Addison Housing Works will hold its December Board meeting at 4pm on Thursday December 7 at the National Bank of Middlebury (main branch) or via Zoom (link in Agenda). Please RSVP if you would like to receive the meeting packet.

"I’m a native Vermonter, I grew up in North Ferrisburgh. I lived in the city of Vergennes for 13 years before I moved to Bristol. I have been a full time professional cosmetologist for almost five years. I work at the Supercuts Williston location. I decided to apply for [Addison Housing Works] because they were recommended to me from people that had experience working with them. My life has changed in the best way possible since finding my home because I feel like I have a safe and comfortable place to come home to every night. I would like the community to know that affordable housing is a great opportunity for anyone looking into their first home."

The regular October Board meeting has been moved to Thursday, November 2, at 4pm at the National Bank of Middlebury main branch or via Zoom (link provided in agenda). The full packet is available upon request by emailing us or calling (802)877-2626 x 100.

The November Board meeting has been moved to Thursday December 7, also at 4pm at the National Bank of Middlebury main branch or via Zoom. This will be the final meeting of 2023.

Regular monthly Board meetings will resume the 4th Thursday of the month at 4pm as of January 25, 2024.

Whenever we can, Addison Housing Works strives to go the extra mile to ensure our residents have safe, decent, affordable housing. In our manufactured housing communities (MHCs), residents own their own homes, so this can mean helping homeowners apply for grants to make repairs and energy efficiency upgrades.

The process was labor intensive and took several months, including a site visit to assess Joyce's home. Finally, through Weatherization, Joyce received all new appliances as well as MHIR funds to upgrade her hot water heater, flooring, and electrical.

Thank you to the hundreds of neighbors, friends, family and residents who came out to support affordable housing at Addison Housing Rocks! We gathered on the Town Green in Middlebury to celebrate our accomplishments, raise awareness about the housing crisis, and launch our new name and logo to better represent our work in the community. The event was a great success--not only did we have a ton of fun, we also raised over $35,000 for affordable housing! Thank you so much for your support--we couldn't do what we do without it, and it always inspires us to do more.

Thanks to generous volunteers from Middlebury Rotary and plans from Jason Larocque of Otter Creek Engineering, families at Lindale Manufactured Housing Community now have a new place to play! A brand new swing set and picnic table are sure to bring smiles to many. Lindale is also undergoing a major upgrade to its septic infrastructure with the installation of a $3.5 million community septic system, ensuring that kids can safely enjoy this playground for years to come.

[Bristol, VT] Wednesday, October 11, 2023: the Bristol community celebrated the official grand opening of Firehouse Apartments with a ribbon cutting and an apartment tour. Co-owners and co-developers, Addison Housing Works and Evernorth partnered to develop Firehouse Apartments which will serve 20 low- and moderate-income households in downtown Bristol, close to amenities, recreational opportunities and community services.
 
The Firehouse Apartments represents a critical component of a public/private partnership bringing municipal services, business incubation, and mixed-income housing to the growing community of Bristol on the Stoney Hill property. This partnership between the Town of Bristol, private developers, and housing nonprofits Addison Housing Works and Evernorth leverages the investments in municipal infrastructure and job creation to serve 20 households in a community where there were previously only nine non-age-restricted affordable housing apartments.
 
Adjacent to a brand-new business park and next door to the new fire station, Firehouse Apartments is also conveniently located across the street from the regional high school and recreational fields, and just a quarter mile from the downtown hub of the community. These all electric, high-performance homes were designed and constructed to the standards of the Enterprise Green Communities certification, resulting in resilient, healthy, efficient, and environmentally responsible housing connected to transportation, critical services, and a wide range of quality-of-life amenities.
 
“Firehouse Apartments will create a new neighborhood in Bristol where people can send their kids to school across the street, walk to work and downtown and have easy access to nearby recreational trails,” said Elise Shanbacker, Addison Housing Works, Executive Director. “Firehouse Apartments will contribute to the continued success and vibrancy of the Bristol community into the future.”
 
