Business

Business section

VT AFL-CIO, VT Building & Construction Trades Council, & Devonwood Pursue $175 Million Burlington CityPlace Partnership

by David Van Deusen | Business

9/21/20, Burlington, Vermont – For the last six weeks, the Vermont AFL-CIO and the Vermont Building & Construction Trades Council of the AFL-CIO have been in active discussions with CityPlace developer, Devonwood to formalize a partnership for phase 1 of the Burlington project. Partnership talks have included the Washington DC based National AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT). HIT acts as a financer for major affordable housing projects across the United States. HIT expressed an interest in the project pending approval from HUD. Devonwood is now working with a HIT recommended Mortgage Banker who will assist Devonwood in navigating the HUD process. Once HUD backing is secured, and pending the National AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust commitment to financing the project, the final development agreement would guarantee that all construction jobs on the CityPlace project be union jobs. The CityPlace project, in its present form, is projected to create 89 affordable housing units (20% of the total), 300-400 construction jobs, with 500,000 labor hours. CityPlace shall also be constructed with strong energy efficiency standards (LEED Gold standard). Phase 1 of the project is estimated to cost $175 million to complete.

Great Again!

by tomaidh | Business

Wikipedia reports that Trump signed letters of intent to sell arms to the Saudis totaling US$100 billion immediately, and $350 billion over 10 years.
A billion (with a B) is more than 3 times the number of people in the entire United States. It’s only a drop in the bucket. The immoral reality is much greater.

Conservation Commission Meeting

by AGPlanning | Business

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

5:15 P.M.

Site Visit – West River Trail – River Stone Preserve

Participants should meet at the at the Marina Trail Head on the West River Trail (see attached map). Participants will then walk approximately 1 mile to the River Stone Preserve.

Note on social distancing: All participants must wear a mask and social distance by maintaining at least a 6-foot separation from others.

Space Force Base Proposal

by Rikki Risatti | Business

Proposal: Motioning contracting a Space Force base in Brattleboro by direct democratic public vote

Reasoning: In empathetic awareness to both the current local populaces’ needs and sensitive to futures’ quality of life benefits from now initiating negotiations on how to ethically manage a Municipal Space Station for universal peace, travel, resource sharing, and developing Earth conservation sciences which are conscientious of and cooperative with world interests. People employed by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation would be appropriate business liaisons mediating between the military, government, and labor unions. Base investors will comply by funding planting for 1 and 1/5 edible (non apple) trees into orchards for every tree cut down for base & orchard construction.

What Should I Know If I’m Buying a House During the Covid-19 Pandemic?

by SK-B | Business

Will the home inspector be given access to the house? If there is a septic system, will a septic inspector be permitted to do the inspection?

Even if inspections are permitted, you might not be permitted to be present, which means that you will not have the benefit on asking questions and actually seeing the inspector point out items, which is much more informative than simply reading a formal, written report. In such a case, find out if the inspector can take a lot of photos, or better yet, live-stream the inspection.

Free Ads For Essential Businesses That Remain Open

by cgrotke | Business

We want to do something for the “essential” businesses remaining in operation. For any open business in the area: free advertising. 

That’s right. For the duration of the stay-at-home and essential-work orders, we’ll give any open business that wants one a free ad. We’ll even make it for you. Just let us know what you’d like to tell people, and where you’d like the ad to link. It can take people directly to any page on your site.

Tips For Working At Home

by cgrotke | Business

Some of you may be new to working at home. Lise and I have been running our web design business like this for over 20 years, and it took some getting used to.  Here are a few tips and tricks we’ve learned over the years:

Have a dedicated work area

If you can keep your work and play separate, it helps. Try to find a bit of space that can be for “work” so that you can get away from it later on.

BDCC COVID-19 Invitation to Businesses for Weekly Webinars

by Not Signed In | Business

Dear Business owners and employers, 
 
We understand that news is coming in fast as the circumstances around COVID-19 change. In order to make sure the region’s businesses have access to vital information necessary to navigate a turbulent economy, BDCC is making the most up-to-date information available on our website

How Much Should I Pay?

by SK-B | Business

The Seller wants to sell their home at the highest possible price. The Buyer does not want to lose out to a competing buyer but also does no want to overpay. How do we determine a fair price?

Black’s Law Dictionary (Sixth Edition) defines “Fair Market Value” (in part) as:

The amount at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.

Christmas Closing

by SK-B | Business

Except for the difficulty of moving in the ice and snow, a real estate closing this time of year can feel like a magical gift. This was especially true for Walter when the title problem for the land he had put under contract just before Easter was resolved, and he closed a few days before Christmas. [This all happened in 1998.]

Walter was a Vietnam War veteran who had finally received disputed benefits more than 20 years late, and he wanted to use the money to purchase land and build his home. He found a tiny parcel at a low price, but the closing was delayed when Walter’s attorney discovered that, somewhere in the chain of conveyances for the land an heir had filed a copy of the Will rather than of the Probate Judgement in the local land records. While the Will did name the heir, it was logically possible that the Will might have been disputed and overturned. Therefore, only the Final Report and Account of the Court could establish the legitimacy of the previous owner’s deed.

