On Monday, Feb. 3, Stonecrop Meadows broke ground, marking the inception of a significant construction project intended to address the housing crisis in Addison County and Vermont at large. The building will add 254 new homes to the town, providing more affordable and livable options for individuals and families who work at the college in addition to other local residents.
These homes will be built on a 35-acre property located just outside downtown Middlebury, and the first homes in development will be available to the public in the summer of 2025.
The project was initially conceived as a solution to the recurring housing problem for professors. Staff are also an important reason for college investment in new housing developments: Under 40% of Middlebury staff live in town, while over 20% of employees live more than 15 miles away from campus.
“Right now, it’s a real challenge for us when we attract a tenured track faculty member. One of our biggest challenges, they're like, ‘I wanna come to Middlebury. I love my offer. I can't find a place to live’,” said David Provost, executive vice president of Finance and Administration for Middlebury College.
Provost collaborated with Zeke Davisson, chief operating officer at Summit Properties, to address this issue with former Middlebury president Laurie Patton.
“Middlebury College's role is that of the largest employer in Addison County. So, I said to Laurie and our board, ‘Look, we can't sit idly and hope someone else will fix this’,” Provost told The Campus.
During the permitting process, Davisson spoke with Middlebury community members to gather public feedback, which helped shape the project.
“Summit did such a good job of holding public meetings even before they enter the permitting process, so I felt like the public was really aware of it,” said Jennifer Murray, the town of Middlebury’s director of Planning and Zoning. “Anyone who had comments pretty much got their comments out.”
Another concern for the developers of the project was the impact of 254 new homes on Middlebury’s existing infrastructure. The town's Development Review Board, a seven-member board responsible for administrative appeals and reviews of development proposals, was tasked with identifying any infrastructure issues that may emerge from the project. The board performed a traffic study, reviewed the stormwater plan, updated the water line and extended the sidewalk across from the development to ensure that children living in that area could still safely walk to school.
Additionally, a separate development agreement was created outside the review board’s process to outline necessary infrastructure upgrades and their funding. The town and Summit Properties will share the costs, with an agreement specifying the logistics of those expenses.
The project aims to create not only more homes in Middlebury but also more affordable homes, according to Provost.
“The market rate is really what's going to qualify for our faculty, and we're trying to work on tools to make that more affordable for our faculty, either through a second mortgage program or, enhancing other programs,” Provost said.“I think this project will also free up housing stock. As people start to move to Stonecrop, that will free up other units. But that's just a start.”
The project has the potential not only to add significantly more homes to Middlebury but also to create a more vibrant town, more jobs, more childcare and increase enrollment in local schools. Provost expects that the project will also allow Middlebury graduates who want to stay in Vermont, specifically Middlebury, to access more job opportunities in the area.
This housing shortage is not unique to Middlebury but is a statewide issue.
“We estimate that we need to add 40,000 housing units across the state in the next five to 10 years. And if we don't, we'll continue to have this problem,” Provost said.
For Gov. Scott, Sen. Peter Welch and the various Summit Properties and college officials who broke ground on the site this month, Stonecrop Meadows is the first step in the solution to this problem.
“I think there are lessons to be learned here,” Murray said. “This could be a model project that they could replicate in this community and other communities in terms of the collaborative approach and just the funding concept.”
