Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

HTTPS

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

    • Environmental Topics
    • Air
    • Bed Bugs
    • Cancer
    • Chemicals, Toxics, and Pesticide
    • Emergency Response
    • Environmental Information by Location
    • Health
    • Land, Waste, and Cleanup
    • Lead
    • Mold
    • Radon
    • Research
    • Science Topics
    • Water Topics
    • A-Z Topic Index
    • Laws & Regulations
    • By Business Sector
    • By Topic
    • Compliance
    • Enforcement
    • Laws and Executive Orders
    • Regulations
    • Report a Violation
    • Environmental Violations
    • Fraud, Waste or Abuse
    • About EPA
    • Our Mission and What We Do
    • Headquarters Offices
    • Regional Offices
    • Labs and Research Centers
    • Planning, Budget, and Results
    • Organization Chart
    • EPA History

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Brownfields

R1 Success Story: Richmond Creamery, Richmond, Vt.

Concept art for proposed redevelopment of Richmond Creamery property
Rendering of the Buttermilk Building
(photo credit: Buttermilk LLC)

EPA Grant Recipient:
‐ Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development
‐ Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation
‐ Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission
‐ Northwest Regional Planning Commission
‐ Rutland Regional Planning Commission

Grant Types:
Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, 128a State/Tribal Funding

Former Use:
Dairy processing facility

Current Uses:
Multi‐use and Commercial Space

Download Success Story:
Richmond Creamery, Richmond, Vt. (pdf) (624.06 KB, May 2023, EPA 560-A-19-008)

An environmentally sustainable development on the site of a former dairy factory in Richmond, Vermont, has brought new businesses to the heart of this town of 5,000 people with the help of a Vermont-led program. The development at the former Richmond Creamery site was selected to receive support from the Brownfield Economic Revitalization Alliance (BERA), which joins government agencies and private investors in a team effort to revitalize high-priority brownfield properties. The Richmond Creamery site is also the first project supported by the alliance where the cleanup and redevelopment have been completed.

The new environmentally sustainable development is bringing new housing and businesses to the heart of Richmond. It is giving residents a chance to live, work and enjoy village life just minutes away from the city of Burlington, the mountains, and Interstate 89. The Creamery, which once employed over 150 people, closed in 1999 after 100 years of operation. The loss of this employer was a blow to the community, but the need for residential and commercial space in the village center has grown over the years. A team of local, state and federal agencies, along with private investors, worked together to allow the multi-phase redevelopment of the Richmond Creamery site, including demolition of the remnants of the old buildings and construction of up to 60,000 square feet of apartments and commercial space.

Priming the Property for Redevelopment

The old creamery sat unused and derelict for two decades. Contaminants on the property included ammonia refrigeration tanks, asbestos and lead paint in the dilapidated buildings, and heavy metals and toxic chemicals in the soil. The buildings were in various stages of disrepair, becoming increasingly dangerous to residents, and posed a threat of materials containing lead and asbestos being released into the environment.

The Town of Richmond in 2014 passed interim zoning in order to ease the way for development and help attract developers. The State of Vermont prioritized the project for Brownfields and other funding based on its designation as a Brownfield Economic Revitalization Alliance site in 2015. This project is a great example of collaboration among a long list of partners including the Alliance, state and federal agencies, regional development corporations, regional planning commissions, nonprofits, municipal representatives, and private sector developer.

Redeveloped multi-use and commercial building of former Richmond Creamery property
The completed new building
(photo credit: Buttermilk LLC)

EPA's total investment of over $109,000 in assessment funding plus $136,000 in cleanup funding helped cover a substantial portion of the $1.3 million needed to assess and clean-up the contamination at the site. This allowed Vermonters to see a path forward for turning a derelict brownfield in the downtown of a quaint Vermont village into a vibrant, environmentally friendly mixed-use development that could drive the economic viability of the community.

"The primary reason we are now able to drive economic opportunities in Richmond, Vermont is the Brownfield funding provided to mitigate the high cost of the clean‐up. Of course, there were other elements that ensured the success but, without the brownfield funding, no financial institution, private or public investor would have been able to justify the costs of the brownfield clean‐up. The economics would have been upside down and the property would continue to be unused and dangerous for the environment and our community. Brownfields funding is a vital element to ensure that projects like the Creamery are viable and offer economic opportunity to businesses, communities and residents. We, and the community of Richmond, are grateful and honored to have received the support and hope that our success paves the way for other projects and communities."

Josi Kytle, Partner
Buttermilk LLC

Today

The first building is complete and has 14 apartments and almost 6,000 square feet of commercial space, with 70 percent of the commercial space leased. Tenants include a national environmental testing company, a co-working office, and a public gym. With a major housing shortage in Vermont - especially for smaller, lower-cost units – a long list of residents have expressed interest. Construction is pending for the second building, which will add another 36,000 square feet and up to 30 apartments. The third phase is slated to add two more buildings totaling another 25,000 square feet.

Richmond Creamery property
The original Richmond Creamery buildings before cleanup
(photo credit: Buttermilk LLC)

The new building was constructed with environmentally friendly practices and a goal of minimizing its impact on the environment. The first building will be fully net zero through solar arrays on the roof and on a 40-car parking canopy, and future solar is planned in conjunction with future buildings. The building was designed to achieve Efficiency Vermont's highest level of building standards for energy efficiency & utilization and to reduce waste. Finally, local sourcing of construction materials reduced travel and shipping impacts and provided revenue and benefits to local businesses.

