Category: Community Development Project: Historic Brooks House Redevelopment Project Location: 120-136 Main Street & 4 High Street Brattleboro, VT 05301 Status: Complete Cost: $23,642,039 Description: The historic Brooks House is an 80,000 square foot mixed-use building located in the geographic and historic heart of Brattleboro Vermont’s downtown. It is THE most prominent commercial property and architectural element in this rural community. Built in 1871, it was one of the most prominent luxury hotels in New England. A second life came to the Brooks House in the 1970s when the icon was saved from demolition and retrofitted into 59 residential apartments and 16 commercial spaces. In April 2011, a five-alarm fire gutted much of the building destroying the homes of over 80 people and several businesses. If the blow to the downtown via the fire wasn’t enough, Brattleboro then suffered losses through major flooding caused by Tropical Storm Irene that same year. After two years of sitting idle and increasing anxiety among the community, a group of five local citizens purchased the building and organized a multi-million dollar restoration plan. Resurrecting the Brooks House was essential to the health and viability of Brattleboro’s downtown but required a complex financing structure to make it possible. The $23 million project leveraged all possible sources - New Markets Tax Credits, Federal and State Historic Tax Credits, conventional financing, a state legislative appropriation, a community development block grant, town funding, individual investors, owner equity, and support from those near and far. The financing closed in July 2013. Completed just over a year later in October 2014, the project sponsors redeveloped the building to include an innovative mix of retail, office, education, and residential spaces. Key elements of the restoration include reconfiguring the upper stories to provide bigger apartments for different income levels, adding on to the mid-levels to serve as office and classroom space for education based tenants, and restoring the historic ground floor storefront space for retail tenants. Community Needs Addressed: “From my perspective it simply cannot be overstated the importance of the Brooks House coming back online. It has been three years since the fire and [Tropical Storm Irene] and in that time downtown businesses and the community as a whole have struggled.” Quote in 2014 by Patrick Moreland, the town of Brattleboro’s interim town manager. The 2011 fire left substantial roof, wall, water, and smoke damage throughout the building – displacing all its residential and commercial tenants. All that remained of this downtown icon was a hazardous, burned out, vacant, ghost-like shell. The boarded up building discouraged economic investment in the downtown and left gaps in needed community goods and services. Just four months after the fire almost razed the Brooks House to the ground, Tropical storm Irene and the flooding of the Whetstone Brook devastated Brattleboro leaving the core downtown under several feet of water resulting in a FEMA disaster declaration. Unfortunately Brattleboro wasn’t all that well off prior to these catastrophes. Brattleboro is located in a very rural area, in a census tract with an unemployment rate of 9.4%. NDC Academy 2015 Community Development Historic Brooks House Redevelopment Creating complexity in the $23 million redevelopment of the Brooks House was that the building appraised as-stabilized value of $5.8 million was $17.2 million short of the amount required for its rehabilitation. The results were tight constraints in the borrowing capabilities of the project and a significant gap in the financing structure. To close the gap, a complex, multi-layered financing package of federal and state tax credits, private investors, grants, state and local funds, and traditional debt was necessary. But the owner had little interest in taking on the complex redevelopment. Benefits and Outcome: Complete and occupied by October 2014 the reinstated Brooks House now brings in over 350 students and faculty through anchor tenants Vermont Technical College and Community College of Vermont, residents from 23 mixed income apartments, retail and restaurant customers through the five ground floor commercial retail tenants and up to three restaurateurs, and employees through the one additional office tenant. Five of the twenty-three apartments are rented to households earning less than 80% of the area median income, where rents charged will not exceed 30% of 80% of the area median income. The new Brooks House impressively welcomes residents and visitors with its modern amenities alongside its restored historical façade. The façade, windows, storefronts, turret, and slate roofing were preserved through federal and state Historic Tax Credits. Inside, the building is high performing with new insulation, air sealing, windows, water source heat pumps for heating and cooling, energy efficient lighting and equipment, full ADA accessibility, and high speed, fiber optic internet access. Restoration of the building brings the downtown better access to education, food, goods, and services while serving as a catalyst for stabilization. It is estimated that the revitalized Brooks House will bring in significantly more tax revenue than the building did before the April 2011 fire. In addition to the preservation of this historic icon, new jobs in the core downtown (estimated at 100) will