Business activity on the upswing

Development has been picking up in the Waterbury-Stowe-Morrisville corridor along Route 100.

Waterbury is in full-bore recovery from Tropical Storm Irene, with municipal and state office complexes pouring millions of dollars into the local economy. Restaurants and brewing operations have boomed, a big new hotel is about to open, and retail stores are popping up.

In Stowe, the number of permits is off slightly, but the scope of projects has increased significantly. Field Guide, a hotel on Mountain Road, gutted the former Ye Olde England Inne; Topnotch Resort remade itself; construction continues at Spruce Peak at Stowe Mountain Resort; and new retail space is opening up.

Morristown is popping, with projects all over the place, fueled in part by the new Route 100 Morrisville Bypass.

Waterbury: Still post-Irene

Waterbury’s recent development history is full of fits and starts.

But overall, the scope of projects has ballooned as the years have gone forward, said Steve Lotspeich, Waterbury’s community planner.

Lotspeich began his examination in 2008, when the Great Recession cut heavily into investment capital and made it difficult for any large-scale projects to happen. From 2008 to 2010, most building and zoning permits were for additions to existing buildings, or for sheds and garages.

Then, in 2011, Tropical Storm Irene devastated much of Waterbury. Rebuilding efforts began shortly after — and continue today — and Lotspeich said that is where the large-scaled projects began.

In 2012, 21 of the 68 permits issued in the village were somehow related to flood damage. In 2013, 22 of 50 were flood-related. In 2014, only three of 35 permits had anything to do with the flood.

It’s clear that Waterbury is in the process of a facelift. The town and village governments, the public library and the historical society will move into a new $5 million office complex in the coming months.

The $130 million overhaul of the State Office Complex is nearly finished; about 1,200 state workers will move back into the complex on a schedule that starts in December and finishes in April.

Local businesses are beginning to expand, as well. For example, Vermont Artisan Coffee and Tea just broke ground on a new coffee roasting facility and school of coffee on Route 100 in Waterbury Center. A Fairfield Inn and Suites just north of Exit 10 could open by December. Ruelle Boutique and Stowe Street Café are examples of new businesses in town.

In his 18 months on the job, Zoning Administrator Ryan Morrison said the scale of projects has been getting larger.

Every project the zoning board reviews is subject to a zoning application fee, Morrison said, and that fee corresponds to the size of the project.

In 2008, the average fee was $110. By 2013, it was about $130. It jumped to $198 in 2014 and $335 so far in 2015.

Though the community has a long way to go to heal all the scars caused by Tropical Storm Irene, it continues to push forward.

—By Stanley Blow III

Stowe: More than numbers

Take a quick tour through Stowe and you’re likely to hear whirring saws, the sharp tsk tsk tsk of nail guns, and the beep of heavy machinery backing up.

Based on these sights and sounds — from the former Stowe Hardware on Main Street to the new Alchemist Brewery off Mountain Road — it would appear that Stowe is on the rebound from the 2008 financial crisis that stymied growth for years.

But is there math to back that up?

Whether it’s a new building, a new patio or a lot line adjustment, every development in Stowe needs a zoning permit. Last year, Stowe issued 149 permits; through September of this year, it had issued 131 — well below the number for 2007 and 2008, before the whole country entered the Great Recession.

Does the number of permits issued in a given year reflect the relative strength of the economy? Yes and no.

“It’s not like the recession’s over, boom, everything’s better,” said Rich Baker, Stowe’s zoning director. “I would say, though, that it seemed like this year is the busiest I’ve ever seen my office.”

In other words, check back in year or two, when the development projects for which people are seeking approval actually get past the design stage.

Baker said people are building and renovating differently in Stowe now than they did in the past. They aren’t building as many small A-frames as a second home for a quick mountain getaway; instead, recession-proof people are building 5,000-square-foot third homes.

Sometimes, the numbers don’t reveal the actual significance of a project. Baker points to the Field Guide hotel on Mountain Road, which recently opened in the buildings long occupied by Ye Olde England Inne. The old building was essentially gutted, with extensive remodeling work inside, but the contractor needed only a minor permit for some exterior work.

The same holds true at Trapp Family Lodge and Topnotch Resort, the latter of which essentially remade itself, but didn’t make a splash at the zoning level.

On the other hand, major commercial developments, such as the 108,000-square-foot Adventure Center at Spruce Peak and the Trapp Family Brewery, take up a large number of permits because they are multiyear, multistage projects needing multiple permits.

–By Tommy Gardner

Morrisville on the rise

The number of building permits issued in Morrisville has risen in the past five years, with an especially sharp increase from 2013 to 2014.

Construction increased across the board, from new residential units — 31 in 2014, up from 12 in 2010 — to new access driveways — 30 permits issued in 2014, just two in 2010.

Additionally, residents are making more home alterations that are significant enough to require permits. In 2014, 62 permits were issued for residential alterations compared to 47 in 2013 and 38 in 2010.

Meanwhile, the permits issued for altering commercial buildings dipped from 13 in 2010 to just seven in 2014.

The prolonged winter delayed the start of this year’s construction season, but things picked up during the summer, said Todd Thomas, Morristown’s zoning officer, and he’s still writing permits, even with winter closing in.

“For example, I just permitted a new duplex on Friday,” Thomas said. I don’t recall permitting new builds so late in the year before.”

Most of the new construction has been in Morrisville village.

Last year, construction began on a CVS pharmacy; it opened this spring at the intersection of Brooklyn Street and Route 15. Wok N Roll and Vianor Tire, which had been located in a building torn down to build the CVS, relocated to a new building on Munson Avenue.

Outside the village, Green Mountain Distillers of Stowe built a new distillery and visitors center on Route 100 North.

Morrisville village has been a hotbed of commercial building revitalization in the past five years. Investors have purchased and renovated several historic buildings, new restaurants have opened, a few retail businesses have moved into larger spaces, and the Main Street buildings that once housed Arthur’s Department Store now have affordable housing units upstairs and a pizzeria downstairs.

The Morrisville Bypass, which opened to traffic last October, has spurred new development. Earlier this year, Fred’s Propane and Heating Oil completed construction of an office at the bypass intersection with Bridge Street.

Additionally, a new neighborhood of 29 residential units in 15 buildings is under construction off Brooklyn Street, just behind the bypass.

–By Lisa McCormack