Putney Affordable Housing - Basketville Site

Brattleboro Food Co-op Building

New Retail Store/Affordable Housing

Questions & Answers

1. Who are the developers of this project?

The Brattleboro Food Co-op (BFC), Windham Housing Trust (WHT), and Housing Vermont (HVT) are partnering on this project. More information about each organization may be found at:

www.brattleborofoodcoop.com; www.windhamhousingtrust.org; and www.housingvermont.org .

2. Where will the new building be located?

The Brattleboro Food Co-op owns two adjoining parcels, including “Brookside Plaza” (2 Canal Street) and the Best Muffler parcel. The Plaza is bordered to the north by the Whetstone Brook, and to the east by the junction of Main and Canal Streets. The new building will be located at the front of the site, right on Canal Street, providing continuity in the historic downtown streetscape and enhancing access to the Whetstone Brook.

3. Why has the Brattleboro Food Co-op decided to build a new building?

For the past 5 years, the Co-op’s board of directors has been working with management to envision ways to take the Co-op far into the future. Together, the Co-op concluded that they need to reinvent their business to better express their values, and wanted to make their business a regenerative, more competitive food store. With special planning assistance provided by Bread Loaf Corporation over a 7-month period in 2007 and 2008, the Co-op was able to narrow its options down to four, including: (1) business as usual; (2) a $4.5 million partial renovation; (3) a $7.8 million total renovation; and (4) an $8.7 million new building. Their analysis showed that the best long-term use of the shareholders’ (members’) assets is to build new.

4. Why did the Coop decide to include affordable housing in their new building?

At a design charrette conducted in November of 2007, many community members expressed interest in including housing in the project as an appropriate use of land in downtown Brattleboro, and as a way to meet local affordable housing needs. There is widespread support from Co-op shareholders for such an initiative.

5. Who will own the new building?

It is anticipated that two condominiums will be created. The first two floors will be owned by the Brattleboro Food Co-op as one condominium, and the top two floors will be owned by a housing limited partnership, including Windham Housing Trust and Housing Vermont as general partners.

6. How much bigger will the new Food Co-op be? What are the advantages of the new building to the Co-op?

A new Co-op building would feature between 3,000 and 3,500 square feet of additional retail space. A new building would also give the Co-op adequate additional backroom and office space. Specific advantages to constructing a new building include the following, among others:

Operating costs of the current building are 50% higher than a typical food store of similar size, and improvements to the current building would be disproportionately costly, compared to the very small amount of retail space that would be generated and needed to pay for them.

The Co-op kitchen, preparation and storage areas are substantially smaller than they need to be, and this causes much inefficiency and added costs.

The footprint of the current building is inefficient, and causes bottlenecks that cannot be ameliorated in the current location. At the present time many of the Co-op’s offices are located off site; the Co-op needs to reintegrate them back into one main location.

7. Will this be a “green” development?

Yes, the design of this building will incorporate both green, energy saving construction techniques and innovative “regenerative” building systems that reuse heat from refrigeration units, purify on-site stormwater runoff, support the use of solar panels and/or a green roof, and incorporate other state-of-the-art bio-retention features.

8. How many apartments are being proposed for this site?

While the design is only conceptual at this point, it is estimated that the building will contain 19-23 apartments, the majority of which will be efficiency or 1-bedroom units; a few apartments may contain two bedrooms. Given the urban nature of the site, the building is considered less appropriate for families with children. A market study indicates that it will be attractive to single people and couples of all ages.

9. Is there a need for this type of housing in Brattleboro?

A recent study prepared by Douglas Kennedy of LandVest, entitled “Market Feasibility Analysis For Mixed Use Project at 2 Main Street,” profiles the local housing market. This study found that the combination of a tight market, low vacancy rate, and over-subscribed local affordable housing together create a strong demand for the proposed Coop project. The study specifically found:

–Approximately 935 local households are both eligible for this housing, and have the propensity to move in a given year; these households are projected to include elderly and disabled, as well as younger single people;

–Between 2008-2013 there will be a 22% increase in 15-24 year olds in Brattleboro (557 additional youth). These are young adults who have grown up in the area and are now the age when they will be forming new households;

–Seventy-six percent (76%) of Brattleboro renters are small households of 1 or 2 persons (this is also true in the county as a whole);

–Brattleboro had a vacancy rate of 2.8% in 2000, which is considered “minimal availability”. The rate grew even tighter from 2001-2005; and

–Research has shown that the recent slowdown in the for-sale market has had little if any impact on the residential rental market. In fact, the difficulties in the ownership market may cause an increase in demand for rental apartments.

10. How will the project impact traffic in this part of the downtown?

Impact on traffic will be negligible. Currently, the Food Coop and two other retail stores operate in Brookside Plaza. After construction, only the Coop will operate on site. There are currently 145 commercial parking spaces on site; after the new building is constructed there will be 122.

The new residential apartments will have no dedicated parking on site. In fact, residents will not be permitted to park in the Coop’s lot. Like many downtown buildings (including WHT’s Wilder Block) residents owning cars will utilize the Transportation Center for parking. Based on WHT’s experience, less than half of the residents of this downtown property will own cars.

The issue of impact on traffic will be studied in more detail in the permit process.

11. Who will live in this building?

Windham Housing Trust serves individuals and families, men, women, and children of all ages, persons with disabilities or special needs, and the elderly. Current WHT residents are employees of the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, Windham Southeast Supervisory Union, Price Chopper, Brattleboro Retreat, Brattleboro Food Coop, Omega Optical, Putney Paper, State of Vermont, GS Precision, Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, Pepsi, C&S Wholesale Grocers, to name a few. The vast majority of the residents of this new building will also be ‘working people,’ employed by many area businesses, or retirees.

12. Because Windham Housing Trust is a non-profit organization, will this property be exempt from property tax?

No. WHT always pays taxes on the land and buildings it owns. In determining fair market value, the assessment is adjusted to reflect the value of the property with the permanent deed restrictions. It is anticipated that the housing portion of this project alone will generate $20,000 per year in new tax revenue for the Town of Brattleboro.

13. Will the Brattleboro Food Coop pay taxes on the full assessed value of their portion of the property?

Yes. The Food Coop and Windham Housing Trust will have separate tax bills, as they will each own their respective properties. The Food Coop will pay taxes based on the full, fair market assessment of their new commercial property.

14. What are the next steps in this project?