Montpelier recovery commission urges study of federal building, parking and riverfront reuse after 2023 floods

John Philbinis, executive director of the Montpelier Commission on Recovery and Resilience, briefed the House of Corrections and Institutions Committee on Tuesday about ongoing damage from the August 2023 floods and possible opportunities to reduce future flood risk and revitalize downtown Montpelier.

Philbinis told the committee that four buildings in the Capitol Complex remain “unoccupied, uninhabitable” and that many systems are still on temporary electrical service nearly two years after the flood. He said the commission’s work focuses on emergency response planning, watershed partnerships with neighboring towns and an “adaptive downtown” approach to protect historic buildings that are likely to flood again.

The commission emphasized a specific opportunity: the federal government’s decision to dispose of the former post office at 87 State Street, a roughly 70,000-square-foot building. Philbinis said that parcel — together with privately and state‑owned parking lots nearby — could be the site of a shared parking structure serving the…