Phil Dodd
Six Rental Units Being Renovated For Refugees; Other Projects Underway
Four new net-zero, three-bedroom, single-family, shared-equity homes are going to be built by Downstreet Housing and Community Development on property it is purchasing from Washington County Mental Health (WCMH) near the intersection of Woodrow Avenue and Heaton Street in Montpelier, according Angie Harbin, CEO of Downstreet. The plan is for the homes to be constructed and available by next summer, she said.
The Montpelier City Council voted Sept. 25 to contribute $80,000 from the city’s housing trust fund to help pay for the new houses. The project’s total cost is expected to be $1.75 million, and is now fully funded. The plan is for the four houses to be constructed and available by next summer, Harbin said.
Under Downstreet’s shared-equity model, low- or moderate-income Vermonters can purchase these houses but must share any appreciation with Downstreet when they sell. Downstreet currently has 40 shared-equity homes in Montpelier of 159 it manages throughout Lamoille, Orange, and Washington counties.
Who gets the first opportunity to buy these homes is determined by a score Downstreet calculates based on several factors. Harbin said a new factor has been added to give weight to people who have lost their homes in a flood.
The homes will be built on wooded land next to the parking lot of WCMH, which has offices across the street from Heaton Woods.
“They have been working hard to add housing,” she said of WMCH. Additional development at or near WCMH is a possibility, Harbin said.
Also in Montpelier, Downstreet is working with the Central Vermont Refugee Action Network to rehabilitate one side of a duplex on Pearl Street and to create a “fourplex” in an unoccupied building on Hubbard Street, Harbin said. The units are expected to be made available to refugees.
The city council agreed at its Sept. 25 meeting to also donate $100,000 from the housing trust fund for the fourplex project. The total cost of that project is nearly $1.1 million.
Downstreet is in the midst of building or planning several other projects in the area as well, Harbin said: a nine-unit project in an old school in Barre that should be finished in November, the 30-unit Fox Run apartment complex in Berlin that may be done by next summer, and a 26-unit apartment complex in Waterbury on which construction could start this fall.
In addition, Downstreet plans to purchase the 42-unit Quality Inn in Barre later this year for $5 million and spend millions more on renovations. The motel has been offering housing to homeless families and individuals and will continue to provide short-term housing to those who need it, Harbin said. Round-the-clock services are planned to support those staying at the shelter.
Looking ahead, Harbin said is considering building more shared-equity homes in Barre City outside the flood zone and possibly in Waitsfield. The organization is also looking into ways it could provide more rental housing in Northfield, Plainfield, and Barre.
The Barre-based Downstreet organization has been in operation under one name or another since 1985. In addition to managing shared-equity homes, it also provides financial counseling, home-buyer education, and home repair loans. But the organization’s biggest focus is building, buying, and managing affordable rentals in Washington and Orange counties.
As of early 2023, Downstreet owned 448 apartments, 189 of them in Montpelier. The municipality with the next highest number of Downstreet rental apartments was Barre, with 55 units.
