Housing

NEEDS TO BUILD 40,000 NEW HOMES THIS DECADE TO BALANCE THE MARKET. CHAMPLAIN HOUSING TRUST KNOWS ABOUT THE SQUEEZE. THEY MANAGE 2500 APARTMENT UNITS. THEYRE THE LARGEST NONPROFIT DEVELOPER IN THE STATE. CEO MICHAEL MONTE TELLS US WHAT THEYRE FACING AND HELL SHARE THE BACKSTORY OF A MEGA DONATION THAT RECENTLY FELL INTO THEIR LAP. HOW MUCH NEW HOUSING, HOW MANY UNITS, NEW UNITS OF HOUSING DO YOU HAVE IN THE PIPELINE? SO THATS A GREAT QUESTION. WE JUST HAVE ANOTHER 60 COMING ONLINE BETWEEN BRABOURNE AND ALSO TO AN OUT IN COLCHESTER STEWART AVENUE THATS COMING ONLINE SOON. RIGHT NOW, LIKE PEOPLE ARE MOVING IN RIGHT NOW, ANOTHER 100 OR SO. THATS SORT OF UNDER DEVELOPMENT, UNDER CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW. SO ACTUALLY PROBABLY PLUS 100, ACTUALLY MORE LIKE 150 AND ANOTHER 500 OR SO SORT OF IN THE PIPELINE, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE CITY PLACE, THE VFW. IM LOOKING AT SOME PROPERTY WINOOSKI. WE GOT FULLY FUNDED FOR OR MOSTLY FULLY FUNDED FOR SOMETHING OUT IN SHELBURNE AND HINESBURG. SO WE GOT A LOT OF A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES AND THATS JUST A RENTAL PROPERTIES. WE ALSO HAVE ABOUT 150 OR SO APARTMENT HOMES AND HOME OWNERSHIP. THATS ALSO SO YOU HAVE A MIX, YOU HAVE A MIX OF STUFF. YEAH, RENTALS AND CONDOMINIUMS AND GREATER THAN WEVE EVER HAD BEFORE. I MEAN, LARGER. THE LARGEST NUMBER, LARGEST PIPELINE WEVE EVER WEVE EVER HAD. AND THE SECOND THERE AVAILABLE THERE SPOKEN FOR THERE, SPOKEN TO THE LEVEL THE VACANCY RATE RIGHT NOW IN CHITTENDEN COUNTY IS 0.4%, WHICH MEANS THAT WHEN SOMETHING BECOMES VACANT, IT GETS FILLED. THERES REALLY NOT A VACANCY. AND THATS TRUE THROUGHOUT THE MARKET, BUT ALSO TRUE WITH US. WE HAVE PEOPLE WAITING A YEAR PLUS FOR AN AVAILABLE APARTMENT THATS THE TOUGH PART OF THE JOB. ITS UNHEALTHY, RIGHT? ITS NOT ITS NOT GOOD FOR US NECESSARILY. WED LOVE TO BE ABLE TO MOVE PEOPLE IN QUICKER. AND ITS NOT GOOD FOR PEOPLE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY WHO ARE DESPERATELY NEED OF AFFORDABLE. SO ITS INDICATIVE OF VERMONTS HOUSING CRISIS RIGHT NOW. RIGHT NOW, GIVEN INTEREST RATES, THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION IN THE PANDEMIC PARADISE, PRICE OF VERMONT SORT OF SHOWED ITSELF TO BE AT DIFFERENT TIMES, SORT OF THE PRESSURES ON THE MARKET ITSELF HAVE ALL CREATED CONDITIONS WHICH ARE JUST UNUSUAL AND DIFFERENT AND A HIGHER LEVEL OF AFFORDABILITY NEEDS THAN EVER BEFORE. WE HEAR THE ESTIMATES, LIKE THE FHFA ESTIMATES, THAT VERMONT NEEDS TO BUILD MUCH MORE HOUSING, MUCH FASTER THAN WE HAVE THE LAST 2 OR 3 DECADES. THATS RIGHT, 30,000 UNITS OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS. THATS SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER AT EVERY LEVEL, BOTH AFFORDABLE HOUSING LEVEL AND MIDDLE INCOME