Vermont gets $30 million for housing and economic development

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(Host) Vermont will qualify for $30 million from the U.S. Treasury to help support housing and economic development.

Nationally, $3 billion in stimulus money will be spent on what’s called the "New Market Tax Credit Program."

Senator Patrick Leahy worked to get the money included in the stimulus because there were Vermont projects that could benefit.

Ken Sassarossi is a vice president at Housing Vermont.

He says his agency used the tax credit program to help redevelop an old mill building in Richford.

(Sassarossi) "In the Richford example, one of those four floors in the mill that was renovated with New Market Tax Credits was used for affordable housing. But the thrust of the project was a mixed-use in which only a quarter of the building was used for affordable housing."

(Host) Now, there’s also a grocery store and a community health center in the building.

In Burlington, the Champlain Housing Trust built a similar project in a poor neighborhood. Half of the new building is apartments and the rest is offices.

Sassarossi says a number of other projects around Vermont could also benefit from the tax credits.

(Sassarossi) "When the Vermont application was ranked, it scored highly, but when it was ranked vis a vis the other applications, Treasury ran out of money before Vermont got its application. When the stimulus bill was passed, there was about a billion and a half dollars nationwide that allowed Treasury to go back and fund those high-scoring applications submitted in 2008, which there wasn’t enough money back then to fund."

(Host) State officials say between six and 12 projects could qualify for the renewal of the tax credits.

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