Governor Peter Shumlin announced today the allocation $1.8 million in tax credits to downtowns across the state to support nearly $30 million in building improvements. The credits, competitively awarded by the Downtown Development Board, went to 15 projects ranging in size from a small community group’s efforts to open the shuttered village store in Guilford to more substantial private investments like the conversion of Winooski’s Champlain Mill into a hub for rapidly growing technology firms like MyWebGrocer.
Other projects include the preservation of 37 affordable housing units at the Wharf Lane apartments in Burlington and 41 senior housing units at the former Hotel Rockingham in Bellows Falls. A complete list of tax credit projects is included below.
The tax credit is one of the primary benefits of Downtown and Village Center Designation and assist hard-to-finance building revitalizations seen in community centers across the state. Most of the funding supports state-mandated code retrofits -- like elevators and sprinklers systems -- that are cost prohibitive to most commercial building owners.
‘This program has an impressive track record. A recent study showed that every dollar of tax credits leverages $16 more in outside investment, and every $1 million in tax credits resulted in 109 jobs,’ said Gov. Shumlin. ‘I know of few other state programs that provide such a substantial return on public investment to our communities and economy.’
Noelle Mackay, Commissioner of the Department of Economic, Housing, and Community Development and Chair of the Downtown Board, agreed, adding, ‘To improve Vermont’s quality of life and economy we must make investments to make communities strong and vital. This program does that and I’m enthusiastic about its potential to tackle the Governor’s priorities ‘ stimulating much-needed local economic activity and job creation, promoting housing choices, and improving the state’s infrastructure in a sustainable way .’
The Downtown Program is a training and incentive effort to help maintain Vermont’s compact development pattern by targeting state resources to promote the efficient use of land, infrastructure, and resources. Over 100 of Vermont’s Downtowns and Village Centers are designated and these communities receive priority for consideration for state funding, increased Act 250 thresholds, and tax credits to promote vital communities.
2010 Downtown and Village Center State Tax Credits
Project
Allocation
Total Cost
Eligible Work
Brattleboro / 151 Main Street (Renaissance Fine Jewelry)
$ 95,834
$ 580,000
sprinkler/code
Barre / 159 North Main Street (Former Homer Fitts)
$ 53,075
$ 210,900
sprinkler/lift/code/façade
Barre / 210 North Main Street (Quarry Grill & Tavern)
$ 17,176
$ 240,000
elevator/sprinkler/rehab
Bellows Falls / 45 Rockingham Street (Hotel Rockingham)
$ 162,502
$ 2,203,575
sprinkler/code/façade
Burlington / 57 Maple Street (Wharf Lane)
$ 277,228
$ 8,761,000
elevator/sprinkler/code/rehab
Cavendish / 1589 Main Street (Glimmerstone)
$ 112,740
$ 1,142,793
sprinkler/code/rehab
Essex Junction / 8 Railroad Avenue
$ 48,750
$ 400,000
sprinkler/code/façade
Guilford / 475 Coolidge Highway (Village Store)
$ 13,018
$ 993,393
sprinkler
Hardwick / 71 Wolcott Street (Riverview Building)
$ 193,200
$ 1,114,000
sprinkler/code/rehab
Morrisville / 82 Portland Street
$ 102,500
$ 650,000
elevator/sprinkler/code/rehab
Saxtons River / 35 Main Street (Main Street Arts)
$ 83,050
$ 533,473
elevator/sprinkler/code
St. Albans / 18-20 Lake Street
$ 99,300
$ 393,000
sprinkler/code/rehab
St. Albans / 58-60 Lake Street (St. Albans House)
$ 174,725
$ 1,104,500
elevator/sprinkler/code/rehab
St. Johnsbury / 1302 Main Street (Fairbanks Museum)
$ 50,000
$ 278,191
sprinkler/code/rehab
Winooski / One Main Street (Champlain Mill )
$ 341,902
$ 11,156,837
rehab
$ 1,825,000
$ 29,761,662