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The CHIP Challenge: True, False and it Depends
Let’s play The CHIP Challenge! This interactive session puts Vermont’s new Community Housing Infrastructure Program to the test. We’ll kick things off with a rapid-fire round of true-or-false to cover the CHIP basics, then move into “Is CHIP the Right Tool?”—a game exploring where CHIP may (or may not) fit in real-world development scenarios. We’ll wrap up with some of the stumbling blocks and lessons emerging as communities and developers begin putting CHIP into practice. With a new and evolving program, the rules of the game are still taking shape—so expect the latest from the field, with plenty of practical takeaways for anyone involved in making development happen in Vermont.
Three Projects. Three Stories. One Vermont.
Every successful development project has a story behind it. In this fast-paced storytelling session, presenters will take attendees inside three very different Vermont projects: the redevelopment of the Benn High School, construction of the new Burlington High School, and the transformation of Fort Ethan Allen's historic 10th Cavalry barracks. From overcoming workforce shortages and navigating complex financing to balancing historic preservation with modern needs, each story reveals the decisions, challenges, and partnerships that turned ambitious ideas into lasting community assets. Leave with practical lessons that apply to projects of every size and type.
Unlocking Housing: Systems Change for Real Impact
Vermont’s housing shortage is not simply a production challenge, it is a systems challenge. As housing costs continue to rise and demand outpaces supply, achieving meaningful progress will require greater efficiency, effectiveness, learning, and accountability across the entire housing ecosystem. This session explores how data-driven decision-making, stronger performance expectations, better use of public and private resources, and a commitment to continuous improvement can help Vermont produce more homes, make housing more affordable, and deliver better results for residents. Attendees will gain insight into emerging strategies for driving system-wide change and creating lasting impact at the scale the state needs.
A match made in Heaven? Challenges and opportunities in using modular construction for Passive House multifamily housing
This session will explore lessons learned from La Mora Senior Apartments - the largest affordable senior living housing project to use modular construction and achieve Passive House Certification. It will introduce the basics of Passive House certification, discuss how it significantly reduces energy use while delivering an exceptional quality of living space, and explore the challenges and opportunities that resulted from the choice to use modular construction.
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250 Fireworks Show: All That Sparkles and Booms!
Act 250 is changing fast, and this session lights up the details. Presenters provide an overview of recent changes to Act 250, including interim exemptions and Tier 1 exemptions. The session recaps changes from the 2026 legislative session, reviews future land use mapping and regional planning commission (RPC) plan confirmations, identifies where Tier 1B applies and which communities have opted in, and explains how and where Tier 1A applies, how it will work, and what communities are doing to prepare. Act 250 staff and regional and municipal planners then join a roundtable on the first confirmed regional plans, approved Tier 1B areas, and the possibilities for Tier 1A areas.
Building Smarter: How AI Is Transforming Modern Construction
Artificial intelligence is reshaping construction by turning vast amounts of project data into actionable insights. As owners, designers, and contractors seek greater efficiency, predictability, and speed, AI is emerging as a powerful tool to improve planning, manage risk, and optimize project delivery. This session examines AI's real-world impact, its limitations, the governance it requires, and how it may shape the future of the built environment. Attendees leave with a clear-eyed view of where AI adds value today and where it is headed.
Economic Storytelling as Infrastructure: Building Regional Momentum and a Case for Change
Economic development isn't driven by projects, policy, and capital alone; it also depends on a community's ability to make a case for change and articulate a clear, compelling vision of the future. This session explores economic storytelling as infrastructure: how regions can use data, design, agile content, and strategic communication to build understanding, shift outdated narratives, and create momentum for investment and development. Drawing on change-management principles and real-world examples from southwestern Vermont, including economic intelligence reports, digital platforms, thought leadership, and investor-focused storytelling, presenters show attendees how to build the internal culture and communication systems needed to turn economic data and regional assets into a stronger, forward-looking story.
Speed Networking
Make new connections in a fast-paced, structured networking session designed to get attendees talking. Attendees rotate through a series of brief, one-on-one conversations, creating opportunities to exchange ideas, learn more about the people and projects shaping Vermont, and build connections across the development community. Whether the goal is to expand a network, meet potential collaborators, or connect with someone new, this session makes it easy to start meaningful conversations.
The Year in Review: Permitting Court Decisions of Note
A concise summary of key Vermont court decisions from the last year relating to permitting matters. The substance of the decisions will be conveyed clearly and succinctly. Following each case summary, attendees will have the opportunity to discuss the practical and policy implications of each decision and ask questions.
A Contractor’s Playbook for Affordable and Market-Rate Housing
Vermont needs more than 7,000 new housing units each year, but delivering projects that are financially viable and on schedule remains a significant challenge. Drawing on lessons from the construction of more than 1,000 market-rate units across New England, this session explores the strategies contractors and developers can use to move housing projects successfully from preconstruction through closeout. Attendees learn how early value engineering can uncover meaningful cost savings, how lean construction practices can help address Vermont's tight labor market and short construction season, and how emerging tools and technologies help teams build faster and smarter.
Resilience! Efficiency! Innovation! Five Ways to Move from Buzzwords to Reality
Get ready for a fast-paced exchange of ideas from five different perspectives. In PechaKucha style (20 slides, 20 seconds each), presenters use concise, visually driven storytelling to explore how Vermont's development industry can respond to new pressures, risks, and opportunities. From innovative construction and energy efficiency to building performance, risk reduction, and community resilience, these rapid-fire presentations offer practical ideas for creating projects and places built to perform, adapt, and endure.
