Barre Street, Montpelier. Courtesy photos.
Vermont Business Magazine AARP Vermont, the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), and Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC) are excited to announce the conclusion of the “Great Housing Hunt” photo contest, in which Vermonters were invited to share photos of “missing middle” housing, which includes backyard cottages, attached and detached in-law apartments, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes and more.
The contest brought in 72 photo entries of these diverse housing types found throughout the state. Congratulations to the six winners of the contest, who each received a $50 gift card to the local business of their choice!
Across the United States, small- to mid-sized housing that’s affordable for middle-income households is in short supply. Such midsized, often moderately priced homes, are referred to as “missing” because very few have been built in the U.S. since the early 1940s. The shortage is largely due to zoning constraints, the shift to car-centric patterns of development, and the challenges of financing multi unit dwellings. That’s a problem, because the benefits of this largely missing housing type abound.
Apothecary with apartment in back.
Importantly, this contest coincided with the Vermont Legislature’s enactment of the Housing Opportunities Made for Everyone, or “HOME” Act into law. You can learn more about the HOME Act here, and stay tuned for AARP’s upcoming factsheet for members on the law, which aims to ease Vermont’s housing crisis by chipping away at certain state and local regulatory barriers to residential construction. In the meantime, Vermonters who want to find out how well their communities are supporting diverse, affordable housing and walkable, resilient communities can do so with the help of VNRC's Resilient Communities Scorecard.
DHCD has also launched the Homes for All project, to create a "design & do" toolkit for small-scale home builders, community leaders and investors to support the development of missing middle homes. Visits to five community sites will showcase potential infill development and different Vermont building typologies, and will be open for all to join in mid-October. Additionally, DHCD, along with partners including VNRC and AARP-VT, is working on an assessment and recommendations to update Vermont's five Designation Programs. All are welcome to join the "Designation 2050 Design Summit," September 12th in Randolph! Learn more: https://www.vtdesignation2050.org/
As Vermont continues to grapple with how to best tackle our housing crisis, our organizations are pleased to promote these missing middle housing options – options that are so critical for providing diverse and affordable housing choices and achieving densities that support walkability, transit and local-serving small businesses. We thank everyone who participated in the Great Housing Hunt Photo Contest to help raise awareness around the need for “missing middle” housing in Vermont!
Old North End, Burlington.
Source: 8.24.2023. AARP Vermont
