A Shelburne Success Story? Bay Ridge Offers Affordable Homes, But Sidesteps a Tougher Conversation
When broken down, the average cost to build each of these homes was approximately $584,000. This represents a premium of nearly 35% over the market rate.
A Shelburne Success Story? Bay Ridge Offers Affordable Homes, But Sidesteps a Tougher Conversation
The completion of the Bay Ridge neighborhood in Shelburne adds 94 affordable homes to a state facing a housing crisis. The $55 million project, built on the former site of an Econo Lodge motel, has been presented by officials as a model for future development. An examination of the project’s financing, the scale of the state’s housing shortage, and broader development discussions in the community provides additional context.
The High Cost of “Affordable”
The Bay Ridge project, developed by the Champlain Housing Trust and Evernorth, includes 68 rental apartments and 26 shared-equity condominiums. According to the housing trust, rents for a three-bedroom unit are set at $1,725, and the sale price for condominiums ranges from $170,000 to $190,000, providing housing options for families in Chittenden County.
The project was financed through a combination of sources, including federal Covid-era relief funds and over $14 million in federal tax credits, bringing the total cost to $55 million. The average construction cost per home was approximately $584,000.
By comparison, a private developer building a standard market-rate home would likely have a lower total project cost. Using Vermont’s median sale price of approximately $434,000 as a benchmark for a finished home from a private builder, the total development cost for each unit at Bay Ridge was $150,000 higher.
This represents a premium of nearly 35% over the market rate. This added cost is attributed to factors specific to publicly-funded projects, such as federally-mandated prevailing wages for labor, higher administrative costs from managing complex tax credits, and the legal framework required to ensure permanent affordability.
This figure can also be compared to pre-pandemic costs. A 2019 report by the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) found that the median per-unit development cost for similar affordable housing built between 2009 and 2018 was about $228,000. The higher cost for the Bay Ridge project is attributed to a combination of increased construction material prices, supply chain issues, and the financing structure required for affordable housing development. The upfront public and private investment subsidizes the rent and sale prices to make them accessible to lower and middle-income residents.
A Drop in a Very Large Bucket
The 94 homes at Bay Ridge are a contribution to the state’s housing inventory. The scale of the state’s need is detailed in the 2025-2029 Vermont Housing Needs Assessment. The VHFA report estimates that to achieve a healthy housing market, Vermont needs between 24,000 and 36,000 additional year-round homes by 2029.
The data indicates a need to increase the current pace of homebuilding across the state. In this context, projects like Bay Ridge are components of a larger effort to address the housing shortage.
The Missing Conversation: Growth in a Small Town
The Bay Ridge project was developed within the context of broader conversations about growth in Shelburne. Other large-scale housing proposals in the town have prompted public discussion among residents.
For instance, a separate proposal from a private developer for a different housing project has been the subject of local debate. According to reporting in Seven Days, some residents have voiced concerns about the potential impacts of large-scale growth on traffic, school enrollment, and infrastructure. Others have raised the topic of preserving the town’s character.
These discussions about how and where to build new housing are taking place in communities across Vermont as the state seeks to address its housing shortage. This broader debate about growth in Shelburne provides additional context for the Bay Ridge project.
Factors in Future Development
The completion of the Bay Ridge development highlights several key factors involved in Vermont’s efforts to address its housing needs. These factors are relevant to future projects and policy discussions across the state.
Financing and Costs: The reliance on a complex mix of public and private funding, along with the high per-unit construction costs, demonstrates the financial challenges of creating affordable housing.
Scale of Need: State-level data indicates a housing shortage in the tens of thousands of units, suggesting that a sustained and varied approach to development will be necessary.
Community Planning: The ongoing discussions in towns like Shelburne show that local planning, infrastructure capacity, and resident input are integral parts of the development process.
Navigating these interconnected issues of cost, scale, and community planning will be a central component of addressing Vermont’s housing situation. Meanwhile, one element seems clear enough: relying on private development to increase housing supply is a key requirement to achieve affordable housing across the state.
I'm not sure comparing new build costs in Chittenden County to the median price of all homes of all ages in all of Vermont is even remotely fair.