The Preservation Trust of Vermont, Vermont Council on Rural Development, and the Vermont Community Foundation are pleased to announce the first cohort of communities selected for the Village Trust Initiative (VTI). The Village Trust Initiative is a new partnership of the three organizations that will support twenty Vermont communities over the next several years to form a Community Trust and undertake a transformational revitalization project in their historic village.
The Village Trust Initiative is made possible with a $10 million Congressionally Directed Spending award from Senator Leahy’s office in 2023 and will provide selected communities across the state with substantial planning and implementation funding. Each community will receive technical assistance from all three partner organizations, funding to support the pre-development of the project, and significant capital investment to launch the project forward.
By helping communities define a vision for their future and complete revitalization projects, the Village Trust Initiative will build community capacity, preserve a sense of place, and ensure Vermont villages are dynamic places for future generations. In the coming years we will expand the program and support additional villages in every county in Vermont. We are deeply grateful to Senator Leahy and to the entire congressional delegation for making this opportunity and funding possible.
Having all 14 Vermont counties represented is critical to the success of this program. We are excited to have received so many initial applications from communities across the state. We worked diligently with the advisory committee to identify our first seven communities, representing six counties:
- Wolcott, Lamoille County, Schoolhouse rehabilitation project
- Lunenburg, Essex County, Gilman Middle School reuse project
- Greensboro Bend, Orleans County, Church and parsonage adaptive reuse project
- West Fairlee, Orange County, Bean Hall Community Center project
- Braintree, Orange County, Snowsville Hotel housing and community space project
- Benson, Rutland County, General Store project
- Reading, Windsor County, General Store project
“VCRD is extremely proud of the work of this initiative,” says VCRD Executive Director Denise Smith. “We were impressed with the incredible projects submitted by the communities and the passion of the people in those communities. The selection process was rigorous and difficult, and the work the staff and the Advisory Committee did to select the first cohort of projects was incredible. We are all so excited to assist these communities in bringing vitality back to buildings and village centers that have raised generations of Vermonters.”
PTV and VCRD visited each of the fourteen finalist communities this summer, taking time to meet local project leaders, see potential project sites and learn more about the life and community in each village. Project leaders spoke of the potential that the VTI program brings to their community. “The VTI project has the potential to play an anchor role in knitting together a number of current developments contributing to the revitalization of the village,” said Oran Young, Wolcott. “With a little effort, these developments can come together to initiate a new chapter in the life of the village. The repurposed school can become the hub around which these developments coalesce.”
Progress on all the projects will be shared on the Preservation Trust of Vermont and the Vermont Council on Rural Development websites. There will be two future rounds of the Village Trust Initiative program within the next 4 years. The opening of those application periods will be announced on the websites and through each organization’s mailing lists.
Any questions about the Village Trust Initiative program should be directed to Nicole Gratton at [email protected] and Kaziah Haviland at [email protected]