COLCHESTER, Vt. (WCAX) – New numbers show the need for more housing in Chittenden County is not being met.
Former dorms at St. Michael’s College that are being re-developed are just some of the examples of action being taken to meet the demand for new housing in Chittenden County. But housing officials who gathered in Colchester Monday say that projects like this are not enough.
“We are not done. We are not even close,” said Michael Monte with the Champlain Housing Trust. He says new numbers show the county fell short of new housing goals for the 5th time in eight years. “We didn’t have enough resources to make it happen.”
The data, which is compiled in conjunction with the regional planning commission, shows the state’s most populous county added 720 new homes, condos, and apartments in 2023, short of its goal of 1,000 units. The gap in affordable housing is even greater with 125 new units completed, just half of the 250 goal.
Of particular concern, is a lack of progress on single-family homes for young families — the so-called “missing middle,” a gap that has a ripple effect on the economy. “There are simply not enough homes for all people at all income levels and it makes it hard to hire and recruit people for positions, and those businesses are having difficulty providing the goods and the services that we are looking for in our community,” said Nancy Owens with Evernorth, a nonprofit developer that focuses on low and moderate-income homes.
The vacancy rate for the county sits at 1.2 percent, meaning almost all of the housing units are full at any time. That makes it hard to find a place to live and drives up prices. “Still really a long way away from a healthy market at 5%,” said Charlie Baker with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission.
Advocates note the need for more housing actually exceeds the goals they’ve set and they say it will take more help from the Legislature in direct funding, incentives, and regulatory changes to improve the outlook. “Without it, we will continue down this downward path of not being able to support the housing needs of average Vermonters,” Monte said.
As for the St Michael’s dorms — they are expected to open up to the public next week with 20 affordable units, five of them dedicated to bring people out of homelessness.