State tax credits will help fund nearly 50 redevelopment projects around Vermont including three sites in downtown Waterbury – one of which will return a pizza restaurant to Stowe Street. 

The historic building that once housed the Blue Stone pub and restaurant will soon open as the fourth location for Stone’s Throw Pizza.

That’s according to Sam Handy, one of the new owners of the property, which spans 13-15 Stowe Street. Handy belongs to the ownership group of the Grazers restaurant chain, which bought the space last December. 

From the street, the building occupies the lefthand third of the two-story brick complex with WDEV Radio Vermont Group next door and Axel’s Gallery and Frame Shop on the far end.

It measures roughly 5,000 square feet and features a nearly 3,000 square-foot restaurant space on the street level. Above that are two apartments, 1,000 square feet each, Handy said.

Rather than opening another Grazers restaurant – which has locations in Williston, Winooski and St. Albans – the new owners are leasing the restaurant space to Stone’s Throw Pizza. Handy confirmed that it will likely open within the next three months.

The new owners of the more than 100-year-old building are also the recipients of just over $18,000 in tax credits from the state, which will cover about half of the construction costs of getting the space up to code. Those funds were part of more $4 million in tax credits awarded by the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development late last month.

Tax credits are not grants or cash. They redirect income taxes owed to help cover the cost for construction of improvements for redevelopment. For example, a building with a tax bill of $10,000 that gets a $4,000 tax credit will owe just $6,000 in taxes. Programs are offered by both the state and federal governments. 

These state credits just recently announced are made available to projects involving commercial buildings and nonprofit-owned buildings over 30 years old that are located within designated downtown or village centers, according to state program information.

The credits can be applied to pay for general rehabilitation, code compliance work, and exterior improvements. A permit from the office of the State Fire Inspector posted on the window at 13-15 Stowe St., for example, lists work being done to reconfigure the entryway doors to swing outward to comply with current codes.  

Handy said the Grazers group chose to purchase this location as an investment and also because Waterbury was an attractive community. 

“We love what Waterbury stands for, what they do — just the community feel,” Handy said. “We thought long-term it was going to be a good investment for us. But really, it was just like, being part of the Waterbury community is what we love. So on the business side of things, we saw an opportunity for a good investment in a great town, and we took it.”

Handy said he and the other owners considered putting a Grazers restaurant in the building but decided against it because Waterbury already has several restaurants offering similar fare. They looked instead for a pizza place to partner with, and that’s how Stone’s Throw came into the picture.

“We were actively looking for another pizza restaurant to go into that space,” Handy said. “Stone’s Throw is going to do amazing. I think they’re a perfect fit. I think their business model’s a perfect fit. They’re awesome people — it will fit really well with the community.”

The pizza franchise and the building owners have agreed to a long-term lease, he added, though he declined to say how long it is for. “I would love if they were there for the next 30 years,” Handy said. 

Stone’s Throw owner Tyler Stratton echoed Handy’s take on Watebury’s “community feeling” as a big reason he has chosen to open another location here. “Waterbury was always kind of on our radar,” Stratton said. “We really like to kind of nestle into towns where there is some sense of a community. And there seems to be a kind of food-centric element to Waterbury, that we want to be part of that community as well.”

Stone’s Throw currently runs restaurants in Richmond, Charlotte and Fairfax. The Waterbury restaurant will be the company’s largest so far, Stratton said, with 72 seats inside and a 25-foot bar. Unlike the other locations, the Waterbury spot will have a third-class liquor license, enabling the restaurant to serve cocktails and wine.

Eyeing a winter opening, the restaurant will hire 20-24 full- and part-time staff, Stratton said. Asked about widespread staffing shortages among numerous businesses including restaurants, Stratton seemed confident the company would attract enough new employees. “The staffing thing hits us all,” he said. “We are uniquely exposed because of who we are — we are pizza, not fine dining. We walk a fine line there.” 

He said the goal is “to attract, train and retain” staff while promoting healthy work-life balance. “All we can do is do the best we can,” he said. “And that seems to be working pretty well for us.”

Tax credits boost redevelopment, revitalization 

On Sept. 27, Gov. Phil Scott and the state Agency of Commerce and Community Development announced that it had awarded 49 projects around the state $4.1 million in downtown and village center tax incentives.

The Downtown and Village Center Tax Credit Program supports rehabilitation and revitalization efforts planned in designated downtown and village centers. Together the 49 projects will help generate over $95 million in building improvements and public infrastructure, state officials said. 

“These investments are impactful, supporting local businesses, creating new housing, and improving the economic vitality of our community centers,” Scott said, calling the tax credit program “a perfect example of one of the tools in our economic development toolbox that can be transformative.”

Housing and Community Development Commissioner Josh Hanford said that the board tasked with awarding the incentives selected projects in communities of all sizes. “This year we awarded a record number of rehabilitation and revitalization projects, and I am grateful to the dedicated Vermonters working to keep the heart and soul of their communities vibrant places for years to come,” he said.  

Scott announced the awards at a ceremony in the former U.S. Customs House and Post Office in St. Albans which is to be redeveloped for mixed commercial use on the ground floor and eight new units of downtown housing on the upper floors. Other project examples are the renovation of the 1901 Champlain Theater in Swanton’s village center into space for three new commercial tenants, and in Bennington, a historic renovation will create three units of transitional housing for women and children.

Awards for two other Waterbury projects