[B]ENNINGTON — Developers of the Putnam Block say they’re closing in on a $27.6 million financing package needed to launch Phase 1 of the massive downtown revival project in the fall.
The Bennington Redevelopment Group, a consortium of local institutions, businesses and individual investors, had eyed a fall 2017 groundbreaking for the two-phase $54 million project, which involves six buildings over four acres at the historic Four Corners intersection of Routes 7 and 9.
That date went by, as did a projected spring construction start, with several storefronts in three historic structures at the intersection now standing empty. The lack of progress has prompted speculation that the project could fail — dragging down Bennington’s hopes for a major downtown economic stimulus.
But that is not the reality, said Bill Colvin, of the Bennington County Regional Commission, the local point-person for the Putnam Block effort.
A significant piece of the financing package recently fell into place, Colvin said Friday, when Vermont Rural Ventures, which deploys New Market Tax Credits to projects in the region, increased the amount allocated to the Putnam project by $7.6 million — to “a record amount of $15.6 million of allocation.”
The complex financing package — now including 17 funding sources that have been secured, for a total of $25.6 million — needs less than $2 million to close the deal this summer.
Colvin said the major investors are confident they can close that gap. “The group is fully committed,” he said. “We are moving forward.”
Bennington Redevelopment Group consists of Southwestern Vermont Health Care, Bennington College, Southern Vermont College, the Bank of Bennington, Dimitri Garder and Global Z International; 4 Putt Properties, LLC; M&S Development, and a number of individual investors from the community.
“We are thrilled to have secured the New Market Tax Credits needed for the project,” said James Brown, president and CEO of the Bank of Bennington. “We are now exploring every option to close the final funding gap. We are confident that we will be able to do so and begin construction.”
Colvin said about 35 potential investors met with BRG representatives recently to discuss investment options to support the project.
Possible sources, he said, include additional tax credit support, earmarked donations and individual investments.
The Bennington Redevelopment Group is seeking investments of $25,000 or more for preferred project shares and offering approximately 3 percent annually and the return of the original investment amount when the project is refinanced at the end of the tax credit period — from seven to 10 years.
At this point, funding for the financing package comes from the major partners, a bank loan, Vermont Community Development and Housing and Conservation Board funding, federal EPA environmental testing funds, historic preservation and new market tax credits, brownfield loan funds, town of Bennington revolving loan funding, and other sources.
205,000 square feet
The project’s first phase focuses on three historic buildings, the former Hotel Putnam, the Old Courthouse or Pennysaver building, and the Winslow Block.
That work would constitute slightly less than half the entire proposed 205,000-square-foot Putnam Block redevelopment space. Phase 1 is expected to include approximately 26,000 square feet of retail/restaurant and 7,000 square feet of office, along with five two-bedroom apartments and 24 one-bedroom apartments.
A significant percentage of the leasing commitment for Phase 1 is coming from Putnam project partners and other investors, Colvin has said.
The Phase 2 parcels now include a former hardware store and lumber yard, a gas station-convenience store and a large parking lot — all located to the west of the former hotel and bordering on Washington Avenue to the west, Franklin Lane to the south, and Main Street to the north.
Plans for that phase include a medical building, a commercial building with a grocery, townhouse units and open spaces.
Putnam Block’s major investors say they recognized several years ago that Bennington must develop a vibrant downtown in order to attract and retain residents, both for the community and for their businesses and institutions.
Without an attractive downtown, companies have trouble recruiting new staff members, they said, and the residential colleges realize that both students and faculty members want to see activity downtown.
Information on the Putnam project is available at http://putnamblock.com/
