Excerpted from Preservation Trust of Vermont 2026 Award video:
Built from 1892 – 1894 to establish a permanent defense in the vicinity of the US-Canadian border, Fort Ethan Allen in Colchester and Essex covers a sprawling 138 acres. Among the buildings are three large Colonial Revival style brick structures that housed the 10th Cavalry regiment – an all-Black Army regiment also known as the Buffalo Soldiers – on their four-year tour from 1909-1913. The military used the Fort until the base was deactivated in 1944, and the property was put to other uses. When Saint Michael’s College ceased using the three Cavalry buildings as dormitories, the buildings sat vacant for nearly a decade.
In 2022, housing developer Evernorth and Champlain Housing Trust acquired the 10th Cavalry buildings with the goal of rehabilitating them into affordable housing in one of Vermont’s tightest housing markets.
Work was complex and challenging. Among the issues to be addressed even before full plans could be developed were environmental concerns: lead paint, PCB’s, PAHs, and asbestos.
Once environmental issues were tackled, preservation work began in earnest. Porches, historic windows, exterior masonry, and slate roofs were rehabilitated. Custom storm windows were added to improve thermal efficiency. The historic mushroom vents on the roof were discreetly modified for indoor ventilation and access ramps were designed to seamlessly blend with the significant outdoor spaces once used for military drills.
Inside the buildings, original timbers and a grid of previously concealed structural steel columns were saved and restored. Pressed metal ceilings were painstakingly catalogued, removed, restored, and reinstalled in public locations. Replica pressed metal was custom made to replace damaged tin in the first floor apartments.
The $32 million renovation of 10th Cavalry Apartments, named to honor the significant history and its association with the regiment of Buffalo Soldiers housed there so long ago, successfully balances preservation concerns, cost effective rehabilitation, environmental cleanup, and energy efficiency.
Above all, the project partners – Evernorth, Champlain Housing Trust, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Freeman French Freeman, and Engleberth Construction – have transformed vacant and underutilized spaces into 65 perpetually affordable and healthy housing units, demonstrating that reinvestment in yesterday’s structures can beautifully address some of today’s biggest issues.