LEVEL. YOU KNOW, WHEREVER WE CAN. AND IN FACT, THE HOUSING NEEDS ARE GREAT. AND THE LEVEL OF HOUSING DEVELOPMENT THAT IS NEEDED IS GREAT. WEVE DONE BETTER BUILDING HOMES TOGETHER CAMPAIGN, WHERE WE WORK WITH PRIVATE DEVELOPERS AND HAVE INDICATED THAT JUST IN CHITTENDEN COUNTY ALONE, WE NEED AT LEAST 5000 OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS AND AND YOU FINALLY GOTTEN THE ATTENTION OF THE FOLKS AT THE STATE HOUSE? YES, I THINK THE STATE HAS BEEN REALLY GENEROUS, AGAIN, WITH FEDERAL FUNDS, BUT ALSO WITH SOME STATE FUNDS IN SUPPORTING THE REDEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING AND AT A LEVEL THAT IS UNPRECEDENTED. FIVE YEARS BACK, WE ARGUED THAT WE NEEDED A BOND TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING. WE GOT THAT THIS HAS MADE THE AMOUNT OF MONEY HAS BEEN QUADRUPLED. THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY. THE THE UNFORTUNATE OR FORTUNATE THING REALLY IS THAT WE NEED TO KEEP IT UP AND IT CANT BE OKAY. WELL GO BACK TO THE OLD DAYS WHERE WE HAD $15,000 AVAILABLE, $15 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING THROUGHOUT THE STATE. WERE GOING TO HAVE TO KEEP THAT THAT LEVEL OF SUPPORT UP IN THE STATE OF VERMONT FOR A FEW MORE YEARS. SO ARE WE MAKING PROGRESS OR DO YOU THINK AND A YEAR OR TWO, I MEAN, WERE IN FRONT OF ONE OF YOUR PROJECTS NOW REHABBING OLD, DILAPIDATED HOUSING AND THE NEW ONE AND TWO BEDROOM APARTMENTS. THIS WILL BE ONLINE IN ANOTHER YEAR OR TWO. YEAH. IS IT MAKING A DENT? WELL, I THINK I THINK IT IS. I THINK IT MAKES PROGRESS. I MEAN, FIRST OF ALL, WE CANT IN THIS IN THIS WORK, WE CANT DESPAIR. WE HAVE TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO. WE ARE NOT ALWAYS GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO IT ALL PRIVATE SECTOR FOLKS HAVE HAVE A ROLE TO CREATE MARKET RATE HOUSING. OTHER NONPROFITS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF VERMONT AND OTHERS ALSO NEED TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. ITS NOT JUST UP TO US, BUT WE FEEL LIKE WITH THE THE LEVEL OF OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US, THE PIPELINE THAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US, THE SUPPORT THAT WE HAVE BEEN GETTING IN THE STATE ENABLED US, I THINK, TO MAKE A BIG DENT DRIVE AROUND CHITTENDEN COUNTY. AND YOU CANT MISS ALL THE CONSTRUCTION, THE HOUSING TRUST, FOR EXAMPLE, NOW TRANSFORMING FORMER MILITARY BARRACKS IN COLCHESTER, DOVER, INTO 63 NEW APARTMENT SITES READY IN ANOTHER YEAR OR SO DOWNTOWN, THE LONG AWAITED CITY PLACE PROJECT, THE LARGEST IN VERMONT, NOW RISING FAST, PROMISING HUNDREDS OF NEW HOMES. WHAT KIND OF DIFFERENCE DO YOU THINK CITY PLACE WILL MAKE? WELL, AGAIN, IN THAT CONTEXT, 85 AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS IN DOWNTOWN BURLINGTON WITH THE VFW, WHICH