ROCKINGHAM — Restoring downtown buildings was identified as a top priority during last year's community visit, led by the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD).
To sustain this momentum and address the need for small-scale development in downtown Bellows Falls, the town of sought help through Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation's (BDCC) Southern Vermont Economy Project (SVEP).
According to a news release, BDCC said it identified the Incremental Development Alliance (IncDev), a nonprofit consulting agency that “provides technical assistance to transform development plans into tangible action.”
Last fall, BDCC introduced local Rockingham partners to IncDev to see how they could help the town proceed.
Redevelop Bellows Falls Buildings Task Force, the town of Rockingham, the village of Bellows Falls, Windham Regional Commission, Bellows Falls Area Development Corporation, Great Falls Regional Chamber of Commerce, and others supported moving forward with IncDev.
BDCC helped secure funding and promised staff support for outreach and meetings. Throughout this winter, IncDev has been providing technical assistance through a series of presentations, market research, and trainings. Participants have included local volunteers, and officials, as well as non-profit leaders and property owners.
“I do renovations in the Bellows Falls area and I love the town,” said Ashley Moduno, a small developer who renovates multifamily homes in Bellows Falls. “[We should] focus on awareness programs for both owners and tenants to find these funds to bring their housing up to a higher standard.”
IncDev helps towns identify technical barriers to development (such as prohibitive zoning, permitting, and financing), assess current real estate development opportunities and understand the current market, and then recruit and train potential “developers” who are often just local residents with a home or business property they want to improve or expand.
The next public training for anyone interested in becoming a developer is a “Virtual Small Developer Boot Camp,” which starts April 20 and will be held over 11 weeks. For more information, visit incrementaldevelopment.org.
For more information on training available to every community in southern Vermont, visit brattleborodevelopment.com/svep. A new project development series includes grant writing, financial workshops, and project management training. All trainings are low- or no-cost and open to the public.