Twenty-five households now have homes in Putney village, and it took a long fight to get there.
Windham & Windsor Housing Trust and Evernorth celebrated the grand opening of the Alice Holway Drive Apartments on Sept. 30 with a community celebration and ribbon cutting. The co-owners and co-developers built 25 new, highly energy-efficient, permanently affordable apartments, according to the housing trust's announcement.
Five of the apartments are set aside for households experiencing or at risk of homelessness, with Southeast Vermont Community Action providing services. The trust's SASH For All program offers services and programming to all residents who want to take part.
"We got the phone call that we were able to move in, that we were no longer homeless, and our combined nervous systems just relaxed," Stormy, a resident, said at the celebration. "It was the most amazing feeling."
Four cases, two years
The road to opening day was rough. The project got its permit from the Town of Putney in 2022, and that permit was appealed to the Environmental Court and the Vermont Supreme Court. An appeal of the Act 250 jurisdictional opinion followed in both courts, for a total of four cases that delayed construction by two years, the trust said.
Courts sided with the developers in each case and cleared the way for the project in late 2024, Vermont Public reported. Neighbors raised concerns including traffic, the town's shortage of social services and what they saw as a lack of public engagement.
The delay cost real money. The project's price tag grew by nearly 50%, from $10.3 million to $15.3 million, Elizabeth Bridgewater, the housing trust's executive director, told Vermont Public. Even as the trust tweaked its designs to save money, interest rates and construction costs climbed while the project sat stalled, and the developers spent $85,000 on legal fees fighting the appeals.
"It's not right that one person can derail the sentiment of the whole community," Bridgewater told the station.
The apartments use ground-source heat pumps and solar energy, and an extremely tight thermal shell keeps the building's carbon footprint low. Evernorth's Kathy Beyer said the geothermal heating and cooling and robust shell help the buildings avoid 92 tons of carbon a year.
Vermont Integrated Architecture designed the project, and ReArch Company provided construction management.
The developers' announcement puts total funding and financing at about $15 million. Evernorth's 481 Fund II, with TD Bank, provided $8.6 million in federal tax credit equity, administered by the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, plus $525,000 in federal investment tax credits. VHFA added $700,000 in Local Investment Advisory Committee funds and $400,000 in Housing Investments for Vermont funding. The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board contributed more than $4 million, including $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act money. The state's Recovery & Revitalization Program provided $500,000, and TD Bank provided the $8 million construction loan.
The homes sit next to the community gardens and farmers market in Putney village, and Alice Holway Drive will be served by the MOOver, a Southeast Vermont Transit commuter line with two morning and two afternoon routes between Brattleboro and Bellows Falls. The site was once part of former Gov. George Aiken's wildflower nursery. The Brattleboro Housing Partnership awarded the project eight rental-assistance vouchers. A mural by local artist Briony Morrow-Cribbs will soon be installed on the exterior wall of 50 Alice Holway Drive.
Why it matters for Contractors
Putney is a case study in what appeals cost. A two-year delay pushed the budget up by roughly $5 million, according to the trust's director, as rates and construction prices climbed. For contractors, that's a reminder that a bid priced before the lawyers get involved may look very different by the time a shovel hits the ground.
Lawmakers are paying attention. Heading into a new legislative session, they are considering "model codes" or "by-right zoning" that aim to streamline permitting and avoid project-by-project fights, Vermont Public reported. Legislators and housing officials have looked at limiting appeals for years but haven't yet agreed on an approach, the station reported. For builders, the outcome will shape how long projects like this sit on the shelf.
There's still plenty of demand. A 2025 town housing assessment found Putney needs 80 more homes, 44 for owners and 36 rentals, by the end of the decade, according to Vermont Public.