News & Ideas

Press Releases | 6/26/23

Evernorth Closes Fourth Multi-Investor Fund

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2023

Evernorth closed its fourth multi-investor fund – Housing New England, Fund IV – on June 15, 2023.  This fund will provide equity to finance affordable housing in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

14 investors committed a total of $54,050,000 in equity making Housing New England, Fund IV (HNE Fund IV) a significant financial resource for the region’s critical affordable housing needs. HNE Fund IV’s investors include community, regional and national banks as well as one of the nation’s largest mortgage banking organizations.

“We raised capital from a wide-range of investors and new partners enabling us to expand our reach to preserve and create much-needed affordable housing in these unprecedented times,” said Nancy Owens, Co-President, Evernorth.

Press Releases | 4/17/23

Evernorth Receives Two Prestigious Energy Efficiency Awards from U.S. Department of Energy, Including New Energy Equity Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2023

Evernorth was recently honored with two prestigious energy efficiency awards from the U.S. Department of Energy for exceeding the performance criteria for building envelope performance and for energy equity. Laurentide Apartments received both Building Envelope Campaign Awards – the Novel 40 award and the inaugural Energy Equity award – for the newly constructed building located in Burlington, Vermont. Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) co-developed and is a co-owner of Laurentide Apartments in partnership with Evernorth.

Press Releases | 12/20/22

RuralEdge and Evernorth Celebrate Renovations and Construction Progress at Burkeland Lane

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2022

[West Burke, VT]  Evernorth and RuralEdge were joined by community members, funders and local elected officials on Friday afternoon to celebrate newly renovated buildings and significant progress to a newly constructed building on Burkeland Lane.

Burkeland Lane (formerly known as West Burke Housing and Pilgrim Manor) is a mixed-generation affordable housing property located in the heart of West Burke. West Burke village is a small, but thriving community fueled by tourism. The local rental market, like much of Vermont, has been affected by significant rent increases and the conversion of rental units into short-term rentals. These market realities make Burkeland Lane, which will remain permanently affordable, a critical community resource.

Press Releases | 12/12/22

Construction Begins on New Affordable Apartments for Families Experiencing Homelessness in Downtown Burlington

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2022

[Burlington, VT]  The Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) and Evernorth were joined by Mayor Miro Weinberger, funders, and community members to mark the start of construction of deeply affordable housing for 16 families currently living in emergency shelters or motels.

The new multifamily apartment building, named Main Street Family Housing, is being constructed on existing COTS property, adjoining their Main Street Family Shelter.

“Evernorth is excited to be partnering with COTS on this critical downtown project, which not only creates sorely needed affordable housing, but also allows COTS to integrate its programs to better serve their clients,” said Evernorth Co-President Nancy Owens. “This affordable housing will provide a permanent benefit to the entire community.”

Press Releases | 10/27/22

Construction Begins on New Affordable Housing in Downtown Bristol

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2022

[Bristol, VT] Co-owners and developers, Addison County Community Trust (ACCT) and Evernorth, are pleased to announce that construction is underway at Firehouse Apartments which will serve 20 low and moderate income households in downtown Bristol.

The Firehouse Apartments represents a critical component of a public/private partnership bringing municipal services, business incubation, and mixed-income housing to the growing community of Bristol on the Stoney Hill property. This partnership between the Town of Bristol, private developers, and housing nonprofits ACCT and Evernorth leverages the investments in municipal infrastructure and job creation to serve 20 households in a community where there were previously only nine non age-restricted affordable housing apartments.

Press Releases | 10/14/22

Anonymous Donor Gives Generous Gift to Endow Evernorth’s Gensburg Scholarship Fund

We have great news to share! An anonymous donor has generously donated a substantial gift to endow the Evernorth Scholarship Fund. The Fund was established 8 years ago to honor Robert Gensburg, one of the founding attorneys of what was then Housing Vermont.

Bob Gensburg quietly but profoundly made the communities he worked in a better place for all. Bob’s commitment to social equity and the rule of law were part of his moral fabric, whether he was representing impoverished schools with limited access to resources, serving as a special prosecutor, or representing a detainee at the Guantanamo prison.

Press Releases | 9/22/22

Evernorth Creates Workforce Housing Loan Fund for Upper Valley

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 2022

[Burlington, Vermont and Portland, ME] – Evernorth is pleased to announce that it closed an $8.95 million loan fund capitalized with investments from eight major Upper Valley employers. Dubbed the Upper Valley Loan Fund (the Loan Fund), this fund will loan money to developers and other entities to build affordable apartments targeted to renters with moderate incomes. The Loan Fund will help catalyze rental housing production in a segment of the market serving employees who are increasingly priced out of the housing in the area.

Due to the critical housing shortage in the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont, area employers increasingly cite the lack of access to quality affordable housing as a key barrier to recruitment and retention of employees. According to a recent report by Vital Communities, a regional civic engagement organization, the Upper Valley needs 10,000 new homes by 2030 to meet demand (requiring a tripling of the current annual rate of housing production).

Press Releases | 8/30/22

Evernorth Announces Key Leadership Changes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 30, 2022

[Burlington, Vermont / Portland, Maine] — Evernorth is pleased to announce several key leadership changes that will enhance operations at the organization.

Eric Schmitt has been named Evernorth’s first Chief Operating Officer. We are excited to see Eric move to this role where his strong leadership and organizational skills will add great value to the flow of operations within Evernorth.

Sherrin Vail has been promoted to Vice President of Asset Management and Portfolio Initiatives. As the VP of Asset Management and Portfolio Initiatives she will have greater responsibilities across the entire Evernorth geographic footprint.

Josh McIntyre has joined the staff as Vice President of Capital Management.  Josh comes to Evernorth with over 15 years of experience in the finance world — in the private and public sector.