Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the Winooski News
The Vermont National Guard has given Winooski first dibs on the property where the Vermont Army National Guard previously ran an armory.
City leaders, in turn, have drawn up a potential outline to purchase the property to build affordable housing units.
The buildings would include apartments with three-bedroom units and up, according to an Oct. 7 memo sent to city councilors from Winooski Housing Initiative Director Jazmine Hurley, Director of City Planning Ravi Venkataraman and City Manager Elaine Wang.
The 1 ½-acre plot at 255 Lafountain Street has an assessed value between roughly $225,000 and $275,000, the result of an assessment by a company contracted by the city. The current timeline for action all depends on the demolition of the armory.
The old armory’s potential sale holds promise in the eyes of officials who see an opportunity to accomplish some of the city’s long-term goals.
Housing is one of four key sections in Winooski’s ongoing strategic vision, along with municipal infrastructure, economic vitality and safe, healthy, connected people.
City leadership wants to “ensure a mix of quality housing that maintains and enhances Winooski’s unique sense of place and supports the needs of the entire community” as part of that vision, according to the city website.
Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner said he couldn’t make any guarantees, as the project is still in its preliminary stages, but emphasized three goals city leaders are looking at: affordability, multi-bedroom units and putting units up for sale, rather than for rent.
In terms of selling the units, Renner mentioned employing the Champlain Housing Trust’s Shared Equity Program to make them affordable for lower-income residents. The program enables people to buy a home without a down payment and with reduced mortgage prices.
“Also important to us is affordable housing … but not only affordable housing, housing that has more bedroom units,” Renner said. “So frequently, what you see being built in apartment complexes tends to be one- to two-bedroom units. So we’re really hoping for three-plus, four-plus-bedroom units, if possible, so that we can accommodate some of the larger families that live in Winooski.”
If all goes as planned, the property will offer housing for families “who feel underhoused at the moment,” said Renner.
“We’d love for them to be able to see this new project and be able to go into a unit that fits their family better,” he said.
He also discussed plans for getting public input on the matter.
“We recognize that it’s a brand new development, changing very much what that neighborhood may feel like and changing completely what existed there before,” he said. “So we want to make sure the public would have input.”
The armory, which has been set to be decommissioned since late 2022, was built in 1955 and hosted local events like parades throughout the years. It was constructed as part of a post-Korean War expansion and housed members from the 186th Brigade Support Battalion.
The armory became eligible for state and national registers in 2009, which could’ve deemed the location a historic landmark. But “extensive contamination has led to the determination that removal was the best route,” according to the Oct. 7 letter from city officials, the latest updates in the plans.
In the letter, which proposed the city buy the property, the three Winooski leaders said they do not plan to rely on taxpayers to provide money for the property. Rather, they want to arrange the sale of the property to a developer upon the condition that they build certain types of affordable housing.
A preliminary project concept drafted by Winooski staff included ideas such as a townhome or cottage court design, all affordable units, in the range of 65% to 100% of the city’s median income; homes for purchase and rental units available using a shared equity model; and larger units to meet community needs.