ALGIERS — The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has presented Algiers Village Housing, a 17-unit affordable housing development in Guilford, with a Phoenix Award for outstanding achievement in the redevelopment of a brownfields site in New England.
The award was presented Sept. 3 in Chicago as part of the EPA's major national conference on environmental revitalization and economic development.
Susan McMahon, associate director of the Windham Regional Commission, accepted the award on behalf of all of the organizations that worked on this community development project.
“This is a great example of how a small, volunteer-led community organization, working with numerous partners, can revitalize a rural village through a vison that employs sustainable development and smart growth,” McMahon said in a news release.
Connie Snow, executive director of the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust (WWHT), lauded the team that worked on Algiers Village Housing, noting they were “thrilled that this development was selected out of all the potential developments in New England for national recognition.
“It's another indication that Vermont continues to do outstanding work,” Snow said.
WWHT and Housing Vermont partnered to redevelop an abandoned warehouse parcel along Guilford Center Road in the village of Algiers into 15 affordable and energy-efficient apartments in a three-story building, and a duplex with two three-bedroom units.
“We were able to reuse a brownfield to create attractive in-fill housing in the village center while helping to extend town water,” Snow said. “The award is especially appreciated because it recognizes what we can achieve when community organizations, nonprofits, and state and local organizations work together.”
A group of concerned residents formed the Friends of Algiers Village (FOAV) in 2004 to preserve the village and steer future development. In 2005, they purchased three properties in the village.
FOAV's first step, in collaboration with WWHT, was to develop a Village Master Plan. The vision for the village center, developed with participation from the community, integrated commercial and residential uses with emphasis on pedestrian-friendly amenities such as walkways and green space.
As part of implementing this vision, the historic Tontine building was renovated into seven units of affordable housing, and an historic general store was rehabbed and revitalized. Developing the “warehouse site” into 17 new apartments was the final phase of implementing the vision.
The Windham Regional Commission used EPA funds to create and then fund a remediation plan to remove 985 tons of contaminated soil and weathered bedrock, and demolish and remove an old tractor repair garage.
Sen. Patrick Leahy helped secure an EPA grant to fund a sixth-tenths-mile extension of the Town of Brattleboro's water line to the Village of Algiers, which was crucial to the project moving forward.
According to Kathy Beyer, Housing Vermont's vice president of development, “Algiers Village is a home run in community development - in-fill housing in the designated village center, reuse of a brownfield, a key contributor to the water line extension, and beautiful new affordable apartments.”
She added, “We appreciate the support we received from the community, the Windham Regional Commission, the Vermont agencies of Commerce and Community Development and Natural Resources, the Friends of Algiers Village, and many others.”