Funding totaling more than $8.6 million from a mix of public and private sources was raised to cover the total development costs. Housing New England (HNE) Funds II & IV provided the tax credit equity investment of $4.5 million for this project, which is administered by the Vermont Housing Finance Agency. The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board contributed over $3 million, including $1.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding and $520,000 in HOME funds. NBT Bank invested in the HNE Fund and also provided the permanent loan of $345,000. Other sources of funds include the Town of Bristol through the Vermont Community Development program and Efficiency Vermont. "Affordable housing projects aren't just about providing shelter, each is an investment in the future stability and prosperity of our communities," said NBT Bank Regional President Dan Werme. "Bringing these complex projects to fruition involves expertise and strong relationships. We are honored to partner with Evernorth and Addison Housing Works to finance the Firehouse Apartments and excited to see local residents benefiting from this new housing opportunity."
 
“Any day that we cut the ribbon on new homes is a day of celebration,” said Cynthia Lacasse, Evernorth’s Executive Vice President and Chief Program Officer. “We are especially excited to celebrate with our partners today on the creation of 20 much needed homes for people in our community that will remain a community asset in Bristol forever.”
 
The apartments serve a range of families and individuals from those experiencing homelessness to those earning 120% of the area’s median income, addressing the workforce housing shortage challenge in Addison County. Supportive services are available on-site to formerly homeless households through a partnership with John Graham Housing and Services.
 
Steve Schenker of S2 Architecture is the project architect. The buildings were originally designed by Cushman Architecture as part of the master development. Naylor and Breen is the Construction Manager.
 
In 2015, Stoney Hill Properties (SHP), LLC, a partnership created by Kevin Harper and David Blittersdorf, purchased a 12.5 acre parcel from the Town of Bristol with the vision of a mixed-use development that included municipal, residential and commercial buildings, all within the core Bristol Village area. “Following the completion of the new Bristol Firehouse in 2016 and the infrastructure improvements of 2021, the Firehouse Apartments opening is the next major step to seeing this project unfold,” said Kevin Harper, SHP, LLC Manager Member. “My partner, David Blittersdorf and I are thrilled with the progress of this private/public partnership, none of which could have happened without the overwhelming support of the Town, The Addison County Economic Development Corporation, and the community at large,” Harper continued. 
 
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Addison Housing Works develops, owns, and manages over 700 units of perpetually affordable housing in Addison County, VT, including multifamily rental apartments, mobile home parks, single-family homeownership opportunities, and supportive services programs for families and seniors.  AHW has been purchasing and preserving mobile home parks and single-family homes since its inception in 1989.  In 2005, AHW began developing multifamily rental properties; as of 2023, AHW has developed or renovated 188 multifamily rental apartments with Evernorth and other development partners.  www.addisonhousingworks.org 

Evernorth is a nonprofit organization serving the low and moderate income people of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont with affordable housing and community investments.  Evernorth has raised and deployed over $1B in equity capital for affordable housing and built more than 15,000 affordable homes and apartments for low and moderate income people across northern New England. Learn more at www.evernorthUS.org.
 

​When local community members think of Addison County Community Trust (ACCT), what do they think of? Many may not be very familiar with what we do, and even those who know us most associate our organization with the word “housing” and not with the broader ways in which we impact the community. 

At our nonprofit’s creation in 1989, our main mission was to provide affordable housing in our community. We fought against housing costs that were rising faster than wages, an issue we continue to combat to this day. We initially focused on making single-family homes financially accessible and conserving land throughout Addison County.

Over 30 years later, we have identified more goals and developed new resources and services for our community. We manage over 750 permanently affordable homes from multi-family apartments to manufactured housing communities to shared equity houses–and we are continually building more homes to meet the growing need. 

​Housing is a platform for health and wellbeing. A safe, decent, affordable home provides the solid foundation individuals and families need to thrive.

Our Support and Services at Home (SASH) program supports healthy aging by providing an on-site Wellness Nurse and a Coordinator. Open to residents of both ACCT housing and the surrounding area, seniors can attend Bone Builders workshops, blood pressure clinics, fraud education sessions, and more. 

The Family Support Program launched in 2021 as a way to provide resources for those with a history of homelessness, housing instability, struggles with mental health or substance use, retaining employment, and/or maintaining household income. This isn’t just about helping people with affordable and permanent housing but working to increase residents’ health and wellbeing.

