Fairhaven launches feasibility study to reopen Skyline for factory-built housing; industry testifies on workforce and capacity limits

Fairhaven officials and modular-housing manufacturers told the House Committee on General & Housing on Tuesday that a feasibility study has begun to evaluate reactivating the vacant Skyline manufacturing plant in Fairhaven as a factory for modular, multifamily housing.

Joe Gunter, town manager for Fairhaven, said the town has secured funding and a consultant to determine what it would take to retool the 90,000-square-foot building and attract an owner-operator. "We have a phase 1, phase 2 that included those items that I highlighted, $120,000 to conduct that work," Gunter said, describing a work plan that includes building inspections, equipment assessments and a business plan.

The proposal would aim the plant at repeatable, factory-built multifamily units intended for downtown infill and "smart growth" locations across the state. Peter Schneider, a principal engineering consultant with BEIC and Efficiency Vermont who specializes in factory-built housing, said the plant layout is already suited to high-volume, assembly-line modular production and pointed to completed projects elsewhere as examples…