Gryphon Building in Downtown to add apartments

Article originally published as “Gryphon Building to add apartments” by Gordon Dritschilo

March 22, 2023

Rutland Herald

Mark Foley Jr. is adding more apartments to downtown’s inventory by retooling the short-lived Castleton University dorm in the Gryphon Building.

Gov. Phil Scott announced Wednesday that the state had approved $125,000 in tax credits to convert the dorm rooms into 10 one- and two-bedroom apartments. Foley said the total project is expected to run around $700,000, and he’s aiming to be finished later this year.

“We’re doing some electrical and plumbing work and upgrades,” Foley said. “A big bulk of the cost is putting in a new elevator.”

Foley said the apartments will be “market-rate workforce housing” but was unable to say what that would mean in terms of rents.

“We haven’t evaluated the market fully to give an answer to that,” he said.

Foley rebranded the building in 2011 as “The Shops at Gryphon Square,” an effort he said has paid off well. He said that while spaces have turned over, he’s done well keeping them full, noting that current occupants include retail, digital services and “the top real estate agency in the community.”

“The marketplace changes, consumer needs change, ground-level business has to change,” he said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better mix of current and market-demanded business.”

Castleton University opened the dorm space, its second in the city, in the building in 2017. Foley said it lasted three or four years before the college stopped using it.

Housing has been topic number one in city political and development circles in the last year, with many local officials saying they would like to see more of the unused upper-floor spaces downtown converted into housing.

“Obviously, any additional support provided to property owners is essential at this time to property development,” said Lyle Jepson, executive director of Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region. “It’s critical for our work here at CEDRR to increase the supply of market-rate housing. ... As people come through on our regional marketing campaign, one of the most difficult pieces for us to support them in is finding housing, and people are looking for downtown housing.”