Brownfields
Success Story
St. Johnsbury Glove Factory
St. Johnsbury, VT
A former textile factory, known locally as "the glove factory" sits at the
southern gateway to St, Johnsbury, creating a first impression when
entering the downtown. After being vacant for about 20 years, the
property has been redeveloped into an animal hospital, which opened in
the Spring of 2021,
Current facade of the Animal Hospital (photo credit
Town of St. Johnsbury)
Priming the Property for Redevelopment
The factory was built in the 1930s for commercial purposes and was
occupied by the St. Johnsbury Glover from the late 1940s to 1984, when
it was purchased by Caledonia Sportsware, which operated there until
2001. The site was contaminated with chlorinated solvents from past
uses of the building and hazardous building materials, such as asbestos
and lead paint, were present within the structure. The St, Johnsbury
Development Fund, a non-profit development corporation, bought the
factory and two homes on its western boundary that had been on and off
the real estate market for many years in 2017. Access to adequate
parking was one of the many concerns expressed about redevelopment
of this property. The two derelict residential buildings were demolished
to provide an additional parking area.
The St. Johnsbury Development Fund invested over $335,000 in the
project to buy and bring the building back to life. EPA provided about
$20,000 in Brownfields grants to the Lamoille County Planning
Commission and the Northeast Vermont Development Association to
complete the hazardous building materials assessment needed prior to
renovations. In June 2018 the site was enrolled in the Vermont
Department of Environmental Conservation's voluntary Brownfield
liability protection program, the hazardous building materials were
abated, and the the cleanup was certified as complete in June 2019. The
total cost of the initial phase of building upgrade was $401,000,
supported by USDA Rural Development and the Northern Border
Regional Commission. The development fund gave an additional $81,001
for this portion of the project to finish work needed to finally redevelop
the property.
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA Grant Recipients:
Lamoille County Planning Commission
Northeastern Vermont Development
Association
Grant Types:
Assessment
Current Use:
Animal Hospital
Former Uses:
Textile Factory

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Today
The two-story, 12,000-square-foot building on the 1/3-acre lot is now
completely renovated and has a new asphalt parking lot. The animal
hospital leased the property for five years in September 2020 and opened
for business in April 2021. This new facility brings together three local
veterinary practices in St. Johnsbury and a fourth from Lyndonville that
have joined forces to create a modern animal hospital in the town center.
The hospital's owner, when shopping for a building, was unaware of the
property's history as a brownfield and was simply drawn to the facility
and its location. With an additional $1.8 million dollars in private
investment to make the interior of the facility a state of the art veterinary
facility, this brownfield redevelopment is complete.
Lamoille County Planning Commission Phase II Assessment:
$17,667
Northeastern Vermont Development Association Supplemental
Assessment: $1,750
Animal Hospital Interior (photo credit and Northeast Veterinary
Partners)
St. Johnsbury Development Fund: $416,000
Northern Border Regional Commission Grant: $192,907
USDA Rural Business Development Grants for Core & Shell
Improvements: $189,998
Vermont State Downtown Tax Credit Award: $47,129
Private Developer: $1,800,000
"This project had tremendous
energy and every board member
had a hand in the redevelopment.
The synergy continued to build
with the Town of St. Johnsbury,
the Northern Community
Investment Corporation and all
our funders toward this successful
outcome."
Daniel Kimball, President
St. Johnsbury Development Fund
Then
October 2016
Phase I
Assessment
Now
February 2017
June 2018
June 2019
Phase II
Environmental
Site Assessment
Enrolled in Brownfields
Reuse and
Environmental Liability
Limitation Program
Cleanup Completion
For more information:
Visit the EPA Brownfields website at www.epa.gov/brownfields or contact
Christine Beling at 617 918 1792 or Beling.Chrstine@epa.gov
EPA 901 F 21 012
October 2021
for informational use only no endorsement intended

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