Resource Guide for Chittenden County Businesses - Regional Economic  Development

Information and Referrals
• Connects entrepreneurs with local training, financing and networking opportunities.
• Provides information about regulatory requirements, energy savings opportunities, and vacant industrial land in Burlington.
• Assists with redevelopment of Brownfield properties.
• Connects employers with local service providers to support the hiring, retention and promotion of refugee workers.
• Minority & Women-Owned Business Enterprise Registry Program

Business Loan Program
• Provides capital for loan packaging and gap financing to assist businesses operating in Burlington.

Guide to Doing Business in Burlington
• This street-smart booklet provides step-by-step guidance for those interested in starting, expanding, or relocating a business. The guide is available in a hyperlinked CD-Rom as well as on our website, www.cedoburlington.org.

Commercial Space Database
• For the first time ever, you can now quickly access information on nearly all available commercial rental properties in Burlington with one call or e-mail.

Business Location Package
• Detailed information on area demographics, retail market opportunities, cultural events, business statistics, and recreation. This document is on the website.

Burlington Renewal Community
Under a designation by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Burlington has created a Renewal Community which encompasses 5,300 households, 500 businesses, and 30% of the City’s labor force. Its boundaries are Willard St. to the east, the Intervale railroad spur to the north, Lake Champlain to the west, and King and Main streets to the south.

A number of special benefits and tax incentives apply to businesses and workers in the Renewal Community:
• Wage Credit: Businesses can take a credit against Federal taxes of up to $1,500 each year for 8 years for every existing employee and new hire who lives and works in the Renewal Community.
• Increased Section 179 Deduction: Qualifying businesses can claim up to $35,000 in additional expensing for certain depreciable property (such as qualified equipment and machinery) purchased after 1/1/2002.
• Commercial Revitalization Deduction: Provides an accelerated deduction period for commercial real estate for qualified projects in the Renewal Community involving new construction or substantial rehabilitation. You must
apply to the City in order to use this deduction.
• Zero Percent Capital Gains Rate: Owners of qualifying Renewal Community assets do not have to pay federal tax on any gain when they sell the assets.

One of our objectives is to foster and encourage appropriate economic development including innovative, technical, and globally competitive activities and educational opportunities that result in job creation, retention, increased tax base and an improved sustainability and quality of life for the citizens of Colchester.

We assist current businesses with their expansion or relocation needs and help facilitate the local permitting process between businesses and the town. We work to bring value added businesses to locate in Colchester and we provide resources for business plan development, funding, and assistance to start ups and entrepreneurs. We are an ombudsman for the Colchester business community.

In the spirit of cooperation with the Town of Essex and the Village of Essex Junction, the corporation is organized to encourage and coordinate a united effort of public and private resources to encourage and promote the expansion and retention of existing Essex enterprises; attract and achieve the location of new commercial, industrial, agricultural and recreational enterprises; and attract, support, and promote integrated (business and residential) living, within the Town of Essex and the Village of Essex Junction.

The Board of ECEC consists of volunteers selected for their individual skills and willingness to support the efforts and goals of ECEC.

The VCDP is funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) for Small Cities with an annual allocation of approximately $7 million. For the past few years, one of the overarching priorities for VCDP funds has been affordable housing and job creation. While the only eligible applicants are Vermont municipalities, it is most often a partnership between municipalities, community groups and local non-profit organizations, and in some cases businesses, that coordinate projects to meet a locally identified need.

Not only are the projects partnership grown, the funding resources required forge partnerships among a large variety of local, private, state and federal funding sources. Projects funded with VCDP resources reflect community collaboration at its best.

10% State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit
This credit applies to the costs for substantially rehabilitating a certified historic building and piggy-backs on to the 20% Federal Rehabilitation Investment Tax Credit. All building related rehabilitation costs are eligible, including exterior and interior improvements and code compliance. The first $500,000 in costs receives a 10% credit along with half the costs over $500,000.

25% Façade Improvement Tax Credit
This credit applies to the rehabilitation of a building façade. Maximum award is $25,000. It cannot be used for a building that is eligible under the10% Historic Rehabilitation credit above.

50% Code Improvement Tax Credit
This credit applies to the costs of bringing a building into compliance with state building codes, to abate hazardous materials, or to redevelop a contaminated property. It includes a maximum award of $12,000 for a platform lift, $50,000 for sprinkler systems, $50,000 for elevators, and $25,000 for the combined costs of all other qualified code improvements, as well as costs for hazardous material abatement and contaminated sites redevelopment. This credit may be used in conjunction with the other two credits, as long as the applicant does not request credits more than once on an eligible expenditure (i.e., no double dipping).

Standard Provisions:
• Buildings must be located within the boundary of a Designated Downtown or Designated Village Center;
• Buildings must be constructed before 1983. Government and religious buildings, as well as single family residences, are not eligible;
• A minimum expenditure of $5,000 must be made;
• Only one application may be made for a building during any 2 year period;
• Bank Credit Certificate – for applicants who do not have the tax liability to use a tax credit, the credit may be sold to a bank in exchange for cash or for adjustments to a mortgage.
• These tax credit programs are capped at $1,600,000 annually, and no more than $480,000 can be awarded to projects within any one municipality.