Martha Dale and Patty Eisenhaur, co-chairs of the Mountain Towns Housing Project (MTHP) Steering Committee, recently announced the completion of the Bob Perry Lane House and the transfer of ownership to Kara Corlew. The closing took place on March 1, and the family moved into the house shortly thereafter.
"We are first and foremost deeply grateful to Don and Deb Hazelton, who donated the land for the project and put countless hours into managing and participating in the construction process," said MTHP Fundraising chair Cynthia Gubb in a news release. "Without their leadership, this project would not have gotten off the ground."
The Hazeltons shared their sentiments about the project and stated, "We are proud to be part of a church and a community that was able to work together to build an affordable home for a working Londonderry family. We have been very blessed living and working in this area and are grateful for this opportunity to pay it forward."
Gubb said nearly 200 individual donors, organizations, foundations, and businesses either made a gift or pledged services to help complete the project. The town of Londonderry provided some funding through an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and two state agencies - the Vermont Housing Finance Agency and the Vermont Housing Conservation Board - also provided grants to this project
She added that the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust, specifically Bruce Whitney, provided untold hours of technical advice along with taking on this property as a shared equity home in the WWHT portfolio to ensure its perpetual affordability. The Community Fund for Londonderry provided a low-interest bridge loan while MTHP completed its fundraising efforts, and the Second Congregational Church providing a nonprofit umbrella to work under, a loan, and a major gift to get the project started.
"And last, but certainly not least, our volunteer crew, who put in hundreds of hours of labor, needs to be fully acknowledged and thanked, for without their day-to-day efforts, the house would still be a shell," Gubb said. A full listing of project supporters can be found at mountaintownshousing.org.
"This has been an amazing project from start to finish, and it has taken three years to get to this point," said Eisenhaur. "We are so happy to be able to hand over the keys to the house to Kara, especially since she has put many hours of sweat equity into the project, even before her family was selected to purchase the home." Commenting on the local community that provided financial and volunteer support, gifts to the project in the form of products and services, and the many hours of volunteer labor, she says, "You helped make this dream a reality."
She said that limited workforce housing "continues to be a big challenge in our community and our plan is to reinvest the funds we received at closing into another project. We are going to take a little time to review the process and determine if there is a more efficient way to accomplish our goal of providing affordable housing options one home at a time."
MTHP said it has reached its final fundraising goal for this house. Those interested in making a gift in support of their next project may send checks payable to Mountain Towns Housing Project to PO Box 538, Londonderry, VT 05148. Donations may also be made online through the Second Congregational Church at bit.ly/756-mthp, click on "Mountain Towns Housing Project."
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.