BRATTLEBORO-A nonprofit that created housing rapidly and under duress during the pandemic is looking to further develop the 17-acre property with 60 apartments and 10 homes.
Preliminary details of the plans come amid criticism of the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust (WWHT) management track record by members of the Selectboard and an admission by WWHT Executive Director Elizabeth Bridgewater that drug use and safety issues at the nonprofit's multiple properties need to be addressed.
At the Nov. 19 board meeting, Bridgewater and Director of Real Estate Development Peter Paggi updated members on plans to redevelop The Chalet property.
The plans still must pass through the local Development Review Board (DRB) permitting process. Representatives of WWHT appeared before the board at its September meeting for a preliminary sketch-plan review of the phased development.
The first phase would be a new 30-unit multi-family structure, of which 15 would be supportive housing. The second phase would build "five duplexes for homeownership at 78–86 [South St.]," according to the DRB meeting agenda.
According to the meeting minutes, the DRB recommended that the WWHT "address in detail exterior and interior bike storage, real parking demand from existing projects, bus access, [electric vehicle] charging, snow storage, trash collection, garden space and landscaping, [and] lighting."
Development under duress
Bridgewater said the 2020 purchase of the 17-acre property was prompted by the public health crisis of Covid and the community desire "to make sure everybody had a roof over their heads."
At the time of the pandemic, as the state made money available to house people in motels as a measure to prevent the spread of the wildly infectious Coronavirus, the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board made federal CARES Act funding available to nonprofit organizations such as WWHT to acquire properties on which to develop more permanent housing.
The timeline to do so, however, was short, and after acquiring the property at the former Dalem's Chalet motel and restaurant in September 2020 - with additional funding from the NeighborWorks America, an affordable housing nonprofit, as well as financing from Brattleboro Savings & Loan - WWHT had just three months to invest the funds in the site.
So the primary focus, Bridgewater said, was on safety and energy upgrades of the existing motel structure.
"It was an incredibly modest investment, not the typical investment that we make when we redevelop a property," she said, adding the doors opened to new residents in January 2021.
Not all of the 17 acres is developable, she said, but there is nevertheless "a good amount of space to start solving the housing crisis in Brattleboro and in Vermont."
Bridgewater described the overall goals as maximizing use of the land, building more housing, and meeting a variety of housing needs for those who had been living there when WWHT bought the property, as well as new tenants.
She readily admitted that currently, conditions are "not the highest quality in town, just because it was already in pretty rough shape when we bought it."
Bridgewater said WWHT also aims to improve living conditions for those already on the property while expanding opportunities in town, including by adding family housing units and making home ownership possible.
She said WWHT held meetings with neighbors and municipal officials about what they wanted to see on the site and what was important to people, "and it came down to expanding housing opportunities, having a variety of options, and improving safety."
The concept
Paggi said the plan, still being honed, is a multi-phased construction to include the new apartments and homes. WWHT's vision also includes adding sidewalks and redefining a road around the property for better access.
Since the town doesn't have enough space to relocate current residents, the first conceptualized phase includes building a 30-unit apartment to do so. The motel wing now housing some folks would then be razed.
Groundworks, which has partnered with WWHT to provide support and services for residents with a supportive-housing contract, will also establish offices in the first phase of construction.
"We do expect all units to come online within about a year and a half to two years of each other, so this is not going to be a long, drawn-out process," Paggi said.
However, questions persist about existing property issues.
Board member Elizabeth McLoughlin noted that the development is one of the top 10 locations in Brattleboro from which emergency 911 calls emanate.
"I want to make sure that the development you have now is serving the needs of the residents and not overburdening the municipal services," she said.
"I would also like some assurances that as you grow and increase your number of residents on this property, care will be given to the population as needed for supportive housing, and that whatever is causing the high volume of calls to 911 for police at this location, the root causes will be addressed."
Re-balancing act
As originally envisioned in 2020, "The Chalet will become home to people coming out of the motel program and offer a safe, supportive place to distance physically while offering a stable foundation through permanent housing," The Commons reported at the time.
The facility was envisioned as a "home to people coming out of the motel program [that could] offer a safe, supportive place to distance physically while offering a stable foundation through permanent housing."
In 2021, 27 of the 35 units in the newly renovated project were rented to "new residents creating a new home and a new community," according to a news release at the time from WWHT.
Four years later, Bridgewater told the Selectboard that WWHT is looking at "deconcentrating the number of folks exiting homelessness on the property."
She said WWHT wants to be sure to "have the right mix" of folks "going over to the new building" while fulfilling its legal obligation to offer those living there already somewhere to go.
"However, our long-term plan is to re-balance," she said, adding that currently the total number of those needing services exceeds the capacity to provide support.
"We're very well aware of that," she said.
McLoughlin responded with surprise to hear of the re-balance versus increasing services and asked for further explanation of the "calculation of low-income housing and the services that population needs."
Bridgewater then explained that in the four years The Chalet has been open, WWHT has seen staffing, labor, and wage issues and an "ebb and flow" with "challenges across the supportive service system."
"We just feel a lower concentration in one place [of tenants needing extensive support] is the better choice rather than trying to beef up services," she said, adding WWHT has a memorandum of understanding with Groundworks. "We are in a continuous conversation about what are the conditions that will make this program the most successful."
Questions about nonprofit status, tenant screening
Resident Mark Younger of Brattleboro questioned how WWHT pays taxes and asked who would plow the road in the new project.
"We pay way too much taxes," he said. "I love something like this, but it's getting to the point where it's taxing the people who actually have houses out of having a house."
Bridgewater said that the vast share of financing comes from private equity, usually a bank. She also pointed out that when launching a new project, WWHT creates a for-profit entity that pays taxes - in this case, anticipated to be about $33,000 annually.
She also explained that WWHT properties are valued less than privately owned properties because they generate less income than privately owned properties do.
She also said the road will not be a public road and that WWHT will plow the area.
Former Selectboard member Dick DeGray remarked on the "huge impact" that WWHT properties have on the Brattleboro police department.
"I believe in the top 10, three or four of your properties are on that list," he said. "Using having-a-pulse for your screening process to give someone a place to live is not a good screening process. […] I believe you should be doing background checks."
'That's not an elephant'
Saying there was a "bit of an elephant in the room" for him, board member Franz Reichsman noted he'd heard stories "about a lot of drug use at The Chalet and also maybe other properties in town, and that's very concerning to me."
"That's not an elephant, that's a primary concern we have as well," Bridgewater responded, saying it's not just on WWHT properties but "on Canal Street, Main Street."
She said the issue is being addressed through "a little more aggressive tenant selection policy" and that WWHT is "excited" about the police department's initiative to increase response capacity and share information with Chalet residents and staff members.
Bridgewater added that state regulations have hindered WWHT's ability to directly address some situations so the nonprofit is lobbying the Legislature for help.
For instance, she said that WWHT doesn't have "a lot of ability" to exercise authority against a trespasser who claims to be a guest. She said, too, that WWHT is looking at ways "to expedite eviction if someone is engaging in illegal activity that's really disruptive."
She added that in October, one emergency service call to The Chalet was needed and it was for a wellness check.
"It is really challenging," Bridgewater said. "I won't sugarcoat it, but we are working diligently on those issues."
Additional reporting by Jeff Potter.
This News item by Virginia Ray was written for The Commons.