Grand Isle real estate suffers, tourism looking up
Grand Isle County's small economy rests, somewhat precariously, on three legs: tourism, agriculture and residential real estate. The first is faring well, the second is characterized by both high ambitions and an embarrassing scandal, and the third is moribund, at least for now. Conditions in the Champlain Islands in mid-2010 are thus inspiring a mixture of optimism and despondency.
Tourism is the big bright spot. “We're totally weather-dependent, and the weather has been fantastic this spring,” said Ruth Wallman, director of the Lake Champlain Islands Chamber of Commerce. “Our season doesn't usually start until school gets out, but we had a number of bike trips coming through in May this year.”
Biking is “hugely significant” to the islands' tourism industry, Wallman noted. She's therefore delighted that Local Motion, the Burlington-based bicycling advocacy group, has decided to run its popular bike ferry every weekend and holiday this summer, starting July 3. The ferry enables bikers to cross the 200-foot water gap in the Lake Champlain railroad causeway, creating an unbroken, scenic pedaling route from downtown Burlington to the Canadian border - and beyond.
Not every islander shares Wallman's appreciation of bike tourists, she acknowledged. “It can be a tough sell of bikers as good for the local economy,” she said. “Some people complain that they buy only a banana and a bottle of water, but that same person might later come back in a car and spend some serious money after seeing how beautiful it is here.”
Organized multi-rider bike trips do bring immediate benefits to some island merchants, Wallman added.
Other forms of tourism are clearly on the upswing as well. Meals tax receipts for Franklin and Grand Isle counties rose 2.3 percent from February 2009 to February 2010, while room tax revenues jumped 12.4 percent during the same period. The Vermont Tax Department does not break out separate figures for Grand Isle County, and February tallies were the most recent available as of mid-June.
Plans to encourage wedding parties and other family gatherings in Knight Point State Park in North Hero have been put on hold due to lack of funding for construction of a 6400-square-foot pavilion. The money was to have come from the US Department of Agriculture but is not now available, Wallman reported.
Working with UVM Extension professor and Alburg organic farmer, Heather Darby, Grand Isle County officials have applied for grants to conduct a feasibility study on adopting the “Hardwick model” to the islands, Wallman added. The aim, she explained, is to develop value-added local agriculture projects such as those that have brought Hardwick national attention. Grain processing or a dairy-based enterprise is among the possibilities that will initially be considered, Wallman said.
The county's agriculture sector got some unwelcome publicity late last year when hidden-camera footage led to the shutdown of the Bushway Packing slaughterhouse in Grand Isle. Video shot by undercover Humane Society members showed Bushway employees kicking, dragging and repeatedly shocking days-old calves as they were being taken to slaughter. The state ordered the closing of the plant, which has since reopened under a new name, Champlain Valley Meats. The owners have promised to improve conditions for the animals and to train workers to handle them humanely.
Grand Isle County's housing market is “even slower” than that of Chittenden County, said Joe Sinagra, head of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Northern Vermont. “If anything, it's getting even worse,” Sinagra said.
Residential real estate on the islands is typically powered by sales of second homes to wealthy out-of-staters. And “people just aren't buying second homes anymore,” Sinagra said. “A lot of the money that used to go into those purchases was tied to Wall Street, and we know what's happened there.”
Shari Swainbank, owner of Coldwell Banker Islands Realty, offered a similarly downbeat assessment. “It's been really slow,” she said. “It's the economy, and people are scared.”
The quiet that prevails in the construction industry in most of northern Vermont has been especially disturbing in North Hero and Alburg. Those communities are home to significant numbers of construction workers. With so many of them idle, it's easy to see why Grand Isle County registered a nearly 8 percent unemployment rate in April - more than one percentage point higher than the statewide average.
Just a few miles away, however, the real estate market may soon start “booming,” Sinagra said. He noted that about 500 homes have been permitted in St Albans Town, suggesting that easy access to I-89 may make a big difference to prospective purchasers, many of whom work in Chittenden County.
Telecommuters, however, can now work just as conveniently from homes on the islands as from Burlington or St Albans. Comcast recently completed a buildout to the islands that gives broadband access to 3700 residents and businesses in South Hero, North Hero and Grand Isle. Cell phone coverage is now also “good all over the islands,” Wallman said.
In addition, Grand Isle County recently won a grant to provide Internet applications for schools, businesses and civic groups. Wallman said the initiative could prove valuable in promoting four-season tourism and in positioning the islands as a base for Web-related small businesses. The specific amount of the grant is not yet known, but Wallman said it will involve instruction for many elementary-school students in the use of computer notebooks that they will be given as part of the e-Vermont program.
