LONDONDERRY, Vt. – Martha Dale and Patty Eisenhaur, cochairs of the Mountain Towns Housing Project (MTHP) Steering Committee, are excited to announce the completion of the Bob Perry Lane House, and the transfer of ownership to Kara Corlew. The closing took place on March 1, and the family moved into the house shortly thereafter.
Cynthia Gubb, MTHP fundraising chair, stated, “We are first and foremost deeply grateful to Don and Deb Hazelton, who donated the land for the project and put countless hours into managing and participating in the construction process. Without their leadership, this project would not have gotten off the ground.”
The Hazeltons shared their sentiments about the project, and stated, “We are proud to be part of a church and a community that was able to work together to build an affordable home for a working Londonderry family. We have been very blessed living and working in this area, and are grateful for this opportunity to pay it forward.”
Gubb continued, “MTHP is also incredibly thankful for the almost 200 individual donors, organizations, foundations, and businesses who made a gift in support of this project. This includes the Wantastiquet Rotary Club, and local contractors such as Hunter Excavating, Homestead Landscaping, Wadsworth Design Build, Frost Wells & Pumps, Record Concrete, Brown Enterprises, Vermont Foam Insulation, Marquise & Morano LLC, Precision Plumbing and Heating, Gary Barton, Brown Dog Builders, LBL Fabrications, and Weston Island Logging, who have contributed or pledged services to help complete the project.”
She continued, “In addition, we are deeply appreciative of the support of the Town of Londonderry for providing an ARPA grant, and two state agencies who also provided grants to this project: the Vermont Housing Finance Agency with a “Missing Middle” grant, and the Vermont Housing Conservation Board. Windham and Windsor Housing Trust, specifically Bruce Whitney, provided untold hours of technical advice along with taking on this property as a shared equity home in the WWHT portfolio to ensure its perpetual affordability. We would also like to thank the Community Fund for Londonderry for providing a low-interest bridge loan while we completed our fundraising efforts.”
Gubb concluded, “We are extremely grateful to the Second Congregational Church for spearheading the project, providing us with a nonprofit umbrella to work under, a loan, and a major gift to get the ball rolling. And last but certainly not least, our volunteer crew who put in hundreds of hours of labor, needs to be fully acknowledged and thanked, for without their day-to-day efforts, the house would still be a shell.” For a full listing of the project supporters, please visit our website at www.mountaintownshousing.org.
“This has been an amazing project from start to finish, and it has taken three years to get to this point,” stated Eisenhaur. “We are so happy to be able to hand over the keys to the house to Kara, especially since she has put many hours of sweat equity into the project, even before her family was selected to purchase the home. We are also incredibly proud of our local community for providing financial and volunteer support, whether through outright gifts to the project, through donations of products and services, or the many hours of volunteer labor. You helped make this dream a reality.”
She continued, “Limited workforce housing continues to be a big challenge in our community, and our plan is to reinvest the funds we received at closing into another project. We are going to take a little time to review the process and determine if there is a more efficient way to accomplish our goal of providing affordable housing options one home at a time.”
In closing, please consider that a home in these mountain towns shouldn’t be a privilege, but a reality that’s within the reach of working families. Thanks to your help, the Bob Perry Lane House is now going to be the home of Kara Corlew and her children. With deepest appreciation, we congratulate and thank our community for all that you have done to make this project happen.
The Mountain Towns Housing Project has reached its final fundraising goal for this house. If you would like to make a gift in support of our next project, please make your check payable to “Mountain Towns Housing Project,” and mail it to P.O. Box 538, Londonderry, VT 05148. You can also make a gift online by visiting the website of the Second Congregational Church at secure.myvanco.com/YGY2/home, and click on “Mountain Towns Housing Project.”