Revitalizing Rutland: Local housers seek to rehab vacant properties for affordable housing

By James Kent

Affordable housing remains one of Vermont’s most pressing issues, and Rutland County is no exception. While much of the conversation focuses on building new housing, a group of local housing advocates known as “housers” is taking a different approach—revitalizing vacant and distressed properties to bring them back online.

Rutland City alone has an estimated 240 vacant units, with 2,413 more throughout Rutland County that could be rehabilitated and turned into homes. Rather than waiting for large-scale development projects that can take years and come with high costs, these local advocates believe addressing the existing housing stock could provide a faster, more cost-effective solution to meet the growing demand for affordable and transitional housing.

Still, challenges remain without state and local support and without a clear roadmap on how to locate these available units. A recent state study on the feasibility of a Vermont land bank may offer some solutions, potentially creating a dedicated entity to acquire and revitalize abandoned or tax-delinquent properties for community use.

Building a coalition for housing solutions

At a Partners in Housing meeting held at Downtown Rutland’s HuB CoWorks on Friday, Jan. 31, local leaders, housers, developers, and wrappers (agencies that assist those in need of housing) gathered to discuss solutions. Stephen Box, a Rutland City-based housing advocate, led the discussion alongside Mike Waugh of Verent Solutions and Scott Graves, a developer focused on financing solutions for housing projects.

Box emphasized the critical role of small-scale landlords and community-driven investment:

“In the state of Vermont, 80% of the housing is owner-occupied. Of the remaining 20%, 80% of that is mom-and-pop landlords. In other words, mom-and-pop landlords are providing the bulk of affordable housing. And yet, 80% of the funding goes to the nonprofits. How can that be?”

The disparity between funding sources and who is providing housing raises key questions about how to support small-scale developers and landlords actively bringing units back online.

Rutland City Mayor Michael Doenges, who attended the meeting, acknowledged the scale of Vermont’s housing crisis.

“When people talk about affordable housing, they’re usually talking about government-funded, federally-financed housing that costs about $450 a square foot to build right now,” Doenges said. “It’s extremely expensive. Today, I just had two different conversations with people that are looking to build under $200 a square foot, and that gets into the ‘somewhat reasonable for today’ category. And I know there’s ways to do it for less than that as well.”

This high cost of construction makes rehabilitating vacant properties an attractive alternative, particularly if public-private partnerships or a land bank system can help reduce financial barriers for small-scale developers.

Identifying the obstacles to bringing housing online

One of the opening challenges in repurposing vacant housing is identifying property owners and determining whether they are willing to sell, renovate, or partner with developers.

“In Rutland, it’s not that we lack housing—it’s that a lot of it is offline. Some of these homes have been abandoned for years. Some are owned by out-of-state individuals who don’t even realize their properties have become rundown,” Box explained.

The recent Vermont Housing Needs Assessment found that 10,879 vacant and abandoned homes exist throughout the state, representing 3% of Vermont’s housing stock. Additionally, the state estimates that 24,000 to 36,000 homes need to be added by 2029 to meet housing demand.

As explored in the state’s recent study under Act 181 of 2024, a proposed Vermont Land Bank could help facilitate acquiring and redeveloping these vacant homes—not just in Rutland but across Vermont. Land banks have proven successful in other states, allowing communities to:

Acquire vacant and tax-delinquent properties.

Repurpose abandoned homes and commercial buildings for housing.

Support economic development by stabilizing neighborhoods.

If implemented, a land bank in Vermont could offer a structured way to support housing advocates in Rutland, making it easier to turn distressed properties into livable spaces.

Connecting housing stakeholders

To address the immediate challenges in Rutland, Partners in Housing aims to create a database of vacant properties, track their ownership status, and develop partnerships to bring these homes back online. The database is a first step in a larger strategy, which includes:

Coordinating with local and state officials to identify priority properties.

Developing financial incentives for small-scale landlords and developers to take on rehab projects.

Exploring how a potential Vermont land bank could complement local housing efforts.

Mike Waugh of Verent Solutions presented a technology-driven platform designed to streamline the rental and tenant support process, including:

Connecting landlords, tenants, and social service organizations.

Reducing paperwork and administrative burdens for rental assistance programs.

Providing real-time data on available housing units.

Ensuring fair and accessible lease agreements.

“Part of the problems in relation to the ability for wrappers to be able to provide the support that’s needed is that these wrappers tend to be siloed, they tend to be fragmented, the systems that they use tend to be complicated to navigate… There’s intense case management needs,” Waugh said.

Waugh emphasized that Rutland could serve as a model for how small cities can revitalize housing stock through better coordination and technology. “We want to make products and services that enable you guys to meet the need and bring these units back online,” he added.

Scott Graves, an economic developer who specializes in securing financial backing for housing projects, pointed out that most affordable housing in Vermont is provided by small, independent landlords—not large developers.

To better support local investment, Graves proposed creating investment pools where small-scale landlords and investors can finance property rehabilitation together.

If established, a Vermont Land Bank could further bolster these efforts by creating a dedicated, sustainable funding source to assist small landlords and developers in bringing properties back into the housing market.

“If Vermont adopted a land bank model, it could help smaller communities achieve their economic development goals,” said Vermont Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein.

Finding a sustainable funding source for such an initiative remains a key challenge, but if implemented correctly, it could significantly enhance efforts like those underway in Rutland.

For more information, visit: partnersinhousingvt.com.