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VHCB tells Commerce Committee its housing, conservation and rural economic programs are driving projects statewide
Summary
Vermont Housing and Conservation Board leaders updated the House Commerce & Economic Development Committee on a range of housing, conservation and rural economic projects, highlighted rising construction costs, and described programs to preserve affordable units and support farm and small-town economies.
Gus Selig, director of the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, told the Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on Jan. 17 that VHCB’s mix of housing, land conservation and rural economic work is aimed at keeping small communities viable while addressing the state’s housing shortage.
"The nature of construction and real estate, the problem of affordable housing, that's an oxymoron," Selig said, summarizing the sector’s most pressing challenge.
Selig and VHCB staff described projects across the state, from downtown rehabilitations in St. Johnsbury and Newport to preservation of mobile-home communities and tenant-protected conversions. The board also emphasized its dual mission: preserving working lands and historic properties while producing and preserving housing in small towns.
VHCB presented cost and scale data for recent projects. Selig said one St. Johnsbury redevelopment cost "a little over $300,000 per apartment," calling it then the board’s most expensive project and framing it as a long-term investment. He said the board’s state investments and federal and private leverage have yielded nearly $1,000,000,000 in real-estate activity over time.
Polly Major, VHCB director of policy and special projects, summarized the board’s housing programs, noting the agency targets households below 100% of area median income for rental housing and up to 120% of AMI for homeownership programs. Major outlined VHCB support for shelters, recovery residences, mobile-home community purchases and high-efficiency manufactured homes placed in resident-owned parks.
Liz Lisonbee, program director for VHCB’s Farm and Forest Liability Program and the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI), described business-planning and grant-writing assistance the board provides to farms, forests and small towns. Lisonbee said the programs helped clients access “over 5.5 million in grants and loans” for farm and forest economic development and that REDI has helped communities draw down nearly $23 million in mostly federal grants since 2017.
Speakers pointed to local economic benefits when conservation and housing investments are combined: Selig cited the Bluffside Farm acquisition near Newport and conservation easements that connect trail systems and support recreation-based economies; Major highlighted nonprofit partnerships that rehabilitated commercial spaces and upper-floor apartments in towns such as Bennington and West Rutland.
Committee members did not take formal votes during the presentation, but VHCB asked legislators to keep funding channels open—especially federal ARPA reallocation possibilities and ongoing state appropriations—warning that developers may pause architecture, permitting and construction work if pipeline funding is uncertain.
VHCB offered to return to the committee with deeper briefings on its Career Technical Education revolving loan program and on detailed financing mechanics of tax-credit partnerships when requested.
VHCB’s presenters concluded by urging committee members to refer constituents with potential projects to the agency and said staff would come back to answer follow-up questions.
