MONTPELIER – The Preservation Trust of Vermont (PTV), Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD), and the Vermont Community Foundation announced Wolcott and Greensboro Bend are among the first communities selected for the Village Trust Initiative.
The Village Trust Initiative is a new partnership of the three organizations that will support twenty Vermont communities over the next several years to create a village trust and undertake a transformational revitalization project in their historic village.
Wolcott was selected for the schoolhouse rehabilitation project, and Greensboro Bend for the church and parsonage adaptive reuse project
The Village Trust Initiative is made possible with a $10 million Congressionally Directed Spending award from Senator Leahy’s office in 2023 and will provide selected communities across the state with substantial planning and implementation funding. Each community will receive technical assistance from all three partner organizations, funding to support the predevelopment of the project and significant capital investment to launch the project forward.
PTV and VCRD visited each of the fourteen finalist communities this summer, taking time to meet local project leaders, see potential project sites and learn more about the life and community in each village. Progress on all the projects will be shared on the Preservation Trust of Vermont and the Vermont Council on Rural Development websites. There will be two future rounds of the Village Trust Initiative program within the next 4 years. The opening of those application periods will be announced on the websites and through each organization’s mailing lists.
Any questions about the Village Trust Initiative program should be directed to
Nicole Gratton at [email protected] and Kaziah Haviland at [email protected]
