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Anthony Linardos, state director of USDA Rural Development for Vermont and New Hampshire, hands Stacey Boyle her award in a public room of Union Square Apartments for which she is the site manager.
WINDSOR, Vt. — A crowd filled the public room of the Union Square management office in Windsor last Wednesday to honor the housing development’s site manager, Stacey Boyle. Each year USDA Rural Development (USDA RD) of Vermont selects one person in the state among all who manage their projects, which total 3,400 units. Boyle, who also manages Windsor Village, has been in charge of Union Square since 2013. She was nominated for the award by Paul Stewart of Stewart Property Management. His firm manages the property for Housing Vermont, a developer of affordable rental housing.
Sheila Reid, a representative from Sen. Bernie Sanders office, said she had read Stewart’s letter of recommendation and had been impressed. “I’m glad to know you,” she said directly to Boyle, who was standing in the crowd. She read the senator’s letter, which praised Boyle for the sense of community she helped foster and for her quick response to requests for assistance. “People benefit when their homes are a source of pride,” wrote Sanders. “You’ve set a standard.”
Local and state luminaries attended the late morning ceremony, which was emceed by Seth Leonard, housing programs director of USDA RD. Leonard listed some of qualities that had been attributed to Boyle in letters of recommendation, including professional, respected, approachable, empathetic, hard working, and “goes above and beyond.”
Many speakers, in addition to praising Boyle, took the opportunity to recount the history of Union Square. There was universal agreement that Boyle’s management was a key component to the continued success of the project.
“I was horrified by the initial conditions that I found here when I first looked at it,” said Stewart. His firm already managed 20 other Housing VT properties, so he did not feel he could turn down their request that he take on this one, but he had his doubts.
The four-story attached brick buildings that make up Union Square were built in the 1920s by the National Acme Company as family housing for its employees. The company closed in 1933 during the Depression. By all accounts, conditions in Armory Square or “the Namco Block” had declined drastically in recent decades.
The nine buildings that make up Union Square originally held 72 units and most included two or three bedrooms. Housing Vermont reduced the number of units to 58 and installed an elevator at the rear of the block. The renovation, which was finished in late 2009, cost $11 million. All of the units are classified as affordable; 15 are rent-subsidized and 43 units have rents that are fixed 60 percent of the median market rate.
The project was a “gut renovation” by E.F. Wall & Associates of Barre, Vermont. Energy upgrades included polyurethane spray foam insulation, new membrane roof and insulation, new thermal efficient windows, and a completely new HVAC system.
Windsor Police Chief William Sampson noted in his remarks that before Housing VT renovated the block his department was getting more than 350 calls per year to handle incidents there. Chief Sampson praised Boyle for her “good intuitive skills” when it came to judging applicants who want to live at Union Square. “She lives locally,” he said, “so she knows the people who are applying.”
“I don’t have a better partnership in town than I do with Stacey,” the chief continued. “[Under her management, Union square] shows that affordable housing doesn’t have to be mean ‘crime-infested.’”
Tom marsh, the town manager, remembered Armory Square as “an architectural eyesore with potential.” His predecessor had to deal with the headaches associated with the block in its previous incarnation. “Now, I mostly notice that there aren’t any problems,” he said with a grin. “I wouldn’t be here if I had to deal with what the last guy did.”
A Union Square tenant in the crowd repeatedly raised his hand to be recognized and finally blurted out. “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here today.” Another tenant said: “She’s been through a lot herself, and she is there for us.” One of the employees at Union Square noted: “She looks at the struggles people have; it’s not just about paying the rent.”
As the praise poured forth, Boyle looked increasingly uncomfortable. She seemed almost relieved when it was time to receive her plaque from Anthony Linardos, the state director of USDA RD for New Hampshire and Vermont, and cut the cake that had been prepared for the occasion.
“I absolutely love my job,” said Boyle as she clutched the wooden plaque with the brass plate. “And I love my tenants. I’m from Springfield [Vermont] but this is home, and this [gesturing at the building around her] is my second home.”
