A generation ago, a federal housing program was created that gave property owners financial incentives to rent their apartments to low-income tenants. The 30-year contracts in that program are ending, and that puts a question mark on the future of thousands of subsidized housing units across Vermont. The sale of two such buildings in Burlington was just negotiated, but they are among 2,600 housing units across the state that could potentially cease to be affordable housing in the next several years.
Seven Days columnist Shay Totten explains how the two buildings in Burlington were preserved for affordable housing, and then we talk about the broader statewide issues with Vermont Housing Authority director Richard Williams, and Sarah Carpenter, who heads up the Vermont Housing Finance Agency. We also hear from Gus Seeling, the director of the Vermont Housing Conservation Board.