Since construction started in Feb. of 2025, Stonecrop Meadows has made tremendous progress towards its goal to provide affordable housing to the local community. A recent Addison Independent article noted that the first phase of the project, which includes 61 new units, is currently being finished, with the final project being poised to include approximately 250 homes.
“It's been long understood and known that there is a housing crisis here in the state of Vermont and here in Addison County,” Matthew Curran, director of business services at Middlebury College, explained in an interview with The Campus.
The college has felt the effects of this crisis first-hand. Data from 2024 collected by the college’s Human Resources department and shared with The Campus showed that not only do just 39.5% of staff members live within the town of Middlebury, but 21.7% of staff live more than 15 miles from campus, illustrating an ongoing problem that has created difficulties in the hiring process.
Curran spoke to these difficulties and why the housing development is necessary.
“There have been several positions at the college here, where we have gone to hire somebody and they've then had to turn down the job offer because they haven't been able to locate housing [in Middlebury], which is problematic,” Curran explained in an interview with The Campus.
As one of the largest employers and economic drivers in Addison County, Curran stated that it is the college’s responsibility to support the larger community and “put our money figuratively where our mouth is…we want people to be able to put roots in here and really become part of the community and feel as though they they are in the community.”
Summit Property Development answered the call. The South Burlington-based property developer began development last year on a 35-acre property located on Seminary Street, currently owned by the college. The cost of the land had once made this project unattainable for Summit Properties, but the college’s ongoing search for affordable housing that would benefit prospective staff and faculty members led the two groups towards an ongoing partnership, producing progress that would have been previously impossible.
While the college has played a major role in Stonecrop Meadows’ development, Curran specified that the project is not intended to benefit the college specifically; rather, the aim is to benefit the broader community, which includes college faculty and staff.
“Middlebury College does not own the right to or any responsibility to buy or rent any of these properties for college employees specifically,” Curran noted. “We did that intentionally so that it is an overall community project, allowing the law of averages to really take over.”
In addition to Summit Properties’ previous experience developing in Middlebury, the college had the chance to collaborate with a Middlebury alum: Zeke Davisson ’08, the CEO of Summit Properties.
“Summit Property Management already manages units in Middlebury, so they had a footprint here,” Curran mentioned. “[We were] looking at all the lands that the college owned and having a conversation with Zeke and saying, ‘Hey, are you guys interested in any more developing in the area?’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, of course we are,’ and that really kickstarted the whole thing going from there.”
Curran noted that “being able to work closely with a Middlebury alum is great…it's definitely a full circle moment.”
Stonecrop Meadows sits on a plot of land that Middlebury College has owned for many years. When it was bought and subdivided, the college also acquired an 1800s-era mansion which was shortly thereafter sold to a local historical preservation specialist who has taken the reins of properly maintaining that portion of the property. Now, with the addition of Stonecrop Meadows, the property becomes multi-purpose.
“In addition to adding in over 200 housing units here, when it's all said and done, bringing restoration of life back into a over 200 year old house in the area is [also] great,” Curran mentioned.
Additionally, Curran explained how this project has already extended far beyond Middlebury, with individuals around the state of Vermont looking to the partnership between the college and Summit Properties as a model for projects such as Stonecrop Meadows elsewhere.
“Many people in the state are talking about how great of a private-public partnership this project is,” Curran said. “A lot of these projects, in order to be successful in the area [or] in the state, need to have some sort of private funding to be able to support it. We know that developing property is not what Middlebury College does. We educate 2,600 undergraduate students. That's where our core is. But in order to support that core. We got to be able to invest in the area to support that core mission, but also just support the overall town and county.”
When asked about the impacts Stonecrop Meadows will have on the entirety of Middlebury, Curran explained that despite its projected success, there is still work to be done.
“It's the tip of the iceberg. I believe that we could add another 1,000 units to this town, and be able to really grow the town of Middlebury, while keeping in mind the impact that that has on our local economy, on our school systems, and everything there. I believe that there is a need, a desire and a want to do that,” Curran said.
