Vermont Housing Conservation Board 2005 - Vermont Housing and ...

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DOWNTOWN RENTAL HOUSING “God bless the person who designed this, because I love it. It’s so open, and so easy, and there’s a sense of security in this building. It’s just beautiful.” — Martha Crilly Bob Eddy 8 Rutland’s Reclaimed Tuttle Building On Center Street in the heart of Rutland, it’s hard not to notice the renewed handsomeness of the old Tuttle Building. Reclaimed from near-ruin in recent months through an ambitious partnership project led by the Rutland County Community Land Trust (RCCLT), with funding provided by VHCB and other sources, Martha Crilly, who uses a wheelchair due to rheumatoid arthritis and fi bromyalgia, moved into a spacious, accessible apartment at the Tuttle Block in August. The historic building, originally home to The Tuttle Printing and Engraving Company, was rehabilitated to include 13 apartments with offi ces and two street-front commercial spaces.
the 1906-vintage edifice stands out today like a polished antique. Once home to the Tuttle Printing and Engraving Company, the building now houses 13 affordable apartments, along with the offices of RCCLT. The most noticeable tenant, with its showroom at street level, is Center Street Artisans, a new business whose shareholders are craft artists. Big picture windows showcase elegantly handcrafted home furnishings, and passersby often pause to window-shop. Since the wraps came off the Tuttle Building’s renovation this fall, local responses have been very warm. “The building really has jumpstarted enthusiasm in the community,” says Elisabeth Kulas, RCCLT’s executive director. “I get comments all the time about how beautiful it looks.” Good looks, in this case, go deeper than the façade. Led by RCCLT in a limited partnership with Housing Vermont and Key Bank, the Tuttle Building’s renovation proved that a downtown restoration project with a return on investment that would be insufficient for a private developer can, with patience and determination, be accomplished as a private-public-nonprofit collaboration — and the community as a whole can benefit. The completed Tuttle building, supported by a VHCB grant along with federal HOME Program funds awarded through VHCB, affordable housing tax credits, and HUD special purpose funding — has provided downtown affordable housing in a city whose commercial center had almost none. Standing across from the earlierrestored Paramount Theater, the Tuttle Building and its artisans’ showroom has helped encourage local interest in the role of the arts and creativity in downtown revitalization. The Board of Aldermen has supported a broad-based local effort by community leaders, artists, business owners and cultural organizations to explore how a “creative economy” can continue sparking Rutland’s renewal, much as similar efforts have in Bellows Falls, Brattleboro, and Brandon. Then there are the city residents who have moved into the Tuttle apartments. They’re people like Mac Janney and Martha Crilly. Janney, who was born with a form of macular degeneration and is legally blind, coordinates development at Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, based at the nearby Pico resort. The nonprofit organization provides sports and recreation for people with disabilities. Janney was living in an apartment up a steep hill from the city center. When he toured the Tuttle Building last summer, he says, “I just fell in love with the place.” Living now in a first-floor apartment, Janney says, “I can walk anywhere I need to go. It’s easy for me to go grocery shopping. Just having all these neat little shops around is pretty cool.” Martha Crilly, who has been confined to a wheelchair by rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, was renting an apartment in a building that had been sold; she was close to homelessness, unable to find an accessible, affordable rental, when she learned of RCCLT and this building. She moved into a spacious, accessible apartment in August. “God bless the person who designed this, because I love it,” Crilly says. “It’s so open, and so easy, and there’s a sense of security in this building. It’s just beautiful.” 9 Governor Douglas joined Mrs. Tuttle, representatives of funding, community development agencies, congressional delegation and Rutland County Community Land Trust staff and board members at the ribbon cutting last summer.
Page 1 and 2: 2005 Annual Report to the General A
Page 3 and 4: james h. douglas governor State of
Page 5 and 6: statutory mandates that require per
Page 7 and 8: in the marketplace, and for homes b
Page 9: documents. But an applicant’s ent
Page 13 and 14: Bob Eddy photos Laurie Webster, who
Page 15 and 16: “These are people who are very en
Page 17 and 18: HABITAT FOR HUMANITY Hard-Earned Ho
Page 19 and 20: “Owning a home isn’t just luck.
Page 21 and 22: portation,” said Brenda Torpy, di
Page 23 and 24: So Jon and Lise Yandow, whose seven
Page 25 and 26: Addison Vermont Land Trust photos a
Page 27 and 28: “Watching the O’Connell family
Page 29 and 30: Bob Eddy “Farming is such a labor
Page 31 and 32: This joins a mix of new and retrofi
Page 33 and 34: CROSS VERMONT TRAIL A Trail to Conn
Page 35 and 36: Liz Thompson/The Nature Conservancy
Page 37 and 38: HISTORIC PRESERVATION A New Role fo
Page 39 and 40: Bob Eddy photos England what became
Page 41 and 42: VERMONT COMMUNITY STEWARDSHIP PROGR
Page 43 and 44: VERMONT LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD RED
Page 45 and 46: Housing Awards July 2004 -June 2005
Page 47 and 48: Housing Awards July -December 2005
Page 49 and 50: Conservation Awards July 2004 -June
Page 51 and 52: Conservation Awards July 2004 -June
Page 53 and 54: Conservation Awards July -December
Page 55 and 56: Partners in Project Development Jan
Page 61 and 62:
Revenues $22,486,033 Interest Incom
Page 63 and 64:
PROJECT AWARDS BY COUNTY 1987-2005
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