By Lynne McCrea. VPR News, February 1, 2013.
The town of Waterbury just got a boost in its efforts to recover from Tropical Storm Irene.
The Vermont Housing & Conservation Board has awarded two nonprofit housing groups more than $1 million in state and federal funds to buy and reconfigure a former state office building that has sat vacant since the 2011 storm.
The project will create 27 new affordable apartments on Main Street, in the downtown. VHCB’s Polly Nichol says the Waterbury proposal had many of the things they’re looking for in a project. “You know, reusing an existing building, location in downtown, rebuilding after the flood, a strong market where there’s a need for affordable housing. It just hit a lot of our priorities.”
Nichol says the site of the new project is not in the flood plain, and the only reason the building flooded during Irene was because of water getting into a basement tunnel system that was connected to other state buildings.
Link to VPR News story
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