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Bennington High School redevelopment pitched as mixed‑use project with floodproofing and geothermal needs
Summary
Alex Farrell, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development, told the Senate Institutions Committee on Feb. 13 that a proposed redevelopment of Bennington High School would include housing, childcare and geothermal systems, and that capital‑bill funds would be sought for floodproofing and geothermal wells.
Alex Farrell, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development, briefed the Senate Institutions Committee on Feb. 13 about a proposed redevelopment of the former Bennington High School into a mixed‑use building with housing, childcare and community space.
Farrell described the Bennington project as a redevelopment of a vacant, blighted property in the designated downtown. "This building is going to be geothermal and electric," he said, adding that the capital bill request includes funding for floodproofing and geothermal wells. He described the project as a three‑story redevelopment with different floors serving different uses — affordable housing, childcare and community amenities.
Nut graf: The project would repurpose a long‑vacant high‑school site in downtown Bennington into about 39 residential units, 17 of which Farrell said would be perpetually affordable, along with an estimated 102 childcare slots and other community benefits. Farrell said the department expects to use several funding sources — including American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds already in the stack — and that the capital dollars would be routed to the municipality, which would subgrant to the developer as required.
Farrell said the total funding stack for the project is roughly $50.4 million, and that the capital‑bill portion under discussion would pay for "the extremely burdensome flood proofing" and geothermal wells as well as masonry repair. He noted the project has qualifying brownfield remediation needs and has received federal Brownfield funding.
The commissioner described the floodproofing approach in lay terms as providing routes for water to flow around or beneath the building and installing flood‑resistant windows. "They're effectively gonna be lanes for water to flow beneath and around the building...the windows...are essentially aquarium glass," Farrell said when describing the engineering approach as relayed by the lead developer.
Ending: The committee did not vote. Farrell said the department would develop grant agreements with the municipality and maintain oversight; senators asked for further documentation and for developers to appear for a deeper technical briefing on floodproofing and the project timetable.
