Developers and residents say VHCB dollars are essential for senior affordable housing in Franklin County

Developers, housing providers and a tenant testified at a Feb. 14 hearing at the State House that funding for the Vermont Housing Conservation Board helps build permanent affordable senior housing and supports resident services that keep older Vermonters healthy and housed.

Cindy Reed, director of real estate development at Cathedral Square, told the committee she is building Reed Commons in the city of St. Albans, a 33‑unit affordable senior building for people 55 and older that she said is about 65% complete and expected to open in August. “We have already 181 people on our inquiry list,” Reed said, describing a fast anticipated lease‑up.

Reed said Reed Commons sits on a remediated brownfield half a mile from downtown St. Albans, next to a new railroad dispatch center and a future market‑rate development. She described project features including geothermal heating and cooling (a fossil‑fuel‑free system), universal accessibility elements such as step‑in showers and corridor handrails, two elevators, and on‑site services including SASH (Support and Services at Home) for care coordination. Reed said the project will serve six people coming out of homelessness and will include eight rent subsidies to serve the lowest‑income households.

Financing and regulatory notes: Reed outlined multiple financing pieces used to build the project: federal low‑income housing tax credits packaged with an investor partner (M&T Bank), an investment tax credit that brought roughly $1.2 million to the project, and other state and federal credits. She described complex financing that included private investment and tax credits and thanked regulatory relief under Act 250 changes for saving time and money. Reed told the committee the projects “will be permanently affordable” and urged support for VHCB funding.

A second project: Reed discussed a proposed 30‑unit senior housing project in the village center of Highgate, where the town has updated bylaws, addressed water and wastewater capacity, completed environmental review and acquired land to support village‑center development.

Resident testimony: Hannah Pickett, a resident at Zephyr Place (a Champlain Housing Trust conversion of a former hotel), told the committee she secured housing with help from Champlain Housing Trust and VHCB funding: “I am not homeless because of the work that CHT has done with the support of the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.” Pickett recounted losing housing after a serious car accident, receiving temporary emergency hotel shelter during the pandemic, securing a Section 8 voucher and moving into a permanent apartment at Zephyr Place. She described improved health and community supports since housing stabilization and said resident services staff helped her convert a hobby into paid craft work.

On services funding: Reed explained that SASH is funded through a mix of federal Medicare funds, state funds and organizational operating dollars; Reed said residents do not pay for the SASH services. She added that Cathedral Square partners with local providers for on‑site mental health services at some sites to reduce barriers to care.

Why lawmakers heard it: Witnesses used St. Albans and Highgate examples and Pickett’s testimony to illustrate how capital and operating supports — VHCB capital, tax credits and pooled public/private financing, plus on‑site services — produce affordable housing units and help tenants stay housed and healthy. Reed concluded by asking lawmakers to support the governor’s VHCB funding recommendation of about $36.9 million to continue pipeline projects and resident services.

Ending: The committee heard detailed financing and service models and individual testimony about housing stability; witnesses urged that sustained VHCB funding is needed to continue both building permanently affordable units and providing on‑site services that reduce hospital readmissions and institutionalization.