result through the new businesses, restaurants and higher education institutions tenants of the new Brooks House. New mixed income housing in a tight rental market with five affordable apartments will breathe new life into the economically challenged downtown. And lastly, the project serves to promote continued investment as the community tries to remain tall during the closure of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, a major employer, and its loss of associated jobs. Project Collaborators: The project sponsor, Mesabi LLC, is comprised of 5 individual civic leaders, all of whom reside and/or grew up in Brattleboro and are active within their community. This group stepped forward when it became evident that the existing owner was not prepared to undertake the complex redevelopment and assemble the multi-layered financing package necessary to rehabilitate the structure and realize the buildings potential. The project financing required a high level of dedicated cooperation and communication among numerous partners and collaborators. Vermont Rural Ventures (VRV) partnered with the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC) to provide $23 million in New Markets Tax Credit authority. Federal historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits were also part of the complex, twinned transaction. Additional partners in the $23 million development include U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, Mascoma Savings Bank, the Brattleboro Savings and Loan, the Vermont Economic Development Authority, Brattleboro Development Corporation, the town of Brattleboro, and Vermont Community Development Program, as well as up to 16 individual investors and the individual NDC Academy 2015 Community Development Historic Brooks House Redevelopment owners themselves. Furthermore, two local entities, Merchants Bank and Vermont Mutual, each purchased state historic tax credits further supplying much needed cash to the project. What Makes Your Project Unique? : The historic 80,000 square foot, mixed-use Brooks House itself is exceptional. However, it is the community support, varied sources of capital, and creative financing to bring diverse employers and services to Brattleboro’s downtown that makes this project unique. Sixteen Brattleboro residents, in addition to the owners, backed the project with investments of $25,000 or greater, amounting to an incredible $1,445,000. Strong community support is also demonstrated through legislative appropriation and commitment of Vermont State Colleges as anchor tenants. Town support is evidenced in the select board’s unanimous vote for tax stabilization, a $150,000 loan, and an $800,000 community development block grant. This widespread community support shows the value Vermonters place on downtowns. Secondly, the sources of funding needed, beyond traditional financing, were significant. Market rate debt was not feasible nor supported by an appraisal. To work, the project needed to leverage all possible funding - federal rehabilitation tax credits, state historic tax credits, state economic development agency financing, federal Community Development Block Grant funds, a state appropriation, town loan, municipal tax stabilization, energy efficiency rebates, owner equity, local investors, and NMTC allocations from two CDEs. Thirdly, the Brooks House brings a diverse group of businesses to downtown Brattleboro, ranging from sole proprietors, to higher education institutions and restauranteurs. Tenants include the Community College of Vermont, the Vermont Technical College, Oak Meadow (home school curriculum), Duo Restaurant, Brilliance (retailer), and Wow Yogurt -- tenants who will bring an estimated 100 jobs to downtown. Lastly, before the 2011 fire the Brooks house housed substandard 59 efficiency units. The 23 new residential units consist of a mixture of units and people - with options of one, two or three bedroom apartments, five of which are reserved as affordable units for households earning less than 80% of the area median income. Organization’s Name: Vermont Rural Ventures Website: http://vermontruralventures.com/ Main Contact: Beth Boutin Email: [email protected] Phone Number: 1-802-863-8424 x210 NDC Academy 2015 Community Development Historic Brooks House Redevelopment NDC Academy 2015 Community Development Historic Brooks House Redevelopment $ $ $ $ Construction & Related Hard Costs Project Soft Costs Financing Costs Reserves Version: October 2014 $ Architectural, Engineering & Permitting Costs 23,642,039 1,522,377 947,414 1,249,010 16,457,300 1,102,277 2,363,661 Amount Project Name: Brooks House Project Contact: Submission Category: Total Uses of Funds $ $ Acquisition Costs Use Uses of Funds $ $ Stock Efficiency Vermont & Miscellaneous Grants 23,642,039 83,364 Total Uses = Total Sources Total Sources of Funds $ 11,167,315 $ 101,010 482,350 $ Merchants Bank State Historic Tax Credit Equity US Bancorp NMTC and Federal Historic Tax Credit Equity 667,000 1,000,000 $ $ 150,000 2,000,000 800,000 1,391,000 5,800,000 Amount Mesabi Owner Equity Richards Personal Loan $ $ Vermont State Appropriation via Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation Town of Brattleboro Loan $ $ $ Community Development Block Grant Vermont Economic Development Authority Loan Mascoma Savings Bank Loan Source Sources of Funds PROJECT SOURCES & USES OF FUNDS NDC Academy 2015 Community Development Historic Brooks House Redevelopment
© Copyright 2024