Governor Phil Scott Announces Final Round of Community Recovery and Revitalization Program Award Winners

For Immediate Release
Thursday, January 11, 2024 
 
GOVERNOR PHIL SCOTT ANNOUNCES FINAL ROUND OF COMMUNITY RECOVERY AND REVITALIZATION PROGRAM AWARD WINNERS
40 Grants to Create Jobs, Build Housing, and Bolster Economically Disadvantaged Communities
 
Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott and the Department of Economic Development (DED) announced today the fourth and final round of Community Recovery and Revitalization Program (CRRP) grant winners. The 40 approved projects are expected to support 1,810 existing jobs, enable the creation of 117 new jobs, build or rehabilitate 75 housing units, and add 60 new childcare slots.
 
“The Community Recovery and Revitalization Program has helped dozens of communities bring much-needed capital projects to life,” said Governor Scott. “These investments are a great use of one-time funding that will benefit Vermonters for years to come.”
 
The 40 projects are receiving a combined proposed award amount of $10,595,644, which is expected to support $104,542,158 in total project costs. The awards are going to projects in 13 counties and the following 31 towns: Arlington, Brandon, Bellows Falls, Bennington, Berlin, Brattleboro, Burlington, Charlotte, Colchester, East Burke, Fairlee, Greensboro, Hinesburg, Johnson, Lyndon, Manchester, Middlebury, Milton, Newport City, Putney, Rockingham, Rutland, Shelburne, Sheldon, South Hero, Springfield, Starksboro, Strafford, Swanton, Vergennes, and Wolcott.
 
One of those projects is called High Street & Green. The downtown Brattleboro nonprofit creative space is one of seven CRRP Round 4 projects located in a Qualified Census Tract.
 
Humorist and radio personality Tom Bodett bought the High Street & Green property in 2020. Back then, it was in disrepair. High Street & Green will use a $188,312 grant to make further enhancements to the eastern and western faces of the building, upgrade the HVAC system, and remove a broken elevator.
 
"High Street & Green is fast becoming a creative and cultural mainstay in downtown Brattleboro. With the support of the CRRP program our 38,000 square foot facility is now fully occupied and serving the arts and maker community of our area,” says Bodett. “Public support for these improvements allows High Street & Green to continue to offer affordable rents to its amazing community of artists." 
 
“These projects are transformative,” says Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein. “DED is honored to support these economic development efforts that touch communities throughout the state and help them attract further investment and growth.”
 
In Windsor, a $397,588 CRRP grant will help Windham & Windsor Housing Trust and Evernorth build 25 units of affordable housing at a development called Central & Main.
 
“The transformation of this vacant lot will not only support future residents but will also revitalize a brownfield located near the heart of Downtown Windsor,” says Peter Paggi of the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust. “With all the unique challenges of this project, CRRP funding was vital to our project funding and getting us to a construction start in the spring of 2024.”
 
And Greensboro will use an $800,000 grant to build a new wastewater system to replace septic systems that have exceeded their useful life, posing a risk to the town’s ability to support businesses, municipal facilities, and build housing.
 
“The funding from CRRP is critical to the overall success of the project as it makes the project more affordable to the Town and its residents/users” says Greensboro Selectboard Chair Peter Romans. “The CRRP funding will directly assist in making development of businesses and affordable housing possible within the community through the funding made to the Wastewater Infrastructure Project.”  
 
In total, the $40 million CRRP program supported 125 projects over the course of four rounds of funding. Links to all four rounds can be found on the Department of Economic Development website. The first grants were awarded in March 2023.
 
CRRP was proposed by the Scott Administration and passed by the Legislature in 2022 through Acts 183 and 185.