Go Brattleboro Shopping at The Brattleboro Shop

by cgrotke | Business

Need some Brattleboro-centric gifts for someone you know, or for yourself? The Brattleboro Shop has you covered.

You’ll find all sorts of T-Shirts, mugs, posters, postcards, watches, flasks, bottle openers, circus stuff, and other items that we’ve loaded up with historic Brattleboro logos and lettering.

Completely original items that you won’t find in stores. You can shop easily online from where you are right now, so no parking hassles, either.

$2.6 Million Initiative Calls for Proposals to Support New Markets for Wood Products

by Not Signed In | Business

CONCORD, NH — The Future Forest Economy Initiative is looking for new ideas, products and markets to increase demand for wood across the northern New England and New York. The deadline for concepts to considered in the first round of funding in 2020 is Dec. 2, 2019. 

The initiative — a cooperative effort of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities, and the Northern Forest Center — grew out of a congressional mandate to support the development of markets for wood products. Over the next three years, the Initiative cooperators will invest $2.6 million in sub-grants to expand innovation, create market demand and create conditions that will allow businesses and communities to benefit from these innovations. 

The Brookline Go-Getter Launches Just in Time for the Holidays

by Not Signed In | Business

There’s a new business in town, but that Town is Brookline, Vermont. Living 25 minutes away from Brattleboro may not seem like an inconvenience, but life happens. Especially during the winter, living in a rural part of the state can be incredibly scenic, but not necessarily convenient. The Brookline Go-getter offers customers a new way to free up some time and have peace of mind. The goal here is to encourage folks to have more time to make memories and live, and focus less time on running errands and rushing around.

New Errand and Task Business Starting, from Brattleboro to Brookline!

by Not Signed In | Business

Have you heard? The Brookline Go-Getter is officially opening its doors November 4, 2019, just in time for your holiday needs. Based in Brookline, Vermont, services offered will include, grocery shopping, personal shopping, errand running, appointment setting, and other services. You can hire the Brookline Go-Getter to run errands and perform tasks between the Brookline/Newfane area and Brattleboro Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. They do not, however, transport people or pets. 

Brattleboro Downtown Merchants

by tomaidh | Business

Quote: “I’m no economist, but when I hear about downtown businesses blaming their financial woes on the presence of people on the sidewalk asking for spare change, I’m left scratching my head. It seems like if you’re going to run a business, you’d want to know the basics of supply and demand… Like, if you want to make money, you need to offer goods and services that people want at a price they can pay. Sell things people need and can afford. Three-thousand-dollar rugs not flying off the shelves? Rethink your business strategy. I can buy an 80-dollar bouquet of flowers downtown, but I have to drive somewhere else to buy a pair of underwear.”

Brattleboro’s Youth-Led Company Opens Its Doors: Screen Printing Orders Sought from Area Businesses and Organizations

by Nanci Leitch | Business

DemoGraphix, a youth-led business-to-business screen-printing company in Brattleboro, Vermont, established by Youth Services earlier this year, has opened its doors for sales, after a six-month start-up period.

The employees, ages 12-24, have selected a name, designed a logo, trained on the screen printing equipment and establishing policies and a pricing structure during that time, in addition to being paired with volunteer mentors with professional skills such as design, running a small business, and marketing.

Brattleboro Shop Offers New West River Poster

by cgrotke | Business
west river 91 bridge

We have a new poster in the Brattleboro Shop – a stylized view of the West River and I-91 bridge. It’s the latest addition to our original art series of Brattleboro travel posters and postcards, and the Brattleboro Shop is the only place you’ll find them.

Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce Cannabis Forum

by Not Signed In | Business

BRATTLEBORO, Vermont, August 15, 2019 – Cannabis!  The Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce invites the public to attend The Growing Business of Cannabis:  A panel discussion on the ins and outs of the cannabis industry.  This Chamber Breakfast Series event will take place in Brattleboro on Thursday, September 5; 7:30am-9:30am at the American Legion, 32 Linden Street.  Tickets are $20 and include a full buffet breakfast.  RSVP is required.

Old News Questions Answered: Yes, BMH Closed ICU in 2018

by Lise | Business, Health
BMH Brattleboro VT

Recently, the question has been posed to iBrattleboro: Has the Intensive Care Unit at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital closed or is it going to be closed? Not knowing ourselves, we called Brattleboro Memorial Hospital to ask. The answer is yes, the ICU is closed and has been for almost a year.

According to Gina Pattison, a BMH public affairs representative, the ICU at Brattleboro Memorial closed officially in June 2018 when the unit was physically removed. In its place is what is called a PCU or Progressive Care Unit, which provides a notch lower level of care than an ICU but makes more efficient use of nursing staff. The Hospital reps we spoke to made clear, however, that this change has not affected patient care.