Vermont’s housing crisis has forced businesses across the state to get creative with how they can provide their employees an affordable place to live.
University of Vermont Medical Center, Middlebury College and Sugarbush Resort have all taken on workforce housing projects to offer employees an option when they are having a tough time finding a place to live.
And now a Chittenden County school district is considering entering the housing game.
The Champlain Valley School District is working with an affordable housing developer to explore building more than 600 housing units in Shelburne.
The district has owned the 30-acre parcel at 2026 Shelburne Road since the 1950s, and mostly uses it for storage. It’s valued at $1.5 million.
The Shelburne News first reported on the proposal, which was discussed at a March 17 meeting.
Gary Marckres, the district’s chief operations officer, told the school board that a recent wetlands analysis found that about 12 acres of the land can be developed.
He said a portion of that land could be used as workforce housing for district staff, with the district acting as the landlord.
“The proposal is that there would be a workforce housing element with the goal of attracting new employees, young teachers,” Marckres said.
The district is working with a Seattle investment and housing development company, Oldivai, which has done similar projects around the country.
The property has more land than the district needs for workforce housing, so Marckres said they might also build affordable apartments and senior living facilities there, though he cautioned that the plan is still in the very early stages.
“We have a long way to go,” he said. “It is complex and we are going to really need some partnership with both the town and our own legal team before we recommend to the board to potentially pursue this or not.”
Marckres said the district employees could possibly receive their apartments at a reduced rate, and then consider purchasing the affordable units when they are ready to move on to home ownership.
Under the initial proposal, Oldivai would invest roughly $7.5 million in infrastructure, including roads and utilities, and then bring in Vermont housing and senior living organizations to develop the other living units.
And while the details are far from being finalized, the company and the district would create an independent development company, with Oldivai leading construction and then selling the units.
Initial cost estimates for the workforce housing are about $28 million.
