affiliates in Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas as well as Central and South American countries. While serving as CFO at Christus Health St. Patrick Hospital, Kim oversaw case management, revenue cycle/patient access, and health information management teams. During her tenure, the hospital’s finances improved from a loss of $5m to a gain of $8m over a five-year period. Her colleagues at Christus Health cite Kim’s exceptional grasp of clinical operations – bridging the gap between finance and clinical teams – as a defining trait of her tenure within the health system. Prior to working in the Christus Health, Kim was the Assistant Financial Officer/Controller at Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, Vermont. Kim holds a Master of Health Administration and a BA in Accounting.

 

Principal 5) Downstreet Housing and Community Development (Downstreet) Downstreet is a private, mission-driven, not for profit organization dedicated to the creation of equity in opportunities for all through the power of housing and focuses on its ability to connect people to the resources needed to thrive. Their work is done through an impactful and efficient approach to strengthening the health and future of local communities.

 

Project Board Member Angie Harbin is the organization’s CEO. Angie brings to this position over 15 years of varied and extensive senior-level affordable housing experience and a long-standing commitment to affordable housing as a basic right. Throughout her career, Angie has participated in the development/preservation of 986 affordable housing units in Oregon and New York, operated a multi-state housing portfolio of 1,611 units, and overseen a variety of residential, housing-based, and community-based social services in Oregon, Washington, and New York. Angie’s work has also included commercial real estate operations, state and federal contract oversight, fundraising and grant writing, and leadership for diverse teams. Her community advocacy efforts have created responsible financial products and targeted financial education for low-income households, increased housing opportunities for people with criminal convictions, and increased funding sources for resident services in affordable housing. Angie has a demonstrated, energetic commitment to ensuring equity in housing access and social service outcomes. Angie is passionate about housing designed for long-term economic, physical, and environmental sustainability and affordable housing as a cornerstone of livability for all communities. She was most recently the Vice President at MM Development Advisors, Inc., a real estate development consulting firm specializing in affordable housing in New York. Angie holds a BS in Anthropology/Sociology from Eastern Oregon University in LaGrande, Oregon and an MBA from Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.

 

Principal 6) Thomas J. Lauzon, CPA, individual (Lauzon) Lauzon is a certified public accountant, real estate developer and public servant with a history of making big things happen. Lauzon is a principal and Senior Partner at Salvador and Babic, P.C., a Barre based accounting firm that has provided tax, accounting and management advisory services to central Vermont businesses and individuals in central Vermont for decades. In addition, Lauzon owns and manage hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial real estate. Some of Lauzon’s notable projects in Vermont include the Aldrich Block, AR Market, the Reynolds House Inn and the Vermont Materials and Research Lab Complex. Lauzon also served as Barre city mayor for six consecutive terms from 2006 – 2018. Working with three different gubernatorial administrations, Lauzon advanced such projects as Barre’s Main Street Reconstruction Project, the Blanchard Block renovation, Barre

City Place, Downstreet Housing Residences on Keith Avenue, the Pearl Street Pedestrian Walkway, and the Enterprise Aly Remediation Project. During Lauzon’s tenure, the city of Barre also won approval for its Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District. The level of public / private investment and grand list growth in the city’s downtown during Lauzon’s period of service is unmatched in the Barre’s recent history.

 

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Lauzon was appointed by Governor Phil Scott to the Vermont Economic Mitigation and Recovery Task Force, which was charged with providing technical assistance, financial relief, and designing and implementing financial assistance programs to mitigate the short-term economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and develop strategies to speed long-term business and community recovery.

 

Project Support and Regional Need

The Project will help to address and support the extremely dire need for local and regional housing, which will in turn support workforce growth and development, in addition to population and economic growth for the entire Barre community. This is especially true after the historic and devasting July 2023 flood which rendered many homes in Barre City uninhabitable.

 

The July 2023 flood severely impacted the housing needs in the entire Barre area causing the displacement of individuals and families in Barre City, many of whom are still without a place to live. This significantly worsens Barre’s housing stock shortage. Barre’s median housing unit age is over 75 years old with the median year that homes in Barre were built being 1944. Statewide the average age of housing stock is over 45 years old, with median year of homes built statewide being 1975. This said, there is a very low rental vacancy rate in Washington County with Barre City having a very high percentage of renters compared to statewide averages.

 

This project would greatly help to address all these grave discrepancies by increasing the number of owner occupied and rental housing units, including affordable houses, in Barre City by constructing new housing units.

 

Project Cost, Identified and Committed Funds/Financing, and Funding Gap

The Project expects a Gap of 20-30% after potential assistance from NBRC Catalyst Program for the infrastructure. The Project Principles are working to establish sources for the funding gaps from varying sources including but not limited to: VHFA, USDA, revolving loan funds, and potential bonds, among others. etc. 

 

 

Job Creation

Permitting the Project will employ local engineers and professionals as well as state resources in multiple disciplines.

 

Infrastructure – local site development, paving, design, material supply, and other contractors will be supported for and estimated infrastructure construction period of 6 to 9 months.

 

Construction – For the anticipates build out period of 10 years, the Project will provide ongoing employment for local trades, including site development, paving, landscaping, carpentry, plumbing & electrical.

 

Property Maintenance & Repair – In perpetuity, the Project will provide employment for those involved in lawn maintenance, snow removal and seasonal maintenance. It will also provide jobs for those in the service and repair trades as the units age and require maintenance.

 

Municipal Impact – The expansion of housing and roadway networks requires additional municipal staff to maintain roads and onsite and offsite infrastructure. Additional students will support employment of educational staff and supporting staff.

 

Leisure and other – Population growth will have a constant impact on local businesses involved in the restaurant and retail industry.

 

Healthcare – Additional housing at multiple levels of affordability will positively impact the workforce issues impacting CVMC, and other healthcare organizations, by meeting the needs of employees in a diversity of positions.