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Officials: State funds unlock large private investment but rising labor and delays push up housing costs
Summary
Witnesses told the General & Housing Committee state housing investments (about $125,000 per 9% unit) unlock federal tax-credit equity and private capital, but labor shortages and multi-year appeal delays have pushed development costs sharply higher, undermining production.
Gus Seelig, executive director of the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, and Polly Major, the board’s policy director, told the General & Housing Committee on Jan. 8 that state dollars remain essential to attract federal and private capital for housing projects — but that rising labor and materials costs and lengthy appeals are driving up total project prices.
"My message has been to encourage density, and you did that in the HOME Act in a big way that we need to grow vertically," Seelig said, describing how regulatory changes and state investment work together. Major told the committee that for a typical 9% low-income housing tax-credit unit VHCB…
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