Randolph Redevelopment
Gets ‘Achievement Award’

RACDC Executive Director Julie Iffland, Chamber of Commerce President Joe Boyd, and DuBois & King President Bill Baumann in the D&K headquarters on Main Street in Randolph. (Herald / Bob Eddy)

By M. D. Drysdale

The complicated public/private partnership that made it possible for DuBois & King (D&K) to expand in downtown Randolph will receive the state’s Community Achievement Award next Tuesday.

This is the fourth annual Achievement Award to be presented by the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

Several state and federal agencies and the town of Randolph worked with the engineering firm to make it possible to re-use the site of the 1911 elementary school on Main Street. The project, was managed by the Randolph Area Community Development Corp. (RACDC).

This allowed D&K to expand within Randolph and move its headquarters and 45 employees to the heart of Randolph’s designated downtown. In addition the project included the creation of what is now the Vermont Enterprise Center, managed by Vermont Technical College, at the former D&K site.

Besides RACDC, VTC, and D&K, partners included the town of Randolph, and Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation (GMEDC).

The partnership was nominated for the award by the Randolph Area Chamber of Commerce and RACDC, which became the interim owner of the building.

The ambitious project leveraged close to $4 million in public and private capital and took over two years to complete. Some 45 D&K employees moved into the office in 2004, and have been part of the downtown ever since.

"Looking back now at the enormous effort, it probably would have been easier not to move into town, but we are committed to Randolph," said William H. Baumann, Jr., CEO of D&K.

The town is thrilled with its new downtown neighbor and its investment, according to Selectboard Chair Jim Hutchinson. He called the project "one of the most forward-looking and deliberate investments in downtown development that Randolph could have made."

A rare combination of funding, much of it from federal sources obtained with the support of Vermont’s Congressional delegation, included approximately $2 million in loans from the federal Economic Development Agency, and GMEDC; $1.5 million in grants from the Vermont Community Development Program, the federal Housing and Urban Development, Efficiency Vermont, and the Town and in-kind donations.

D&K contributed substantial capital and in-kind work to the development, and will purchase the building over time through lease-purchase payments. VCDP supported the project with a $750,000 grant.

Energy Awards

The DuBois & King building itself has received two awards recognizing it as a showplace of green building design, energy efficiency, and engineering excellence. One was from Efficiency Vermont, and the other from the American Council of Engineering Companies/Vermont Section.

Although the new building is 25% larger than D&K’s previous facility, it costs 15% less to operate.

Governor Jim Douglas will present the award at a ceremony at the State House on April 17.