BRATTLEBORO — The Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) Board of Commissioners committed $2.55 million in federal low-income housing tax credits and $432,500 in state housing tax credits to expand Vermont's stock of affordable, energy-efficient housing.
The Windham & Windsor Housing Trust (WWHT) will be using some of this money to rehabilitate and improve 29 one-, two- and three-bedroom units in Brattleboro.
All WWHT buildings will receive comprehensive air sealing increased insulation and window replacement. Buildings at WWHT's Green Street site will also receive siding, insulation, and heating system improvements, while the Trust's buildings at the Clark and Canal site will be suited with new high-efficiency boilers and solar domestic hot water systems.
VHFA says the tax credits will generate approximately $23.5 million in upfront equity for the construction and rehabilitation of 452 primarily rental homes across the state, guaranteed to remain affordable for at least 30 years.
“With over half of Vermont's renters paying unsustainable portions of their income for housing, the need to preserve and expand the number of apartments that will be affordable in the long-run is clear,” said VHFA executive director Sarah Carpenter.
Since its inception in 1974, VHFA has helped approximately 28,000 Vermont households with affordable mortgages and financed the development of approximately 8,600 affordable rental units.