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Brattleboro's "Retreat Farm"

Prospectus

"The Next Generation of Charitable Stewardship"

The Community Challenge

The 380 acre Retreat Farm ("the Farm") is an asset instrumental to protecting two core objectives of the greater Brattleboro community:

  • Strong Local Economy. In the face of the challenges in healthcare delivery and financing, returning the Brattleboro Retreat to sustained profitability is crucial to the community's economic health. Prudent disposition of the Farm is essential to advancing the Retreat's status as a premier mental health facility, in service to the community, the state and the region.

  • Historic Farm Heritage. Resting at the scenic gateway to Brattleboro, excellent soils, modern dairy facilities and a skilled farm family make the Farm a showcase agricultural operation. National Historic Register buildings, extensive recreational trails, and the unique habitat and riparian values of the "Retreat Meadow" must be protected.

The Collaboration

Two of Windham Country's leading charitable organizations have joined forces with two of Vermont's leading conservation and preservation groups. With the support of community leaders under the umbrella of the "Friends of the Retreat Farm," a conservation plan is in motion.

  • The Brattleboro Retreat ("the Retreat") The Retreat was established in 1834 by the $10,000.00 bequest of Anna Marsh and was one of the first psychiatric hospitals in the country. The Retreat Farm is the oldest operating dairy farm associated with a psychiatric hospital in the country. Today the Retreat's services have expanded to include behavioral healthcare, inpatient, partial hospitalization, residential, outpatient clinics, and a nursing home. It also provides educational services for behavioral healthcare professionals and managed services for insurance providers. The largest provider of behavioral healthcare in the state of Vermont, the Retreat provides more than 76,000 days of patient care and 25,000 outpatient visits per year. The Retreat is the second largest employer in Windham County with over 600 highly skilled employees.

  • The Windham Foundation ("the Foundation") of Grafton, Vermont is an operating foundation founded in 1963. The Foundation was created for the purpose of engaging in historic preservation and land conservation activities and for providing financial assistance for education and non-profit efforts in Vermont. The Foundation in the past focused its preservation and conservation efforts in the Town of Grafton and owns and operates the Old Tavern at Grafton, the Grafton Village Cheese Company and the Grafton Village Nursery. It supports projects that assure the preservation of the rural nature of Vermont, including sheep management, land conservation, forest management,dairy operations (including a herd in Grafton) and recreation opportunities.

  • The Preservation Trust of Vermont (PTV) has, during its 20 year history, undertaken efforts to strengthen Vermont's traditional communities and its historic structures. From civic centers such as Burlington's Flynn Theater and Rutland's Paramount Theater, to historic barn restoration, to purchase and restoration of the Lake House in Grand Isle, and efforts to fight sprawl by encouraging economic investment in town centers, PTV has been a leader in community revitalization. PTV's Fund for the Twenty-First Century and Field Service Program have advanced historic preservation at a grass roots level.

  • The Vermont Land Trust (VLT) is recognized across the country as an innovative land conservation leader. Since its founding in 1977, VLT has completed 660 projects and conserved 358,000 acres of land throughout Vermont. VLT conserves lands that are important to communities, to families and to the agricultural and forestry economy of Vermont. In Windham County, VLT has completed 62 conservation projects, including 3 operating farms in Brattleboro.

  • Friends of the Retreat Farm ("the Friends") was formed in January to take positive action to protect the Retreat Farm and its agricultural, scenic and recreational attributes. Composed of public officials, farmers, and other community leaders, the Friends have assisted in planning and strategizing for acquisition of the Farm, and will provide leadership in fund raising and involving the community in the Farm's future.

The Conservation Plan

The Windham Foundation will contract to purchase the Farm from the Retreat under the following terms:

  • The Foundation will purchase 380 acres including the farmstead complex, substantially all open farmland and the Retreat Meadows. The land includes 177 tillable acres, 54 acres of pasture and approximately 125 acres of woodland.

  • Included in the sale are the dairy herd and associated livestock, farm machinery and equipment and the Petting Farm animals.

  • The real estate purchase price is $1.35 million. The purchase price of livestock, machinery and equipment will be fixed by appraisal.

  • The Retreat will convey a perpetual easement assuring reasonable public access to foot trails within the woods lying between the farmstead and I-91 ("Retreat Woods"). This easement will provide some flexibility for potential use of a portion of this land by the Retreat for healthcare purposes in the unlikely event other options prove unsuitable.

  • The Retreat will also provide the Foundation and its partners with an option to purchase the Retreat Woods. This option could be exercised in 10 years if the Retreat has not elected to develop the Woods for healthcare purposes. Purchase price will be determined by appraisal at the time the option is exercised. The public trail easement will remain whether or not the Foundation acquires the Retreat Woods.

  • Once it is the owner, the Windham Foundation will engage in an extended evaluation and planning process to determine the Farm's future. The Foundation is committed to discharging its mission at the Retreat Farm in a way consistent with its history in Grafton. For the foreseeable future, Allen and Karlene Smith will continue as managers of the dairy farm and the Foundation also plans to continue the Petting Farm.

  • VLT will hold a perpetual conservation easement on the Farm designed to protect the land's natural attributes while allowing the Foundation operating flexibility, especially within the farmstead complex. PTV will likely hold an easement focused on preserving the key historic structures within the farmstead.

  • The Windham Foundation will pay property taxes on all Farm lands - the tax exempt status of some of those lands during the Brattleboro Retreat's ownership will expire.

Conditions for Success

Much work lies ahead to make this effort a success:

  • PTV and VLT are committed to raising $500,000.00 to support conservation of the Farm and preservation of its historic farmstead. A request for $300,000.00 will be submitted to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. The remaining $200,000.00 must be raised through local contributions from Windham County residents, businesses and foundations. The conservation project is in jeopardy if these funds cannot be raised.

  • The Vermont Legislature made a series of capital appropriations to the Retreat between 1835 and 1909, totaling $37,000.00. Apparently concerned about the Retreat's future viability at the time, the Legislature "took back a mortgage" on the Retreat's tax exempt lands. Of the approximately 380 acres included in the sale, 251 acres are tax exempt and therefore subject to the State's lien. Legislative approval will be required before these lands may be conveyed to the Windham Foundation.

  • The Retreat's future depends on program expansion. The so called "Whitney Place" parcel on Upper Dummerston Road appears appropriate for development of an assisted living facility, nursing home or other hospital facilities. Community support for this expansion, including extension of a sewer line, tax stabilization, and town planned zoning ordinance changes, will be crucial to the success of this essential expansion.

  • Progress has been made in resolving property tax disagreement between the Brattleboro Retreat and the Town. Both parties have committed to a collaborative problem solving effort in order to promote a healthy future for both the Retreat and Brattleboro.

A Proud Future

This vision for the future of the Farm honors the Retreat's past stewardship excellence, installs innovative new leadership with the Windham Foundation, builds on the spirit of the community exemplified by the Friends of the Retreat Farm, and serves Brattleboro's core economic and conservation objectives. A robust investment of the skills, energy, thoughtfulness and resources of the partners and the community will be required to make this vision a reality.

Click here for more information at the Windham Foundation Website

If you would like to make a tax deductible contribution, please send a check, made out to the Vermont Land Trust, with "Retreat Farm Project" in the memo line to:

VLT
223 Knapp Road
Dummerston, VT 05301-9437

or contact the Vermont Land Trust

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