Why It Matters
A new residential building in Waterbury, Vermont is bringing mixed-income housing to a downtown parcel that spent more than a decade as a parking lot after flood damage gutted the structure that once stood there. The project addresses Vermont’s broader housing shortage while targeting residents who face the greatest barriers to stable housing.
What Happened
Marsh House Apartments held its opening Wednesday in downtown Waterbury, adding 26 units to the town’s central corridor. Downstreet Housing & Community Development and Evernoth jointly developed the three-story building, which sits along both the town’s primary commercial street and an active bus route.
Eight of the 26 units carry dedicated affordability and support designations: three are earmarked for residents with intellectual or developmental disabilities, and five are reserved for people currently experiencing homelessness or at significant risk of it. Two nonprofit organizations — Upper Valley Services and Good Samaritan Haven — will deliver ongoing resident support services to qualifying tenants.
The complex takes its name from James Marsh, considered the town’s first permanent settler, who arrived in the 18th century. His son is believed to have occupied the same parcel of land where the building now stands.
The site carries a difficult recent history. Tropical Storm Irene struck Vermont in 2011, and the municipal offices then occupying the lot sustained severe flood damage. The building was later razed, and the cleared land remained a surface parking area for years. In 2022, voters in Waterbury’s downtown utility district authorized the sale of that lot to the development partners, allowing the project to move forward.
A single mother and her children, who had recently been without stable housing, are among the building’s first residents. Angie Harbin, executive director of Downstreet, described the family’s situation as central to the project’s mission: “Because there was a home available, we were able to help that family move from crisis into housing.”
By the Numbers
- 26 total residential units across three floors
- $15.3 million total development cost, approximately $588,000 per unit
- $960–$1,980 monthly rent range depending on unit type
- 3 units designated for residents with intellectual or developmental disabilities
- 5 units set aside for individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness
Design and Resilience
Flood mitigation shaped key design decisions. The structure sits elevated above grade with no basement, and only part of the associated parking area falls within the mapped flood zone. The property reported no flood-related damage during either 2023 or 2024, years that brought significant precipitation events to central Vermont.
The building runs entirely on electric utilities and includes a rooftop solar array, features the development team positioned as tools for keeping long-term operating costs manageable for residents at lower income levels.
Local reception was not uniformly positive during the planning process. Residents living near the site raised concerns at public hearings about the building’s aesthetic design and construction-related noise, though those objections did not prevent the project from proceeding after voter approval in 2022.
Zoom Out
Vermont Housing Commissioner Alex Farrell attended Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting and praised the community’s willingness to see the development through. “Thank you, Waterbury,” Farrell said, as quoted in remarks reported at the opening. “You’re proving with a building like this that it looks great, that this is just what we need in Vermont.”
Vermont is among several states where housing supply constraints have become a sustained policy challenge. Rural construction costs present a distinct obstacle — the roughly $588,000 per-unit price tag at Marsh House reflects conditions common to smaller New England markets, where labor, land, and materials costs often push per-unit figures well above national averages.
Mixed-income models that bundle market-rate and subsidized units within a single building have gained traction across the country as one method for spreading development costs while limiting the geographic concentration of poverty. The Marsh House model, which layers supportive services atop subsidized units, follows a pattern being replicated in other high-cost, low-inventory states.
What’s Next
With construction complete and the first tenants moved in, the immediate priority shifts to filling remaining units and activating resident services. Downstreet and its nonprofit partners have not announced a target date for reaching full occupancy, but the support arrangements with Upper Valley Services and Good Samaritan Haven are structured to be operational from the building’s opening day.