Impact
Sitting vacant, underutilized, and contaminated for over a decade until Redstone purchased the downtown block in 2005, its build out was nearly complete until an economic crash in 2009 put everything on hold. The economic downturn kept the economic instability of the already high poverty and low income area at risk for additional disinvestment, crime, and vandalism. Complete and operational in 2015 the project brings a minimum of 60 new jobs to the severely stressed downtown area. Hotel management supports workforce development and job training opportunities for low and moderate, under and unemployed individuals through partnerships with the existing programs of Chittenden County Food Shelf Community Kitchen Program, Association of Africans Living in Vermont, Committee on Temporary Shelter, and King Street Youth Center. And the area is seeing new investment with a renovation and expansion of several adjacent buildings.
Gap and Investment
This difficult to develop downtown, urban, in-fill, historic, contaminated block required a significant amount of funds to meet its $33 million development budget. New Markets Tax Credit equity helped fill the gap along with significant private equity, conventional and subordinate debt, and state tax credits.