This is the third of a new blog post series exploring promising solutions for addressing our region’s housing crisis, at all scales and in all communities. Not everyone needs to be a housing expert in order to advocate for housing in their community – but Vital Communities and the White River Valley Consortium believe that a broader discussion of housing strategy, with those who know their own communities and their own experiences best, is essential for finding the right solutions. See the whole series here!
Nick Clark of Thetford, VT wants us to rethink our assumptions about what we mean when we say “affordable housing.” To Clark (above left), affordability is only one aspect of housing. A more livable housing situation, however, is not just affordable but safe, comfortable, accessible, and sustainable. This holistic value is the inspiration behind the Livable Real Estate Cooperative – a cooperative organization founded by Clark and a small board of directors in 2021 to address the Upper Valley’s heightening housing crisis.
One of those board members, Conicia “CJ” Jackson (above right), believes this crisis needs community-based solutions. “There is just the need for housing everywhere you go,” says Jackson, “and it’s important that we develop properties with the community in mind.” Jackson, Clark, and the rest of the Livable board believe a cooperative model is an effective solution for meeting the Upper Valley’s housing needs in this community-minded way.
Flagship Projects
An architectural sketch for the ADU that Livable is bulding in Hartford.
With 60 member-owners and growing, the cooperative is slowly making a dent in the housing market with a couple of projects in the works. The first is their pilot ADU project in Wilder, VT. Acting as the developer of the project, Livable is building an accessory dwelling unit for the current homeowners of the property to rent out. An aspect of this project is that it received a $50,000 Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP) Grant, which means that the rent for the unit will be capped at fair market value for 5 years.
Members also met last month and unanimously agreed to move forward with the purchase of Livable’s second project – a multi-unit complex in East Thetford. The Coop is currently under contract and planning to close at the end of December. In order to do this, however, Livable must continue to raise funds. Interested individuals and organizations can pledge to become a member, and the Coop is also soliciting $1000 loans from member- owners at up to 5% interest for those who want to make a small investment in the project. Livable aims to raise at least $85,000 for the project. Click here to contribute!
Creating and Preserving Affordable Housing
What is interesting about Livable’s first two projects is that they are taking a combined approach to development that needs to be scaled up to the regional level. That approach is to think about both creating and preserving affordable housing. With the Wilder ADU project, Livable is adding an affordable unit to our region’s much-needed housing stock. With the East Thetford project, the goal is to preserve and expand upon existing housing stock that is falling into disrepair (as opposed to demolishing the housing and clearing the land for commercial development).
There is plenty of space in the Upper Valley for this kind of incremental development. Many existing lots have space for an ADU if town zoning allows for them. There is also space within existing buildings to either add more units or bring offline units back to the rental market through much-needed repairs.
Many of the people in the Upper Valley that we talk to about our housing work express a deep desire to “do something” about the problem; Livable has offered a model for just that. Housing development has a high cost and is complicated to deploy, but through a cooperative model, members can crowd-source both the funds as well as the decision-making behind projects. It is for these reasons and more that Vital Communities became an organizational member and is encouraging individuals and organizations throughout the Upper Valley to do likewise.
For more information and to become a member visit www.livable.coop.
The Vital Communities Housing Team
Published 12/14/22