For Immediate Release
Thursday, September 7, 2023
GOVERNOR PHIL SCOTT ANNOUNCES THIRD ROUND OF COMMUNITY RECOVERY AND REVITALIZATION PROGRAM AWARD WINNERS
31 Grants to Create Jobs, Increase Affordable Housing, Improve Water and Wastewater Systems, Add Childcare Slots
Berlin, Vt. - Governor Phil Scott and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) today announced the third round of Community Recovery and Revitalization (CRRP) grant winners. These grants will help transform communities by adding jobs, childcare and affordable housing, improving infrastructure, and helping spur the creative economy.
Thirty-one projects in 12 counties were reviewed by an interagency committee and approved for round three funding, resulting in a proposed award amount of $11,400,902, which is expected to support $164,452,219 in total project costs. The 31 approved projects are expected to support 1,108 existing jobs, enable the creation of 160 new jobs, build or rehabilitate 315 affordable housing units, and add 71 new childcare slots for low- to moderate-income families.
“These projects are a big win for Vermont,” said Governor Scott. “This funding provides us with an opportunity to make once-in-a-lifetime economic recovery investments in our communities, and that’s what we’re doing. These projects will pay dividends for generations of Vermonters to come.”
“Economic development is about more than job creation,” said Commissioner Joan Goldstein of the Vermont Department of Economic Development. “It’s also about making sure those workers have access to decent housing, affordable childcare, high-quality infrastructure, and vibrant communities that feed their souls. These grants check all those boxes.”
One of the projects to get the green light is the Alburgh Family Clubhouse, a childcare center for 62 children from birth to 5th grade. They will use $500,000 in CRRP money to build a new $3,064,348 center to address a significant unmet need for affordable childcare in Grand Isle County.
“We have a lot of children in this area that aren’t getting that opportunity and a lot of parents that aren’t able to become productive members of society. If we can provide the childcare center then they can leave the home,” said Martin Guiffre of the Alburgh Family Clubhouse Board. “This is the one grant that is going to put us over the top.”
Catamount Film & Arts will use its $340,400 grant for part of a $1,702,000 project to establish a Creative Campus in St. Johnsbury, revitalizing property on Eastern Avenue in the downtown. Executive Director Jody Fried says they were ecstatic to learn they were awarded CRRP funding.
“We envision the campus being multi-use to serve as a convening space for all residents of St. Johnsbury - a creative melting pot that will serve as a catalyst for both community and economic development,” said Fried. “This project would not be possible without the CRRP funding, and we are deeply grateful for ACCD's support.”
The $40 million CRRP program, first proposed by the Scott Administration and passed by the Legislature in 2022 through Acts 183 and 185, is funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act. The amount awarded in the first three rounds totals $31,770,293 and represents projects in all 14 counties. Applications will continue to be accepted until all funds are allocated.
Find the application and program details on the Community Recovery and Revitalization Program page.
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