RurHARDWICK – Amid problems at the 9 South Main Street building owned by Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP), a letter jointly signed by the executives directors of LHP, St. Johnsbury’s RuralEdge and Barre’s Downstreet Housing & Community Development advised residents, commercial tenants and the community at-large of a change in the management of LHP’s portfolio. “Beginning December 1 Downstreet will assume responsibilities for LHP’s housing portfolio in Lamoille County, including 233 affordable homes and RuralEdge will operate LHP’s 63 affordable homes and 32 mobile home lots in Hardwick.”
Patrick Shattuck, RuralEdge executive director, said “last week, we had 10 staff visit the buildings, distributing letters to residents along with our Tenant Newsletter, a resident survey and information on our various programs.”
RuralEdge will replace Alliance Property Management as overseer of the LHP portfolio in Hardwick.
In looking toward the future of RuralEdge in Hardwick, Shattuck shared some highlights of the organization’s work over the last year. Membership of LHP voted unanimously to transfer their housing assets in Hardwick to RuralEdge. With that, RuralEdge will take over property management and expand resident services to nearly 100 units in Hardwick beginning December 1. The ownership interests will transfer in 2025.
RuralEdge partnered with Northeast Kingdom Community Action (NEKCA) to set up a shelter at Moose River for the most vulnerable, converting a former church structure into a low-barrier facility with 20 beds and onsite services. Over the last winter almost 50 separate individuals were served and many of those households have transitioned to permanent housing.
In the first 10 months of 2024, RuralEdge committed over $2.7 million of funding to private landlords to bring 60 rental units online. Funds are awarded through the Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP) and provide grants and deferred forgivable loans to private landlords. This resource brings equity to landlords and is helping to create a new generation of “Mom and Pop” landlords across the NEK.
In 2024 RuralEdge expanded its Homebuyer Education monthly classes, offering them in diverse locations across the NEK from Greensboro to Canaan as well as providing them online.
RuralEdge’s Support and Services at Home (SASH) program provides support to more than 500 elderly and disabled residents in its buildings and the larger community with Service Coordination and Wellness Nursing. With its Resident Services Division, SASH plays a huge role in food security issues, doing regular food distribution and operating a food shelf staffed by residents at Mountain View Housing in St. Johnsbury.
New acquisitions planned to close last week, included the acquisition of the former Sacred Heart School and Convent in Newport with an immediate start to construction converting the convent into 26 new units of rental housing. Then, in 2025, the former Sacred Heart School will be renovated into 24 condominium units. An additional eight acres of flat, clean developable land remain at the site providing the opportunity for over 100 additional units that could be developed by RuralEdge or others and provide an opportunity for public/private partnerships.
Also closing last week, RuralEdge planned to acquire and begin construction of 14 new rental units in Newport Center. The new buildings will replace two blighted buildings in the center of town on Route 105 that will be demolished. One of the two sites is a brownfield and extensive site remediation is included as part of the redevelopment.
In addition to the above developments, RuralEdge has received funding to create another 50-plus new units and preserve another 20 that were at risk of conversion to market rate housing and the predominantly elderly households at risk of economic displacement.
In addition, RuralEdge continues to pursue redevelopment of the Greensboro Town Hall to create 20 housing units and office space for the town offices.alEdge to Manage Hardwick LHP Properties
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
