Condo Media - February 2013 - 18

by Nena Groskind

C A I

R e g i o n a l

N e w s

VERMONT

Good for the Community
Brattleboro Development Wins National EPA Award
multi-use Brattleboro development was one of four projects to win the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency’s 2012 Smart Growth
Achievement Awards.
The Brattleboro Food Co-op, the
Windham & Windsor Housing Trust
and Housing Vermont collaborated
on the project, replacing the old coop storefront, which was demolished, with a new, energy-efficient
building that includes 24 affordable
apartments on the upper stories.
In addition to moving the co-op
out of a designated flood plain, the

$12 million development created a
public park with a pedestrian bridge
leading to Brattleboro’s transportation center.
“The new building facade is even
with the other downtown buildings
that line the sidewalk, restoring the
historic development pattern,” a
press release announcing the EPA
award, notes.
The project was one of four to
receive the annual EPA award, out
of 47 applicants from 25 states. This
particular award was for excellence
in Main Street or Corridor
Revitalization. Winners were select-

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CONDO MEDIA • FEBRUARY 2013

Af ter going through two
After going through t wo
m a n a g e m e n t c o m pa n i e s , I w a s
management companies, was
a m a z e d t o se e t he u nit ow ne r s
amazed to see the unit owners
actu ally stand up and appl aud
actually stand up and applaud
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the e ﬀ orts of Esse x Management
the eﬀorts of Essex Manage ment
Group. The y are really the
Group. They are really the
cream- of-the- crop when it
cream-of-the-crop when it
comes to property management .
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comes to propert y management.
—Joe Arone,
—Joe Arone,
Home Association Annual Meeting
Home Association Annual Meeting

ed based on “their effectiveness in
creating sustainable communities,
fostering equitable development
among public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders and serving as
national models for environmentally
and economically sustainable development,” according to the EPA.
Among its other features, the
building uses construction materials
produced locally (including slate
siding manufactured in the state).
The apartments have continuous
fresh air ventilation with heat recovery; a green roof, permeable surfaces in the parking lot and a buffer
strip in the new public park will filter storm water runoff; and some of
the energy will be supplied by a
leased solar photovoltaic system that
the co-op will be able to purchase
after five years.
Financing for the project came partly from tax credits provided by
Housing Vermont, supplemented by
state and federal funding, including
a $200,000 HUD Economic
Development Initiative grant. Under
the terms of the funding, 19 of the
25 apartments must be affordable to
households earning 60 percent or
less of the area median income;
Section 8 housing vouchers will further increase the affordability of five
of the units.
Gov. Peter Shumlin praised the
development as “a keystone project
promoting smart growth, affordable
housing, access to services, and
equitable community development.”
In addition to providing affordable
housing in Brattleboro, Shumlin
noted, the development will create
jobs and spur economic growth in
the community. CM

Condo Media - February 2013

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