Airport Road Proposals Reviewed as Housing Task Force Delays Recommendation
The Housing Task Force completed its review of all three development proposals for the Airport Road property and began the difficult work of weighing urgency against long-term outcomes. Discussions focused on housing affordability, infrastructure costs, zoning constraints, and how different development models would meet the town’s documented need for workforce housing. Members also raised concerns about long-term affordability, resale restrictions, and whether proposals aligned with the community’s income realities and housing cost burdens. While there was consensus that action is needed quickly, the task force determined that additional clarity—particularly around legal authority, affordability safeguards, and evaluation criteria—was necessary before making a formal recommendation to the Selectboard. The decision to delay reflects a commitment to moving forward responsibly while recognizing that continued inaction carries real consequences for residents.
“I don’t want to make the wrong decision but I also don’t want to delay because we’ll always find something.”
Reposted from Manchester Journal
MANCHESTER — The Manchester Housing Task Force conducted the third of a series of interviews with housing developers, listening to the final proposal from a Manchester-based construction and development business, Herrmann Construction on Thursday.
“The property that we are discussing is the Airport Road parcel,” explained Manchester Housing Task Force Chairman Jonathan Jonathan West. “It is roughly 60.15 acres. It is mostly wooded. There are 6.8 acres that are subject to a conservation easement. It is owned MU-2, or mixed use [zoning], one dwelling per 4,000 square feet, and allows single, double, and multi-family development. Minimum lot size is about a quarter acre.”
MU-2 zoning is intended to provide a blended community, with affordable housing and non-residential or commercial use creating an inviting, walkable, and immersive community.
According to the Herrmann proposal – the group being heard that evening – whose information was submitted to the Task Force beforehand, the company proffered a development of approximately 40 houses on 20 acres of the Airport Road property. Each house would be between 800 and 1,000 square feet in size, with an estimated $258,000-plus asking price.
The prior proposal of DEW Properties, presented to the Housing Task Force on July 10 by chairman and founder Donald Wells of Williston, proposed a development of an indeterminate number of houses, grouped together to make best use of the sometimes steeply sloped property. In their presentation, they estimated that the low end of a 900-1,000 square foot dwelling might be listed at $275,000, with “some commercial space.” The company did not provide specifics in their proposal, instead promoting their past projects as an example of their success.
Infrastructure costs associated with the project were also discussed at the DEW Properties proposal, as groups discussed whether or not the projected home costs would include the costs of roadways, sewer lines, water lines, and power lines – or just the costs of the dwelling.
DEW, for example, suggested that it was too early to tell if those costs would fall on the consumer or the town or be included in the total home price. DEW also felt that it was too early to propose a timeline of the builds, and that it might need to be completed in stages. DEW is not new to the Manchester community, having developed construction at BBA with their new Founders Hall, and their current brew pub project adjacent to the Hampton Inn and Suites.
The prior proposal of Manchester Integrated Housing Initiative, LLC, a partnership that includes Paul Carroccio, an owner of the local real estate firm TPW Management and TPW Real Estate, was presented to the Housing Task Force on July 17.
The Manchester Integrated Housing Initiative, proposed by Adam Kuperman and Steven Rosenberg, suggested a build of 300 units of housing – half of which would be multi-family multi-income rental apartments with about 20 percent reserved for workforce housing. The group suggested townhouse-style homes in the 2,000-4,000 square foot range with at least 10 homes built in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity.
A discussion of creating a land trust were also discussed, with members of the task force looking for further information. The development group also suggested that the town contribute $1 million toward infrastructure costs, but with a return on investment if the properties sold. This return on investment could be in receipt of 5 percent of the revenue from such sales, should the land be retained in the town’s ownership, leasing it to the development.
Manchester Housing Task Force members stressed the importance and need in the community for rapid development, as the community was “suffering.” Work force housing needed to be solved and resolved – and be within workforce price ranges.
In its July 10 meeting, board member Leon Ward noted the demand for housing that was under the $200,000 mark, as that was seen as a benchmark for what the community in need could afford.
The July 24 meeting began with West reiterating the needs of the community, and the project.
“The housing needs assessment that was addressed in 2024, which was a compilation between the state and local and county agencies, determined that the estimated six year target to address housing needs would be a rate of 200 units over six years, at a five year annual average of 13.2 permits per year in the town of Manchester,” said West. “We will not meet that target.”
West encouraged anyone to visit housingdata.org to take a look at the data for themselves, and analyze what they saw. Following questioning of the data, West cautioned that there was a distinct difference between median and average.
