Community Development

Staff:  susan Westa

Guided by its Community Development Committee, WRC works to help its member towns and the overall region on housing, community resources and economic development issues and projects.  WRC’s brownfields work is guided by the community development needs of the region.  

Recent efforts include helping towns in the region with planning for broadband fiber development and village center and downtown planning and revitalization.  WRC also actively participates in the Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategy (SEVEDS).

Community Development Models Webinar

Tripp Muldrow a principal in the firm Arnett Muldrow & Associates in Greenville, South Carolina, presented a webinar on October 28, 2020. Tripp shared community development models that he has used or seen successfully used in communities around the country including in Vermont. The models Tripp presented range from Main Street organizations including Vermont’s Designated Downtown and Village Center program to Community Development Corporations to informal partnerships, local revitalization investment groups, as well as the Orton Family Foundation’s Community Heart and Soul program and others.  You can view the webinar here.

Opportunity Zone Presentation

This presentation was shared at the Community Development Committee meeting on August 14, 2020 by Jessica Dominguez and Joe Ferrari from EPA Region 1. Opportunity Zones are an important redevelopment tool and can be combined with other financing, including brownfields funds, to close the funding gap and bring properties back to life.  Click here for the presentation.

A Downtown and Village Revitalization Resource

WRC, along with Bennington County Regional Commission, has developed a website, Strengthening Southern Vermont, to assist southern Vermont communities with downtown and village center revitalization. This website, developed with EDA Disaster Recovery Funds, provides a toolkit of information and resources to help communities build vibrancy and economic resiliency. Among the resources are links to useful guides and information, implementation strategies, funding sources, case studies, and government and non-profit entities that offer additional information.