This story by Virginia Ray was first published in The Commons on Nov. 18, 2025.

BRATTLEBORO — Come Dec. 6 when the lease runs out, the community art space on Elliot Street known as 69A will be closing. “We absolutely love our landlords, they’re amazing people,” said 69A Director Lisa Marie, about building co-owner Ashok Kumar. “Our lease is up and they have plans for this space, and the building’s for sale.”

The building at 69–71 Elliot St. went on the market in May and is listed for $1.15 million through the Southern Vermont Realty Group of West Dover. Lister records show the building has been owned by Kumar and Amrik Singh, under A&S Realty Trust, since 2008.

A caring place during a time of need

69A has certainly blossomed since artist Katie Bachler and her husband, Scott Berzofsky took out a one-year lease to make a community space.

Bachler and Berzofsky tapped into their savings to rent the space last winter in the aftermath of the national election and last year’s contentious local debate over “acceptable community conduct.” Without knowing the exact contours of how the space would actually be used, the former owners of Avenue Grocery did know they wanted to restore a community gathering place in the same spirit of the community convenience store that they briefly ran on Western Avenue in 2017 and 2018.

“We thought something was missing, a place for new ways of being to emerge, to care for each other, [to] provide something else, something emergent,” Bachler told The Commons at the time. “Like a space that could be an alternative to the behavior ordinance. Like a space to organize different ways of being, to learn from each other.”

She and Berzofsky started slow with a loose group of community members organizing events — book clubs and art shows at first — with the intention not to “over-prescribe what 69A was going to be.” Marie eventually opened the “10 to 4” program, referencing the hours 69A is open. The initiative offered two meals a day, a free store, and advocated “for people to get what they need.”

Amid the final dismantling of the state’s motel program in July for those who were unsheltered and the already acute homelessness epidemic in the region, 69A became a safe space for all, offering free coffee, tea, water, Wi-Fi access, various gear and supplies (including tents, sleeping bags, flashlights, and clothing), restrooms, music and a social milieu.

The number of folks served varies from day to day. On Nov. 17, about 73 folks stopped in for various needs. Last week, the facility served 130 people in one day. About 50% of the people who use the facility are housed, and the other half are homeless. Ages range from infants to about 80.

The program has occasionally been controversial, with critics concerned that it was attempting to provide social services to a clientele its volunteers were not trained to treat. Others were concerned about altercations that required police help to address, and the space became a concern at several Selectboard meetings this summer.

Marie says 69A is not a shelter. “We’re not even technically a drop-in [place],” she said. “We’re just a community center” — just without the basketball hoop.

Lots to do, but where to do it?

As organizers begin the search for a new home, Marie also has eye on the present.

“Winter’s coming and it’s really cold, and people are sleeping on pavements and benches and doing everything to survive,” Marie said. “And we’re going to do the best we can to provide what they need to make that happen.”

She is training overnight hosts for the new winter shelter, which will open at the Beloved Community Church in Brattleboro on Dec. 1. And until the group has to move, organizers will endeavor to keep regular hours weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We’re looking for a space and have had meetings with potential landlords, so we’ll see,” Marie said, adding that if a new location isn’t found before Dec. 6, she and others will do what they can to help by car and foot. “Just ’cause the doors on 69A Elliot St. are closing doesn’t mean that we’re done.”

One person has already died from the cold this winter, Marie said. “People dying because they’re homeless is an absolute crime. Whether it’s not being able to pay a bill, or having an addiction, or running from a domestic situation, none of it deserves death in the end.”

Selectboard member Isaac Evans-Frantz attends meetings at 69A and does what he can to bring concerns back to the town. “I’m deeply concerned for the well-being of the people who have found community and warmth at 69A Elliot St. over the past several months,” Evans-Frantz said. “There are hundreds of unhoused people living in Brattleboro, including many who do not have adequate, safe shelter.”

Evans-Frantz said the town as a whole can make a start by minimizing harm against unhoused community members.

“I’ve requested that the issues of no-trespass orders and removal of homeless encampments be placed on selectboard meeting agendas this fall,” he said. “At a time of federal cruelty against people living paycheck to paycheck, and against people in extreme poverty, Brattleboro must do better.”