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 of the model.

Jason Webster, co-president of Huntington Homes, described how modular and manufactured housing differ and outlined industry constraints the state must address. "Modular is not a product. It's a process," Webster said, arguing modular builds deliver more finished value from the factory but are limited by transport and design-module sizes. He told the committee his company currently produces about 70 homes a year and that the limiting factor for higher output is labor: "Our plant could handle twice what we're building right now," Webster said, adding that his firm is booking deliveries as far out as March 2026 because of staffing limits.

Why it matters: Committee members and witnesses said a Vermont-based modular plant optimized for multifamily buildings could shorten timelines and lower unit costs compared with current site-built multifamily projects, and could help meet the state's housing shortfall if a market and workforce are in place. Schneider cited a recent modular multifamily example delivered in Maine at about $277,000 per unit and said repeatability and upfront design discipline are key to achieving cost advantages.

Key facts and details: The site under study is an approximately 90,000-square-foot former Skyline plant located just south of Fairhaven's downtown. The consultant hired for the feasibility study is John Guequierre of Intelligent Off-Site Construction (IOSC); the study is expected to take about six months. The study team intends to evaluate retooling costs, site and equipment conditions, workforce needs, and a business plan that could be offered to a private owner-operator. Efficiency Vermont and a Vermont low-income energy trust provided planning funding for the work.

Discussion highlights: Webster walked the committee through distinctions between HUD-code manufactured homes (transported on and often left on a steel chassis) and volumetric modular homes (large, finished modules lifted by crane and joined on a prepared foundation). He described factory advantages—higher indoor, year-round production quality and more finished fixtures delivered from the shop—and tradeoffs, chiefly transport size limitations and the need for upfront, repeatable designs. He also emphasized recruitment challenges: he and other witnesses said traditional vocational pipelines do not yet supply enough workers to significantly scale production in Vermont.

Next steps and implementation risks: Gunter said the town holds an option agreement that would allow a purchaser or lessee to acquire the building after the feasibility work is complete; the town does not plan to operate the factory itself. The feasibility study will seek an owner-operator and build a queue of projects so that production would have immediate downstream buyers if the plant reopens. Committee members raised market-consolidation and procurement risks; witnesses said the study will include market analysis and outreach to potential developer partners.

Ending: Committee members thanked the witnesses and noted the committee will hold a separate walk-through of H.42, the housing and field board bill, at a later session. The feasibility study and the town's option on the property were presented as near-term steps while workforce development and market uptake remain outstanding conditions for a successful factory relaunch.