Kick-off Event
Article appeared in the Mountain Gazette.
What was all the excitement on Friday September 8th behind the fire station in Underhill?
It was the kick-off of the completion of phase one of Harvest Crossing.
What is Harvest Crossing?
Harvest Crossing is a vision of the United Church of Underhill partnered with Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity to provide perpetually affordable homes for families in Underhill. This vision includes 7 single family homes and 1 duplex which will be available to qualified families in the 8.6 acres behind the United Church of Underhill.
The initiative includes three phases. Phase 1 is the purchase of the property. Phase 2 is preparing the property for building and Phase 3 is the building and welcoming the new neighbors.
Phase 1 has included working for three years to prepare the property to ensure the land will be buildable. Research into available funding to help pay for the property and required property evaluations were included in Phase 1. To be eligible for government grants and funding, the following were completed: wetland delineation, archeological survey, assessment of property value. Additionally a website was built and a preliminary engineering site sketch was completed.
The event on September 7th celebrated the milestones and people who helped accomplish finishing the first phase. Speakers at the event included: Erhard Mahnke, Senator Bernie Sanders' staff; Vermont Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale; Elizabeth Egan, General Counsel, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board; Alex Farrell, Deputy Commissioner, VT Department of Housing and Community Development; Sean Thomas, VT Director, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Dan Steinbauer, Chairperson, Underhill Selectboard, Dave Mullen from Green Mountain habitat for Humanity; and Dave Clift, Co-chair of the Harvest Crossing Planning Team. Many others who have helped and plan to help to realize the vision for Harvest Crossing were in attendance. All the people in attendance were excited to be part of the future of Harvest Crossing.
Phase 2 will include: meeting with the neighbors, working with the town to plan the subdivision, pursuing state and local permits, finalizing plans with McCain Associates, our engineering firm. We will continue pursuing fundraising from our local community and obtaining grants from other public funding to achieve the $600,000 goal. This money will be used to offset the costs of installing infrastructure.
Phase 3 will be turning over the land to Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity, building the homes and welcoming the new neighbors. The building of the homes will require hundreds of volunteer hours to complete the homes for new families.
UCU is a combined United Methodist and United Church of Christ congregation that hosts the popular Old Fashioned Harvest Market, always the last full weekend in September. This year the market will be September 23rd and 24th. Green Mountain Habitat for Mountain Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope. Their vision includes a world where everyone has a decent and affordable place to live, homes, communities, and hope.