College sells land for low-cost housing

Author: Thomas C. Drescher

The College recently announced that it has finalized the sale of a 30-acre lot on Route 7 to Vermont-based development firm Middlebury South Village (MSV), LLC, which plans to begin work on a comprehensive residential community of the same name early next year. The development will include approximately 42,000 feet of commercial space, a common green and residential neighborhoods featuring 30 townhouse apartments and 56 homes, most of which will be priced at under $230,000 in an effort to provide affordable housing to College employees and other Addison County residents.

The property located just south of downtown Middlebury on Route 7 is currently the site of the former Maple Manor Motel, which will be demolished this fall. It is within walking distance of Middlebury Union Middle and High Schools, and will have direct pedestrian and bicycle access via the Trail Around Middlebury. Addison County Transit Resources has also said it plans to offer service within the development.

The proposed multi-story commercial facility will be constructed adjacent to Route 7 and will also feature apartment space, while the houses will be scattered across the lot's back acreage.

College President Ronald D. Liebowitz cited the firm's commitment to offering affordable housing as one factor in the College's decision to complete the sale. "We're glad, with the cost of housing on the rise, that Middlebury College employees and the residents of the local community will have the opportunity to buy or rent affordable housing," he said in a recent press release. Liebowitz added that the College received multiple development proposals from other prospective buyers.

"We are very pleased with the conceptual plan for development of the property that MSV proposes," said Assistant Treasurer and Director of Business Services Tom Corbin in another press release last spring. "It complies with the town plan and the firm has an excellent track record."

The MSV project was approved unanimously by town's Middlebury Planning Commission early in 2005, and the firm, which is headed up by Managers Stephen D. Reid of Brookfield Development Co. and Jeffry Glassberg of Waltham-based Renaissance Developmente Co., has obtained all requisite land use permits thanks to a loan provided by the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA).

According to Glassberg, more than half of the houses and apartments will be sold at rates affordable to families with an annual household income just under $36,000. "Ensuring that this housing will be affordable to families earning Addison County wages was an important goal of the developers and the College," he said.

The College's Human Resources Department will be offering preliminary on-campus information sessions for employees interested in renting or purchasing South Village living space with the VHFA, MSV and Dinse, Knapp and McAndrew, a Burlington-based law firm. Human Resources also plans to distribute additional information as it becomes available.