“This is a median income; this is not an average,” said West, encouraging those present to return to their eighth grade mathematics lessons and recall the difference between the two, and why it was important to the needs of the Manchester community. Median and average, West recalled, were both measures – but, median took out the top outliers – and, therefore, provided a far better representation of the community.
West reiterated that the town needed workforce housing, and that the cost could not exceed 30 percent of their income. For homeownership, that included the mortgage, taxes, and insurance; for renters, that included rent and utilities, he said.
Manchester, West noted, had 30 percent of its renting residents devoting over 30 percent of their income to housing, and an additional 19 percent of residents allocating over 50 percent of their income to housing. This is the reality of Manchester’s resident’s cost burden, he said.
The company presenting at the current Housing Task Force meeting was Airport Properties LLC, with the presentation conducted by Chris Ponessi of Mance Engineering and Brent Herrmann of Herrmann Construction. Ponessi had worked with Habitat for Humanity and was familiar with a number of housing projects in the area.
Herrmann Construction's Airport Properties LLC came in with a proposal for development on just a portion – just 20 of the 60 available acres – of the Airport Road property, in order to put in 40-50 single family homes on plots that were roughly a third of an acre in size each. This was strictly for homeownership, with no rentals.
“What that does is create more of a neighborhood feel, with property ownership at a relatively affordable price,” said Ponessi.
This, Ponessi said, would involve the infrastructure being brought in by the town and the on-site construction being done by the developer – Airport Properties, LLC. “The houses themselves would be within the 800-1,000 square foot range, and single story. They would have crawl space or slab on grade construction for the foundation, with multiple color choices. But, they’d be a ranch-style house with a 712 pitched roof.”
Each house would have between two and three bedrooms with one to two bathrooms, depending on the house size. The proposal could be altered as needs changed or developed – with or without solar panels on the roofs, and the issue of using heat pumps or propane was also deliberated.
“One of the biggest things is the creation of that neighborhood having yards that can be managed and taken care of, and not having it all maintained by a larger maintenance contractor or HOA with fees,” said Ponessi. “People can take pride in their own personal residences. At this time, it's planned to have gravel roadways, gravel driveways, grass-lined swales for storm water conveyances, and then obviously all the other infrastructure.”
Ponessi suggested a sales price of approximately $250,000-$275,000 per home, but noted that prices were always rising as costs of supplies like lumber rose with the market, "You know – the sooner something is done, the less expensive it would be done.”
Task Force member, John Watanabe, voiced concerns about how to keep the housing project affordable for the future. He recognized that any buyer could come in, live in the home for multiple years, and them resell it at a marked increase – this would undercut the town’s efforts to develop and sustain an affordable housing option for residents. They would, in essence, be right back where they started, with no affordable housing options in the area. They could not just “start over.”
Capping a resale at 3 percent gain was discussed, despite any equity building or upgrades or investments done by the homeowners. This, the developer suggested, would limit those interested in the properties to begin with. The task force members seemed to disagree, citing the incredible need within the community.
Other options were also discussed, even though they had more to do with the problems facing the Housing Task Force as far as the planning of how to keep the housing units affordable for the future than it did with the current proposal of Airport Properties LLC. Also discussed were potential heating sources, voltage available, and more.
West noted that time was of the essence, as housing became unsustainable. He told of yet another individual who had “devoted their life to this community” who was now facing a decision to stay or to move out of the community due to housing costs.
Initially, the task force wanted to discuss the three options that were presented over the month of July, and have a final decision ready for the Select Board by the end of the month. It was hoped that that decision could be made following this last presentation, but West suggested delaying the discussion to another session. Without getting into the specifics of each proposal, West suggested defining the criteria among the group.
Group members pointed out flaws in the various proposals and suggested finding the best parts of each plan, and then figuring out how to make that an affordable option, before moving forward.
West echoed those sentiments, saying that there were a few more details that were needed before the group could present a recommendation to the Select Board. He noted that the group “owed it to the community to move with some expediency,” as well.
He recognized that the group had met each week this month, but suggested that they continue to push onward at a steady clip. The next meeting was scheduled for Monday August 4 at 5:30 p.m. The goal of the next meeting would be to bring criteria forward, having criteria ready and submitted the week prior.
https://www.manchesterjournal.com/community-news/final-proposal-given-to-housing-task-force-but-recommendation-delayed/article_11383473-1938-44a5-b233-f2383df0f39c.html
As always, I can be reached directly at (802) 768-7900 or at west.j@manchester-vt.gov
