Cathedral Square receives Welcome to the Neighborhood Award for Bayview Crossing in South Hero

Photo credit: Calley Hastings

Vermont Business Magazine Cathedral Square’s Bayview Crossing community in South Hero received a Welcome to the Neighborhood Award at Vermont Housing & Conservation Board’s 35th anniversary celebration earlier this month. The award was presented to Cathedral Square, Champlain Islanders Developing Essential Resources (CIDER), and the Town of South Hero for “your extraordinary dedication over many years to develop housing in the Lake Champlain Islands and for your diligence, resulting in securing a prime location that strengthens the village center of South Hero. For providing beautiful homes with a range of amenities to contribute to the health and well-being of your residents, and for going above and beyond, improving the village water lines to serve neighboring properties as well.” 

“We are thrilled to receive this award for a high-impact community project benefiting older adults, and we thoroughly enjoyed our partnership with CIDER and the tremendous support from the Town of South Hero,” shared Cindy Reid, Cathedral Square’s Director of Real Estate Development. “Given Vermont's dire shortage of affordable housing, creating new housing for older adults has become increasingly crucial. As the population ages, the demand for housing tailored to the needs of older individuals grows. By prioritizing the creation of such housing, Vermont can address the specific needs of older residents, address homelessness, reduce housing insecurity, and foster a supportive and inclusive environment for its aging population.” 

Completed in 2022, Bayview Crossing was the first affordable housing community to be built in Grand Isle County in 17 years. 

The service-enriched community features 30 mixed-income apartments for older adults and new offices for CIDER, a beloved local nonprofit that provides an array of services to older Grand Isle County residents, including transportation and meals. 

The project garnered tremendous community and town support, with CIDER supporters raising over $450,000 in just six months to support the project. 

At the community’s ribbon cutting ceremony last year, Cathedral Square CEO Kim Fitzgerald shared, “Countless community members pushed for over two decades to create a village center in this location, and they always saw housing as a critical part of it. Thanks to CIDER volunteers, visionaries, and community leaders, utilizing public and private investment, we now have a vibrant community here in South Hero.” 

Bayview Crossing is a SASH® (Support and Services at Home) location, with a full-time SASH coordinator and part-time wellness nurse who plan and implement free health and wellness programming, social activities, and one-on-one support as needed. 

Amenities in the two-story building include a spacious community room with kitchen, garden planters, gym, on-site laundry facilities, on-site parking (some covered), an EV charger, air conditioning, secure building access, and an elevator. The two-story building exceeds Efficiency Vermont’s High-Performance Multifamily Building standard. 

To learn more about Cathedral Square housing communities, visit: www.cathedralsquare.org/about-our-housing/

To learn more about CIDER, visit: https://www.cidervt.org/

To learn more about Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, visit: https://www.vhcb.org/ 

Established in Burlington in 1977, Cathedral Square is a leading provider of affordable housing with services for older Vermonters and people with disabilities and other unique needs. It operates 27 housing communities in Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle counties and administers the award-winning SASH® (Support and Services at Home) model, created in 2009 by Cathedral Square and available to Medicare recipients statewide, free of charge, since 2011.

Source: 6.26.2023. SOUTH HERO, VT – Cathedral Square www.cathedralsquare.org