State treasurer invests in Village at Winston Prouty

By Chris Mays, Brattleboro Reformer, March 12, 2026

BRATTLEBORO — The Village at Winston Prouty is getting closer to construction after a major boost from the Vermont Treasurer’s Office. 

“I really value this community so much,” said Treasurer Mike Pieciak, who grew up in Brattleboro and received speech services from the Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development as a child. 

Pieciak visited the center on Thursday to announce a $4 million investment from his office to support Phase 1 at The Village at Winston Prouty, which will bring 28 units of workforce housing to the campus. He said the project will “make housing more affordable for young people and young families, helping them lay down roots here in Brattleboro.”

Ultimately, the master plan calls for as many as 300 energy efficient housing units on campus. Pieciak said the site has access to trail and services from organizations on campus. 

Pieciak’s 10 percent in Vermont program has now invested more than $130 million in supporting about 1,700 units statewide. It “puts state funds that we’re holding in our office to work out in the community, offering low cost financing to home builders,” he said.

“Essentially, this program makes it cheaper to build homes so working and middle class Vermonters can afford to live in communities like Brattleboro, where the housing vacancy rate is among the lowest in the country,” he said. “I can’t think of a better use of these funds than investing here in our community.”

Pieciak called the project “a major milestone for Brattleboro” and “the entire state of Vermont.”

Last week’s event where community leaders unveiled a vision for Next Generation Brattleboro “gave me great optimism,” Pieciak said. The initiative is designed to grow the town’s population by 802 people by 2023. 

Chloe Learey, executive director of the Prouty Center, said her organization “sees the impact of the housing shortage every day.”

“We support families with young children who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability,” she said. “We can struggle to hire and retain employees, sometimes because they can’t find an affordable place to live. So this is a challenge that is not about any one organization, and even those of us who are stably housed and employed are affected by it.”

More housing is needed to sustain and build the community, Learey said. She called the project “a once in a generation opportunity to make a meaningful difference in our housing solutions.”

“There are a lot of other partners,” she said, “and we need more partners.”

The first phase is estimated to cost $9.5 million and demolition has occurred. With the loan and other funding, Learey said her group is more than halfway toward the goal. 

“We are really laser focused now on finding the rest of the funding because we needed 500 units five years ago,” she said, referring to a housing study the town commissioned. “So our focus is to raise $2 million in the next two months so we can build this year. And that money can come from lots of places.”

Frank Parisi, vice president of commercial lending at EastRise Credit Union, said the project “demonstrates the need for true collaboration amongst many groups to get the project to the finish line.” 

Town Manager John Potter described “a team effort” by town staff to help support the project.

“We want young people to build their lives here,” he said. 

Pieciak’s investment “sends a clear signal that Vermont is serious about addressing the housing shortage in communities like ours,” Potter said. “It also sends a clear signal that this Winston Prouty project is a winner.”

A campus planning process initiated in 2019 led to conversations about an opportunity to develop housing on the former Austine School for the Deaf property after the Prouty Center purchased it. Chris Campany, executive director of the Windham Regional Commission and vice president of the Prouty Center board, said the vision has been adapted to fit the location and available funding sources while community outreach and buy-in has helped move the project along. 

Housing is the “greatest barrier” to economic development, said Adam Grinold, executive director of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation. He called The Village at Winston Prouty project “an economic catalyst.” 

“Today is also an invitation for others to join us in building Brattleboro,” he said. “When we invest in housing, we aren’t just building structures. We’re investing in the next generation.”