BRATTLEBORO — Turning Point of Windham County has received three $20,000 awards through the state of Vermont that will help defray construction-related expenses for its new downtown home at 39 Elm St.
Turning Point is hard at work completing required electrical, plumbing, and structural work for the move, and tells The Commons it hopes to announce an early 2015 move-in date in the coming weeks.
The building the organization purchased in January was available for what it called “a bargain-basement price” largely because of the damage it had sustained in Tropical Storm Irene. The flood damage made the project eligible for disaster-recovery funds through Vermont's Community Development Block Grant program administered by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, and facility matching funds through Vermont's Building Communities Grant.
BDCC recently notified Turning Point that the center had been awarded two grants from the final round of disaster-recovery funding.
The first $20,000 award, announced in mid October, will cover engineering and architectural fees and other nonconstruction costs related to implementing flood-mitigation strategies to prevent or minimize damage from future floods.
The second $20,000 award, announced Dec. 2, will cover the costs of vendors and contractors hired to repair the flood-damaged building.
This week, the state notified Turning Point that the center had been awarded a $20,000 Building Communities Grant.
This human services and educational facilities grant program awards matching grants to municipalities and nonprofit organizations for capital costs related to the major maintenance, renovation, and development of facilities used for the delivery of human services and health care, or educational opportunities in Vermont communities.
This is a one-to-one matching grant, with awards ranging from $1,000 to $25,000. Turning Point says it successfully demonstrated community support with letters from the Brattleboro Retreat, the local probation and parole department, and the Vermont Recovery Network.
Turning Point also says it documented more than $25,000 in major gifts received to support the building project - including $30,000 from Thompson Trust, $5,000 from the Brattleboro Retreat, $2,500 from Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, and $1,000 from Brattleboro Savings & Loan.
On Dec. 16, Turning Point will join other award recipients in a ceremony with Gov. Peter Shumlin at the State House.
“All these funds will go a long way toward helping Turning Point restore this building to utility so we can be closer to the people in recovery we serve,” a spokesperson for the organization told The Commons.
Turning Point moved from its original downtown location on Aug. 27, 2011, the day before Tropical Storm Irene struck. Much of the devastation happened in its old Elm Street neighborhood. Their new building is just across the street from the New England Youth Theatre, in a home that was badly damaged by Irene.