# Brick + Mortar Stories and lessons from the front lines of small-scale real estate development in rural Vermont. Page: Feed: --- ## [What We've Been Building (Winter '25)](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/what-weve-been-building-winter-25) _2026-02-22 · Jonah Richard_ A $400k septic system, starting construction on our historic workforce housing project, and Governor Scott and Senator Welch come to town. ## [Under-Parking Septic: A Small Idea That Could Unlock A Lot of Housing](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/under-parking-septic-a-small-idea) _2025-11-23 · Jonah Richard_ An outdated septic rule cost our town real housing — and how our under-parking pilot could shift what’s possible statewide. ## [Turning A 19th-Century Barn Into Six Apartments](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/turning-a-19th-century-barn-into) _2025-11-09 · Jonah Richard_ How we repurposed a 4,000 SF historic barn into high-efficiency housing in the heart of Fairlee. ## [What We've Been Building (Fall '25)](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/what-weve-been-building-fall-25) _2025-10-12 · Jonah Richard_ Zoning wins, funding hurdles, septic battles, and new concepts across Fairlee and Bradford. ## [What We've Been Building (Summer '25)](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/what-weve-been-up-to) _2025-08-24 · Jonah Richard_ From Fairlee’s first affordable housing to an innovative quadplex with septic under parking, here’s what Village Ventures has been grinding on. ## [Scaling Up](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/scaling-up) _2025-07-13 · Jonah Richard_ With 17 full-time people, it was time to upgrade. So we bought 2ac and an 11,000 SF office building. ## [I Bought A 4-Plex For $60,000. Now What?](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/i-bought-a-4-plex-for-60000-now-what) _2025-06-22 · Jonah Richard_ Planning the $1,100,000 restoration of a historic 1836 apartment building in downtown Bradford, VT. ## [More Pipes, Fewer People](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/more-pipes-fewer-people) _2025-04-27 · Jonah Richard_ How land we could use for homes and shops gets eaten up by septic fields in small-town Vermont. ## [For Sale: 2,000 Gallons Of Vintage Fuel Oil](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/for-sale-2000-gallons-of-vintage) _2025-04-12 · Jonah Richard_ Cleaning up the past before we can build something new. ## [From First Build To Best-Of-The-Best](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/from-first-build-to-best-of-the-best) _2025-04-06 · Jonah Richard_ How 501 Main became one of Efficiency Vermont’s 2025 Best-of-the-Best winners. ## [Every Channel. One Login. 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Free trial, no IP lock. ## [The $520,000 Lesson](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/the-520000-lesson) _2025-03-23 · Jonah Richard_ A cautionary tale for anyone developing affordable housing with grant funding. ## [From Gas Station to Storefront: The Long Road to Revitalization](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/from-gas-station-to-storefront-the) _2025-03-16 · Jonah Richard_ Three years, $400k, and a whole lot of environmental red tape—how we turned an abandoned and contaminated site into a fresh, new retail space. ## [Let's Actually Build Homes](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/lets-actually-build-homes) _2025-03-09 · Jonah Richard_ How a proposed mini-TIF program could help developers meet the state's housing goals. ## [Bringing 19 Units Of Affordable Housing To Fairlee, VT](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/bringing-19-units-of-affordable-housing) _2025-03-01 · Jonah Richard_ The slides we use to convince people this project is worth fighting for. ## [Incentivizing Development In Small Towns](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/incentivizing-development-in-small) _2025-02-16 · Jonah Richard_ Going from $0 to $16m of planned development in our little downtown in just 5 years. ## [David vs Goliath](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/david-vs-goliath) _2024-10-20 · Jonah Richard_ Going up against the non-profit giants to bring affordable housing to rural Vermont. ## [The Unspoken Cost Of Building Affordable Housing](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/the-unspoken-cost-of-building-affordable) _2024-10-05 · Jonah Richard_ Navigating a whopping $520,000 tax bill as a result of building 6 affordable housing units. ## [Testing A Model For Affordable Home Ownership](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/testing-a-model-for-affordable-home) _2024-08-19 · Jonah Richard_ We broke ground on our first for-sale starter home this month in Bradford, VT that could prove to be a viable model for affordable home ownership across our region. ## [Rural Development's Silent Killer](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/rural-developments-silent-killer) _2024-03-24 · Jonah Richard_ Decentralized septic is crushing small-scale developers' efforts to build up our rural Main Streets. ## [Your 24/7 AI Media Buyer (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/3V5MYtMV3bWZ) _2024-03-24 · **Sponsored**_ Finds placement, geo, and funnel leaks and proposes fixes you approve ## [5 Updates From Summer '23](https://brickandmortar.substack.com/p/5-updates-from-summer-23) _2023-09-14 · Jonah Richard_ Starting a construction business, closing on new development opportunities, and marching forward with current projects.