IS GOING TO BE ON SOUTH WINOOSKI, ANOTHER 38, WITH THE POTENTIAL CAMBRIAN RISE FOR HOME OWNERSHIP, ANOTHER 30, MAYBE 70, WHICH SHELBURNE ROAD, ANOTHER 80 OR SO DOWN IN SHELBURNE ROAD, HINESBURG ANOTHER 100. SO THESE THINGS BEGIN TO ADD UP AND AT SOME POINT IT HAS AN IMPACT. WE HAVE SEEN IN THE PAST WHEN LARGE LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT HAPPEN AT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING LEVEL, HOW IT DOES HAVE AN IMPACT. BUT, YOU KNOW, ITS AN UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF GROWTH, UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF NEED. BUT AT THE SAME TIME AND REALLY, WE JUST NEED TO KEEP IT UP. WHAT MORE COULD MONTPELIER DO YOU KNOW? IS IT JUST A MONEY THING OR IS THERE MONETARY REFORM OR WHAT? REGULATORY REFORM HAS BEEN CRITICAL AND THERES STILL SOME MORE THAT CAN BE DONE THERE. BUT I THINK WHAT SPECIFICALLY? WELL, I THINK SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE MAYOR HAS SUGGESTED AROUND DOWNTOWNS BEING ABLE TO SORT OF MOVE PAST ACT 250 BECAUSE THEY HAVE OF REALLY ALL THE REGULATORY SORT OF REQUIREMENT. THAT ACT 250 HAS. I THINK THAT WOULD BE A VALUABLE THING. THERE HAVE BEEN CERTAINLY SOME CHANGES IN THAT, BUT SOME MORE FOR MORE IN THAT DIRECTION. ADD SOME VALUE, I THINK, TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR, ESPECIALLY TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THEIR PROJECTS, THEIR PROJECTS FORWARD. I THINK THERES SOME STUFF THAT HAS TO HAPPEN IN TERMS OF PROTECTION OF TENANTS. I THINK THAT RIGHT NOW THERE ARE MANY TENANTS WHO ARE FACING CONDITIONS WHERE RENTS ARE GOING UP FROM $400 TO $1200. AND THATS CHEAP, RIGHT? THATS AN THATS IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY. IF YOU GO DOWNTOWN BURLINGTON, IN OTHER PLACES, RENTS ARE JUST JACKED UP REALLY HIGH. SO I THINK THERES SOME THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE. YOU KNOW, WEVE THE STATE HAS DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB OF SUPPORTING MOBILE HOME OWNERS, RESIDENTS IN TERMS OF THE SALE OF THEIR PROPERTY FOR FIRST OPTION TO PURCHASE THOSE KINDS OF IDEAS NEED TO BE DISCUSSED. I THINK THERES SOME STUFF AT AN ORDINANCE LEVEL SORT OF STUFF AT AN AT A PROTECTION LEVEL WHERE WE NEED MORE OF THAT. I THINK THATS A CRITICAL SORT OF THINKING THAT THE STATE LEGISLATORS NEED TO DO. ITS HARD. ITLL BE TOUGHER TO DO, BUT I THINK THAT THATS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER. WE SPOKE WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF HOUSING WHO SAID, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF FOLKS IN POSITIONS OF DECISION MAKING IN MONTPELIER LOOK BACKWARD AND NOT FORWARD. THEY THINK ABOUT VERMONT IN THE 70S WHEN OUR ISSUES WERE DIFFERENT THAN THEY ARE IN IN THE 2020S. YEAH. YOU AGREE? UH, I WOULD