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Cathedral Square outlines senior housing openings, geothermal pilot and asks for VHCB support
Summary
Cathedral Square described recent moves-in at a Hinesburg senior project, progress on Reed Commons in St. Albans and conceptual village-center work in Highgate, and asked lawmakers to support VHCB funding and regulatory relief to speed projects.
Cindy Reed, real estate developer with Cathedral Square, briefed the Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee on multiple senior housing projects and building features intended to extend affordability and reduce long-term costs.
“We're very excited that we've moved new residents into Kelly's Field 2 in Hinesburg,” Reed said, describing a 24-unit small-housing community adjacent to a previous 24-unit building that together form a 48-unit campus with on-site services.
Nut graf: Reed told the committee Cathedral Square projects are designed to serve older adults, include on-site services such as SASH (Support and Services at Home) and housing-retention work (SHINES), and incorporate energy-efficiency investments. She also reiterated the sector’s request that the legislature fully fund the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board at its statutory share.
Project updates Reed provided:
- Kelly's Field 2 (Hinesburg): 24 units, soon moving in, five units filled by people coming from homelessness.
- Reed Commons (St. Albans): a 33-unit project under construction in a cleaned-up brownfield neighborhood; Reed said the building is slated to open in August and will include a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, SASH services and rental-assistance vouchers for very low-income residents.
- Mabelwood Commons (Rutland) and Massingdale projects: Cathedral Square and partners are serving neighborhoods with mixed-income developments and efforts to connect residents to jobs and services.
Reed said Cathedral Square is using an energy-efficient geothermal system in a recent project and that the per-unit development cost for that building is in the mid six-figures: “It's 560,000 per unit,” she said, adding that a federal investment tax credit for the geothermal system contributed about $1.2 million of leverage for that project.
On accessibility and design: Reed highlighted elevators, step-in showers and other universal-design elements intended for aging-in-place residents, and stressed that on-site services and eviction-prevention efforts reduce returns to homelessness.
Ending: Reed asked the committee to support funding for VHCB and to consider regulatory relief that has shortened permitting timelines in downtowns and village centers, steps she said have helped multiple Cathedral Square projects reach construction and preserve affordability.