Our organization is built of advocates. We work on a State and Federal level to stand up for affordable housing in Addison County. On a regular basis, we apply for grants to fund environmentally friendly living, repairs of failing infrastructure, clean water projects, and more. 

We award down-payment grants to low- and moderate-income homebuyers through our Shared Equity Program. In return for the grant, the new owner signs a Housing Subsidy Covenant on the property, agreeing to sell the home to a new moderate-income buyer at a restricted price. Therefore, the cycle of providing affordable housing continues. 

Another initiative we focus on is creating events and cultivating resources for our community. This includes community gardens, spaces and forums for residents to socialize and build connections, and partnerships with other organizations providing services from transportation to summer camps and community meals. 

We are on a mission to continue to develop programs that go beyond affordable housing, which is why we wanted to find a way to better convey what we do for Addison County.

​Last year, we embarked on a journey to find a way to better represent our organization’s mission, values, and services through our name and logo. We’re committed to advocating for quality affordable homes as a human right, but that isn’t represented in our name.

During the rebrand process, we worked with a local firm to gather input and feedback from our residents and the greater Addison County community. We conducted extensive community surveys, held town hall meetings with residents, and hosted multiple stakeholder workshops to identify key themes, considering our past and our future. What we found is that our neighbors, the ones we serve directly, were unclear how our name and logo represented our mission and services. 

After many brainstorm sessions, workshops, and new iterations, we finalized a name that encapsulates who we are, what we do, and the message we are trying to share. 

We are excited to announce our new name: Addison Housing Works. 

Let’s break down the new name, word by word.

Addison — We serve members of the Addison County community.

Housing — Cost and availability are the largest housing obstacles in Addison County, and we work to change that.

Works — Over 3 decades in the affordable housing industry has shown us that affordable housing works. When a community invests in affordable housing, it has a ripple effect.

​Once people’s basic housing needs are met, they can be contributing members of the community that help build the economy. People can join the workforce, spend their income at local businesses, and participate in community-wide events. That’s the power of affordable housing. 

“I first started working with this organization in 2006, and have seen it grow and evolve over nearly two decades,” said Elise Shanbacker, executive director. “I’m so excited to be a part of its next chapter as Addison Housing Works, and believe that our new profile will better represent the vital work we have been doing in the community for nearly 35 years, attracting even more resources and support to ensure that everyone in Addison County has access to a safe, sustainable, affordable home where they can thrive.” 

We are a fundamental organization that contributes to the health of Addison County. We want neighbors to trust that we are a resource to help them make their community stronger, and we know they are contributors who will work with us along the way. 

There’s no question that home sale prices are out of reach for many Vermonters. With our new name and identity, we hope to reinvigorate our mission to bring affordable homes to more Vermonters in Addison County. For current and new donors, we hope you see this as an opportunity to support our work and give strength to low- and middle- income neighbors.

​As we look ahead to the rest of 2023 and beyond, we are inspired and motivated to tackle a variety of housing challenges in our community. We hope that our new name and brand identity encourage more stakeholder buy-in, expand our educational outreach, inspire community members to be housing champions, and increase funding for future projects. Our community is essential to the strength of our organization, and Addison Housing Works will allow us to better serve our neighbors.

Addison Housing Works' September Board Meeting will be held at the National Bank of Middlebury at 30 Main St in Middlebury, or via Zoom (link in agenda), at 4pm on Thursday September 28th. Please email us to RSVP or request a copy of the meeting packet.

Addison Housing Works (formerly ACCT) offers our sincere condolences to everyone affected by the tragedy that occurred at McKnight Lane last Friday. We are devastated at the terrible loss being experienced by our community. The safety of our properties is of utmost importance to us and we will continuously work within our power to ensure our properties are as safe as possible.
 
The Vermont State Police is conducting its investigation into this matter.  We have and will continue to cooperate and work with the police.  To the extent that residents have concerns related to or information about the police investigation, please direct questions and concerns to the Vermont State Police.
 
We are grateful for the outpouring of support from the community during this difficult time. Your strength and compassion are a source of inspiration that will light our way forward as we continue to seek to provide safe, decent, affordable housing for our neighbors across Addison County.