Montpelier — On Feb. 20, the Vermont House Corrections and Institutions Committee heard testimony on House Bill 50, legislation that would direct the commissioner of Buildings and General Services to study state-owned real property and report on parcels “suitable for conversion into affordable housing.”

The bill matters because state- owned land is one tool lawmakers and the administration are considering to help meet housing goals including the governor’s call for increased housing production. Committee members and the commissioner discussed what data already exists, how much land the state holds and practical limits on converting state property into housing.

Wanda Manoli, Commissioner of Buildings and General Services, told the committee BGS already compiles an annual “space book” that inventories state real property and space use. "I believe that the information is already available," Manoli said, adding the current inventory does not tag parcels as suitable for housing. Manoli said the inventory covers roughly 234 buildings with about 4,100,000 square feet of gross usable space, roughly 3,000,000 rentable square feet and about 263,000 square feet shown as vacant. She said the state's land holdings total roughly 1,731 acres and that figure includes correctional facilities and court buildings.

Manoli said some types of state land formerly included in the book — including some Agency of Transportation garages and other holdings — are not currently collected in the same way and that the statute the bill would amend (Title 29) is broader than current practice. She also warned that some vacant space reflects specific constraints, such as buildings taken off-line after flooding and ongoing FEMA mitigation work in the Montpelier capital complex. "We have to be careful," Manoli said, noting flood mitigation and lease expirations can limit whether property can be committed or sold.

Committee members pressed practical constraints. Representative Kevin (first name only in transcript), who urged creative use of state parcels, suggested the committee identify a short list of state parcels near population centers and set a procurement framework for developers — including price signals such as nominal sales — to encourage affordable housing projects. "If it's good, maybe we give it to you for a buck or something," Representative Kevin said. Several members noted that many parcels lack water, sewer or electric hookups and that those utility gaps substantially raise development costs.

Manoli described existing sale processes and legal guardrails: BGS advertises sales publicly and seeks the best price unless the Legislature grants specific exceptions or first-option language for communities. She pointed to prior legislative guardrails that gave communities first-option arrangements in specific sales (for example, language cited by Manoli for Williston and Waterbury sales), and she said the agency has worked with towns on those terms.

Committee members and the commissioner discussed whether the bill should limit the scope to property under BGS jurisdiction or be expanded to include holdings of the Agency of Transportation or the Agency of Natural Resources. Members also asked whether the bill should define “population center” (Manoli offered the 2020 census top-20 places as one possible approach) and whether the committee should produce a short list of 10–25 candidate parcels for targeted requests for proposals.

No formal vote was taken. The committee agreed to recess for a floor session and reconvene immediately afterward to decide whether and how to move HB 50 forward.

The discussion recorded no final commitments to sell or repurpose specific parcels; speakers emphasized that market interest, developer financing and infrastructure needs would shape any conversion of state land to housing.