NEVER SAY SPEAK ILL OF ANY LEGISLATOR AND I WOULD I WOULD SAY THAT I THINK MANY OF THEM ARE WORKING HARD TO LOOK AT WHAT THE SOLUTIONS MIGHT BE. WERE FACING THINGS THAT WE NEVER FACED BEFORE. YOU KNOW, THERES A FENTANYL CRISIS IN THE COMMUNITY THATS IMPACTING THE SORT OF SERVICES AND NEEDS FOR FOLKS WHO ARE SOME PORTION OF THOSE FOLKS ARE HOMELESS. THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE FORWARD. THESE NEVER HAPPENED. THIS IS NOT LOOKING IN THE PAST. THIS IS CURRENT. ANY LEGISLATURE WHO WEVE SPOKEN TO IS LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS AND LOOKING FOR WAYS TO USE THE STATE RESOURCES IN A WAY THAT ARE SMARTER AND BETTER. SO I WOULD I WOULD I WOULD DISAGREE A BIT. YOU GOT A NICE PHONE CALL RECENTLY? YEAH. THAT LED TO THE LARGEST SINGLE GIFT YOUVE EVER RECEIVED. YEAH. FROM THE PHILANTHROPIST WHO USED TO BE MARRIED TO THE FOUNDER OF AMAZON. YEAH. ALL THOSE. ALL THOSE BOXES PAID OFF. YEAH. MACKENZIE SCOTT. YEAH. $20 MILLION. YEAH. SUBSTANTIAL. WELL, WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH IT? AND DID THERE, DID IT COME WITH STRINGS ATTACHED? REMARKABLY ENOUGH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE GOT A CALL FROM THIS GROUP AND FROM SAN FRANCISCO IN FEBRUARY, WHICH WAS SORT OF VETTING US AND ASKING US QUESTIONS. WE DIDNT KNOW WHAT FOR. AND THEN WE GOT ANOTHER CALL IN JULY THAT SAID, HERES THE MONEY. AND IT WAS A 15 MINUTE PHONE CALL. AND IT REALLY WAS TWO THINGS. ONE, THIS IS YOUR LAST GIFT AND THERES NO STRINGS ATTACHED AND THATS IT. WHATS YOUR BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER? AND PLEASE KEEP IT SECRET UNTIL A CERTAIN MOMENT IN TIME. SO WE WERE VERY HAPPY WITH IT. WE DONT MACKENZIE SCOTT IN THAT WAY HAS CHANGED PHILANTHROPY DRAMATICALLY. SO PHILANTHROPY TYPICALLY IS WELL GIVE YOU THIS. IF YOU DO THAT, WELL GIVE YOU THIS. IF YOU HAVE TO DO THIS AND REPORT THIS WAY, THAT WAY, THIS IS NOT HOW SHES DOING IT. WHAT SHES DOING. AND RIGHT NOW, THIS SHES DOING A LOT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING NONPROFITS AROUND THE COUNTRY. SHE PUTS THE MONEY FORWARD AND SAYS, GO, I LIKE WHAT YOUVE DONE. WE VETTED YOU ENOUGH. YOUVE DONE GOOD WORK, CONTINUE TO DO GOOD WORK. SO THATS BEEN WHAT THE STRINGS ARE, IS THAT WE HAVE TO DO WELL WITH THE WITH THE RESOURCES THAT WERE RECEIVING. WHAT DID YOU THINK WHEN YOU HUNG UP THE PHONE? I, I WEEPED A LITTLE. ITS ITS ITS A GREAT GIFT. YEAH. WHICH YOU CAN DO A LOT WITH. YEAH. YEAH, IT WAS. I THANK THE PERSON BECAUSE I SAID, FIRST OF ALL, YOU GOT A GREAT JOB OF CALLING PEOPLE UP AND SAYING, HERES, YOU KNOW, IM OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER THIS TV SHOW CALLED THE MILLIONAIRE, A GUY NAMED MICHAEL ANTHONY WOULD GO AROUND AND GIVE POOR PEOPLE $1 MILLION. RIGHT. AND IT WAS TRANSFORMED FOR THEM. SAME FOR US.