For more information:
Visit the EPA Brownfields website at www.epa.gov/brownfields or contact Karen Place at 617-918-1225 or Place.Karen.gov.

EPA 560-A-19-008
May 2023

Brownfields

  • About
    • Accomplishments
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Program History
    • Contact Us
    • Laws & Regulations
      • All Appropriate Inquiries
      • Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: A Historic Investment in Brownfields
      • Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act
      • Summary of the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act
  • Grants and Funding
    • Types of Funding
    • Brownfields Job Training Grants
      • Interested in Applying for Brownfields Job Training Funding?
      • Frequently Asked Questions About Brownfields Job Training (JT) Grants
      • List of Eligible and Ineligible Brownfield Job Training Courses
      • Technical Assistance Resources
      • Technical Assistance Inquiry Form
      • Job Training Grants Professional Learning Community
      • Job Training Grants Webinars
      • Job Training Program Contacts
    • Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants)
    • MARC Grant Application Resources
      • Tips on How to Get Started Early on Preparing Your Brownfields MARC Grant Application
      • Frequently Asked Questions About Multipurpose, Assessment, RLF, and Cleanup Grants
      • Programmatic Requirements for Brownfield Grants
    • Program & Funding Resources
      • EPA-Recommended Mapping Tools
    • Eligibility
      • Eligible Planning Activities
      • Information on Sites Eligible for Brownfields Funding under CERCLA § 104(k)
    • Current & Upcoming Funding Opportunities
      • Tips for Submitting Brownfields Grant Applications Through Grants.gov
    • Past Funding Opportunities
    • Brownfields Grant Fact Sheet Search
  • Technical Assistance
    • Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities (TAB) Program
    • Nationwide Brownfields Technical Assistance Providers
    • Targeted Brownfields Assessment
    • Land Revitalization Technical Assistance
    • CERCLA Section 128(a) Technical Assistance Grants ("TAG")
  • Brownfields Newsroom
  • Land Revitalization
  • Brownfields Near You
    • State and Tribal Brownfields Response Programs
    • Brownfields Contacts in EPA Regional Offices
    • Region 1
      • EPA, State & Tribal Contacts in New England
      • Funding History
      • Grantee Forms in New England
      • Program Information in New England
      • Targeted Brownfields Assessments (TBAs)
    • Region 2
    • Region 3
      • Contact List
      • Targeted Brownfields Assessments (TBAs) - Eligibility
      • Targeted Brownfields Assessments (TBAs) - How to Apply Criteria
    • Region 4
      • Region 4 Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) Tool Box
      • Regional Conferences
      • Targeted Brownfields Assessments (TBAs)
    • Region 5
      • Contact List
    • Region 6
      • Contact List
      • Targeted Brownfields Assessments (TBAs)
      • Targeted Brownfields Assessment Brochure
      • Targeted Brownfields Assessment Form and Consent for Access to Property
    • Region 7
      • Targeted Brownfields Assessments (TBAs)
      • FY 2025 ARC Grant Guidelines in Region 7
    • Region 8
      • Targeted Brownfields Assessments (TBAs)
      • The Western Brownfields Wire (WBWire)
    • Region 9
      • Factsheets
      • Targeted Brownfields Assessments (TBAs)
      • Vacant to Vibrant, Land Renewal
    • Region 10
      • Contact List
      • Targeted Brownfields Assessments (TBAs)
  • Supporting Communities
    • Understanding Brownfields
    • Environmental Contamination at Brownfield Sites
    • Public Health
    • Relevant Federal Programs
    • Small and Rural Communities
    • Nonprofit Involvement in Brownfields Reuse
    • Tribal Nations
    • Land Banks and Brownfields
    • Urban Agriculture
      • Frequent Questions about Brownfields and Urban Agriculture
      • Resources about Brownfields and Urban Agriculture
      • Steps to Creating a Community Garden or Expand Urban Agriculture at a Brownfields Site
    • Taking Photos, Audio & Video for Your Brownfields Projects
  • Success Stories
  • Grant Recipient Reporting
    • Key Terms
    • ACRES Frequently Asked Questions
    • ACRES Training, Tips and Tools
      • Online ACRES Training Schedule for Brownfields Grantees
Contact Us about Brownfields
Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on April 3, 2025
  • Assistance
  • Spanish
  • Arabic
  • Chinese (simplified)
  • Chinese (traditional)
  • French
  • Haitian Creole
  • Korean
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Tagalog
  • Vietnamese
United States Environmental Protection Agency

Discover.

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Budget & Performance
  • Contracting
  • EPA www Web Snapshot
  • Grants
  • No FEAR Act Data
  • Plain Writing
  • Privacy
  • Privacy and Security Notice

Connect.

  • Data
  • Inspector General
  • Jobs
  • Newsroom
  • Regulations.gov
  • Subscribe
  • USA.gov
  • White House

Ask.

  • Contact EPA
  • EPA Disclaimers
  • Hotlines
  • FOIA Requests
  • Frequent Questions
  • Site Feedback

Follow.