BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A new project from the state of Vermont is aimed at lowering home prices and increasing availability.

The 802 Homes Catalog will be released later this year, featuring home designs the state hopes will increase future development and give Vermonters access to affordable and accessible homes.

According to Realtor.com, the average price of a home in Vermont is over $400,000.

“The goal certainly is not a nice-looking catalog of homes. The goal is homes in the ground at prices that Vermonters can afford,” said Jeff Duby, 802 Homes Catalog project lead.

The 802 Homes Catalog is a project from the State Agency of Commerce and Community Development. The goal is to provide Vermonters with 10 complete construction plans for a variety of low-cost, accessible, and adaptable homes, spurring development by eliminating some design costs.

“We’ll have our catalog of ten home designs ready, freely available to the public, anyone that wants to build in Vermont, really,” Duby said.

An important goal of the project is to help Vermont’s senior community have the opportunity to age in place.

“Just recognizing that there’s a lot of folks that would like to age within their communities, within walkable areas, but their options for housing is rather limited,” Duby said.

The agency is seeking feedback on the project from Vermont seniors, hosting virtual feedback sessions to discuss the proposed designs. Agency officials said the homes are designed to be as versatile as possible and are not aimed at seniors only.

As for construction cost, officials said it is too early to estimate.

“Lord, I wish I had a clear answer right now. We’re still halfway through the design phase now. We’re trying to do everything we can to move that lever down to that more affordable price. So we’re trying, again, to look at the designs through this lens of affordability by design and how we can design the homes in a smart way to reduce some of those development costs,” Duby said.

By eliminating some design costs, the project could make home building more affordable, officials said.

The full catalog is set to be released by the end of the year. Vermont seniors who would like to give feedback on the designs can register for two virtual sessions later this month.

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BARRE, Vt. (WCAX) – For the fourth consecutive year, Vermont communities have faced heavy and damaging rains in July, and across the state, communities are still rebuilding and redesigning to protect against future floods.

Central Vermont saw pelting rain Thursday. The heavy rains came as a surprise to Bob Nelson, a Nelson Hardware owner in Barre, and others in the city who had flashbacks on the eve of the devastating flooding three years ago.

“I could hear pounding on the roof of our house, and my wife and I go out onto the deck and the water is sheeting off over our gutter,” Nelson said. “It’s crazy; it’s the same day the last three years.”

Barre’s infrastructure and homes were largely spared, but the downtown took on about a foot of water.

“It’s a bit of a helpless feeling. All you can do is say a prayer and watch the water come up and hope it stops raining,” Barre Mayor Thom Lauzon said.

Barre has been working to upgrade culverts, remove debris, improve stormwater systems and more. But Lauzon said with limited dollars, it will take time to adjust to a future filled with flooding.

“We spent 75 years encroaching on the Stevens Branch and making it smaller. Now we’re going to take the next 75 years reversing that process,” Lauzon said.

Vermont has conducted some 250 home buyouts, paid out $40 million to families and shelled out some $200 million in infrastructure repairs.

“You always wish you were farther along than you are, but you’re also grateful for all of the hard work that’s gotten you here,” said Doug Farnham, Vermont’s chief recovery officer.

Farnham said most of Vermont’s small and medium flood recovery projects are complete or near complete, but the process with FEMA has been slow because of red tape.

“In many cases, we’re over three years into this. We’re not happy with how long it’s gone, but it’s consistent with the historical performance,” Farnham said.

He added that for Vermont’s downtowns, many of which are built in the floodplain, it will take many decades to build for the future.

Vermont may receive up to another $400 million for new wastewater plants in Hardwick, Johnson and Ludlow, and for upgrades in Montpelier’s Capitol Complex.