Chalet housing project begins work on 31 affordable units

The property once held the Dalem’s Chalet Motel, a Bavarian-style lodging built in the 1960s by German immigrants Oskar and Ursula Dalem.

The Chalet site has entered a new phase of development, with construction underway for 31 affordable housing units planned over the next year by Windham & Windsor Housing Trust and Evernorth.

The project site, tied to South Street and the future Swan Pond Lane, was marked Thursday by a ceremonial groundbreaking after remarks from partners involved in planning, financing and building the development. Dirt was turned with shovels as a symbol of the start of construction.

The property once held the Dalem’s Chalet Motel, a Bavarian-style lodging built in the 1960s by German immigrants Oskar and Ursula Dalem. The building now contains 27 units, and Ursula Dalem sold the site to WWHT in 2020, setting in motion the trust’s work to convert the property into permanent supportive housing.

Elizabeth Bridgewater, executive director of WWHT, pointed to the series of community meetings held during the design process. She said those sessions brought together residents of the property and nearby neighbors and helped shape a shared vision for the site.

Bridgewater also credited Sen. Bernie Sanders for providing Congressionally Directed Spending that helped advance a multistage plan, including infrastructure upgrades, utility work and the new roadway serving the building.

State Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, who was recognized for a Vermont House tribute honoring the Dalems, told attendees that the strength of mixed-income neighborhoods is one of Vermont’s defining qualities. She said the state’s support for one another depends on more than goodwill and also requires the physical systems that make that support possible.

Nancy Owens, president of Evernorth, described the initiative as the result of broad cooperation and thanked the many people and organizations involved. She said the team has the experience to move projects from idea to reality and emphasized that the effort is about more than housing alone, linking it to long-term stability and opportunity for families.

Among the other partners acknowledged were Groundworks Collaborative, Vermont Integrated Architecture, HP Cummings Construction Company, Vermont Housing Finance Agency, Fund VII, Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, Citizens Bank, Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, Efficiency Vermont and Green Mountain Power.