Construction is beginning on the Hardwick Yellow Barn project, expected to give a boost to the Northeast Kingdom’s economy when it opens next spring.
“Yellow Barn will add much-needed commercial and retail space, providing a very positive impact in our rural town,” said Eric Remick, chair of the Hardwick Selectboard.
The public-private project will include a new 25,137-square-foot food business building and redevelopment of a 4,762-square-foot yellow dairy barn into retail space. Situated on Route 15 along the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, it aims to bolster the economy of one of Vermont’s historically poorest regions.
Former U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy is expected to speak at a groundbreaking ceremony Friday morning.
Once renovated, the historic barn will become a retail destination operated by Cabot Creamery. It will host operations for Cellars at Jasper Hill, a Greensboro cheesemaker, and will be managed by the Center for an Agricultural Economy, a Hardwick nonprofit, according to a joint press release from Evernorth Rural Ventures and Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. Both are involved in financing the project.
The Center for an Agricultural Economy will also operate a community cold storage site for local farmers and food producers, while scaling up Farm Connex, a delivery service for small and medium-sized farms and food businesses that would otherwise not have a way to get their products to market, according to the press release.
Cheese and other local foods will be highlighted at the project, and samplings, tastings and other events will be featured regularly.
VTDigger reported in 2021 that Cabot and Jasper Hill are expected to create between 50 and 60 jobs, most of them full time, when the site opens. Planners estimate the project will result in 105 new local jobs within five years.
The project is a partnership involving the Hardwick town government, the Northeast Kingdom Development Corp. and the Northeast Vermont Development Association, and has won an $11.4 million federal tax credit to help finance the effort. The Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp., Evernorth Loan Fund and Vermont Community Loan Fund provided a $4.85 million bridge loan for the project.
The project has been in the works since 2017, and in 2021 received $1 million from the Northern Border Regional Commission.
According to the project organizers, the complex financing package also involves the Vermont Economic Development Authority, Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, U.S. Small Business Administration, Vermont Agency of Environmental Conservation, Vermont Community Foundation, and Preservation Trust of Vermont, and the U.S. Economic Development Association.
