I love when you share updates like this! I have read in the past that developers that have not completed lhitc deals are recommended to partner with previous winners in the state. To help bring their project to life. Have you searched for partners? If you have and not been successful why do you think this is?
Thanks for reading! That's certainly one avenue. Instead, we chose to bring on an experienced LIHTC developer as a consultant to help us navigate the process. This allows us to move a lot quicker and avoid a cumbersome partnership with a larger non-profit. At the end of the day, we know Fairlee really well and I feel we will be the best team to steward the property over the long term.
What you are doing for Fairlee is wonderful, Jonah. I know a lot can change between rendering and fact but I love what I have seen of the new buildings so far.
Great post, and more importantly, incredible diligence and perseverance. Kudos and thank you! I suspect another reason why the $ goes to more urban areas of VT is access to water and sewer. We've had this discussion before- septic systems take up too much land and cost too much to build and aren't feasible for larger developments.
You're doing the best working w/i the system, and as you say, it's costly and time-consuming. Given the federal budget deficit (1.8T in 24), the odds of these programs continuing in their current form seems low to me. We as a state and a country will need to come up with different methods altogether. I think manufactured structures using standard designs that are easy to asssemble with little waste (e.g. minimizing cutting of sheathing, flooring, etc) densely packed with adjacent open space and sewer/water connections is likely the more cost $ way to go. It's great to renovate older structures, but it'll always be very expensive and generally won't meet our energy reduction goals.
A lot of great points there. Waiting anxiously to see how funding is affected after the election.
I'm intrigued by panelization but haven't explored it in detail. Although we have another project coming up that I think could be a good candidate. Agreed though, renovations will never meet energy reduction goals. But, if you're strictly talking energy efficiency, there's something to be said about salvaging the embodied carbon of an existing building. From what I remember, embodied carbon takes the lions share of waste compared to operational carbon.
I'm not going to profess definitive knowledge, but I think the concrete is the biggest offender. The last several years we've seen a huge influx of ARPA and other COVID $. Even if things go back to pre-covid, federal $ will drop. It's politically difficult to raise taxes even on corporations and the wealthy, and we know 1 party has very limited interest in large gov't programs that tend to help lower income folks.
I love when you share updates like this! I have read in the past that developers that have not completed lhitc deals are recommended to partner with previous winners in the state. To help bring their project to life. Have you searched for partners? If you have and not been successful why do you think this is?
Thanks for reading! That's certainly one avenue. Instead, we chose to bring on an experienced LIHTC developer as a consultant to help us navigate the process. This allows us to move a lot quicker and avoid a cumbersome partnership with a larger non-profit. At the end of the day, we know Fairlee really well and I feel we will be the best team to steward the property over the long term.
Thank you for the updates. I'm excited that you'll be speaking to the town of Lyme next month about your successes and challenges.
Excited to be there!
Every time I read your posts I think I hope our legislators are reading this. You are truly making a difference.
Thank you! And I believe some do!
What you are doing for Fairlee is wonderful, Jonah. I know a lot can change between rendering and fact but I love what I have seen of the new buildings so far.
Thanks Miranda! It's awesome to have your support.
Great post, and more importantly, incredible diligence and perseverance. Kudos and thank you! I suspect another reason why the $ goes to more urban areas of VT is access to water and sewer. We've had this discussion before- septic systems take up too much land and cost too much to build and aren't feasible for larger developments.
You're doing the best working w/i the system, and as you say, it's costly and time-consuming. Given the federal budget deficit (1.8T in 24), the odds of these programs continuing in their current form seems low to me. We as a state and a country will need to come up with different methods altogether. I think manufactured structures using standard designs that are easy to asssemble with little waste (e.g. minimizing cutting of sheathing, flooring, etc) densely packed with adjacent open space and sewer/water connections is likely the more cost $ way to go. It's great to renovate older structures, but it'll always be very expensive and generally won't meet our energy reduction goals.
A lot of great points there. Waiting anxiously to see how funding is affected after the election.
I'm intrigued by panelization but haven't explored it in detail. Although we have another project coming up that I think could be a good candidate. Agreed though, renovations will never meet energy reduction goals. But, if you're strictly talking energy efficiency, there's something to be said about salvaging the embodied carbon of an existing building. From what I remember, embodied carbon takes the lions share of waste compared to operational carbon.
I'm not going to profess definitive knowledge, but I think the concrete is the biggest offender. The last several years we've seen a huge influx of ARPA and other COVID $. Even if things go back to pre-covid, federal $ will drop. It's politically difficult to raise taxes even on corporations and the wealthy, and we know 1 party has very limited interest in large gov't programs that tend to help lower income folks.
Time will tell!