BRATTLEBORO-SEON is dedicated to promoting green building practices in our community - especially those that address the affordable housing crisis that holds back so many parts of our economy. Our Windham County delegation has contributed meaningfully to our recent efforts.
This spring, SEON advanced a federal earmark request for $9.9 million to expand our programs to help four local nonprofit builders build housing in our area. Working with SEON board member (and local entrepreneur), Jason Van Nest, we sketched a project to open temporary modular production space in the BDCC Business Park, help produce 200 modular kitchens and bathrooms, and distribute them to 2025 projects "on the boards" at Windham & Windsor Housing Trust, Groundworks, Downstreet Housing and Community Development, and other recipients.
U.S. Rep. Becca Balint and U.S. Sens. Peter Welch and Bernie Sanders saw how this project would be a double-win for our community: Not only would it drive down the cost of new affordable housing here, but it was also designed to create a first-in-the-nation worker training program.
SEON staff would craft research, craft, and deliver training programs for how Vermont craftspeople could ship, hoist, and install these modular products.