Converted motel offers affordable rentals in South Burlington

The 1950s-era Ho Hum Motel underwent nine months of reconstruction to open a doorway to permanent and affordable housing for those in need.

Now called Braeburn Apartments, it encompasses 20 fully refurbished and furnished apartments now available to rent to people experiencing homelessness or currently living in unstable housing.

It’s the latest motel-to-homes conversion for Champlain Housing Trust, which develops and oversees affordable residential projects in northwestern Vermont. Braeburn is the ninth motel property acquired and converted into more sustainable housing.

Compared to constructing a new building from scratch, renovations of former lodgings are less costly in time and budget. Champlain Housing Trust says that each room costs less than half the price of a newly constructed apartment, helping to keep the rentals more affordable.

“We wanted to be able to create places that people can feel at home,” Chris Donnelly, director of community relations for Champlain Housing Trust, said.

This week, the Vermont organization received a $20 million donation from MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist and ex-wife of Amazon.com owner Jeff Bezos, to fund more such projects. Champlain Housing Trust is considering ways to use these new funds to address South Burlington’s housing shortage.

Chris Trombly, chairman of the South Burlington Affordable Housing Committee, called the donation an “incredible opportunity to have a lasting impact on the community.” Even with the large sum, Trombly said, the housing crisis has grown exponentially since the COVID-19 pandemic and needs extensive funds to solve.

“People don’t understand how expensive it is to support the housing program,” he said. “But it’s one step forward.”

A project like Braeburn requires financing not only from large donors but also the state and federal governments.

“Every dollar matters to get the project across the finish line,” Trombly said. Efforts such as improved zoning, strategic timing of construction and proper distribution of money can help control costs, he added.

Champlain Housing Trust acquired the Ho Hum Motel in South Burlington in 2020 and repurposed it for homeless people to quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early this year, the trust began renovating the two motel buildings, which stand in an L-shape on Route 2, to turn 36 motel rooms into 20 one-bedroom-one-bathroom apartments, equipped with all appliances and furniture.

Monthly rent will account for no more than 30 percent of a tenant’s income, and the Burlington Housing Authority will pick up the rest of the tab. The authority provides rental assistance to those at risk of losing their housing.

Champlain Housing Trust will cover all standard utilities — gas, electricity and water service — to avoid the chance of those necessities getting cut off.

Javier Garcia, the project developer for Champlain Housing Trust, managed the demolition of the motel and the construction of improved ventilation, insulation and heating for energy efficiency, which he considers a crucial part of creating homes for new tenants. A property manager and a service coordinator will be responsible for maintenance requests, event planning and the facilitation of food and health benefits to residents.

The apartments, with limited space, will house mostly individuals or couples who can share a room. To apply, potential tenants go through a coordinated entry system, and homeless shelters will connect with service providers to find individuals who need low-cost housing.

Once referred to the housing trust, they fill out a housing voucher before moving in. With a housing voucher, low-income citizens can request approval for rental assistance from the property owner.

A critical lack of affordable housing is a driving factor of homelessness in South Burlington and the larger community, said Rebekah Mott, development and communications director for the Committee on Temporary Shelter, or COTS, based in Burlington. As part of the coordinated entry system, COTS partners with Champlain Housing Trust and other organizations to help clients navigate to a sustainable and affordable living situation.

“There are not enough shelter beds for people who are experiencing homelessness,” Mott said. For COTS, Braeburn and other recent projects mark a significant improvement on this crisis, compared with the bottleneck that slowed progress for getting people places to live during the pandemic, she said.

Even so, she added, “the rate of development of permanent and affordable units is not on track to meet the need we’re seeing.”

Donnelly estimated that Champlain Housing Trust has created 2,600 apartments mostly for individuals to end their homelessness. An additional 500 homes are in development.

The trust’s latest focus is on reversing the increase in Vermont’s homeless population following the pandemic and moving those displaced into a permanent home. It’s equally important, Donnelly said, to break through the stigma surrounding homelessness and “demonstrate that these are members of our community that need something different.”

Any individual can suffer “a change in financial circumstances or a change in personal health” that causes them to lose stable housing, Trombly said. In many cases, those circumstances are out of their control, which the city’s affordable housing committee recognizes, he said.

“These are our neighbors,” Trombly said. “It could be our own children in the future. As a community, we have to do it together. We don’t leave folks behind.”

Jonah Frangiosa is a reporter with the Community News Service, a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.