Downstreet Celebrates Muddy Moose Grand Opening
On August 4, 2026, Downstreet Housing & Community Development celebrated the official grand opening of Muddy Moose—a project that protects both Vermont's natural landscape and its housing stock.
In 2025, Downstreet and Stowe Land Trust were presented with a unique opportunity at the former Muddy Moose Lodge in Morrisville, Vermont. Perched atop Cote Hill, the property included eight short-term rentals and 150 acres of forest, waterfalls, and private hiking and cross-country skiing trails previously reserved for lodge guests. Today, those 150 acres have been permanently conserved and opened to the public, while the eight vacation homes have been preserved as permanent single-family homes. Six of the homes are now permanently affordable through Downstreet's Shared Equity Program.
“That is not the direction properties like this usually move in,” notes Angie Harbin, Downstreet’s Executive Director. “In today’s market, year-round homes become vacation homes far more often than the reverse. In today’s market, the chance to own a home in a setting like this is usually reserved for people with significant means.”
Muddy Moose reflects a different idea—that our towns and villages need permanent homes. That living close to nature, building a stable life, and belonging fully to a community should not be luxuries out of reach to everyday Vermonters.
Today, Muddy Moose is home to the Vermonters who support our communities, including a baker, a barista, teachers, a mental health provider, a retired couple looking to downsize, a non-profit employee, and six children. Through Downstreet's Homeownership Center and Shared Equity Program, many of these families were able to purchase their homes below market value with down payment assistance.
Residents, and soon the public, can additionally enjoy the extraordinary landscape surrounding Muddy Moose. Stowe Land Trust's conservation work protects 150 acres of working forest; safeguards downstream communities by preserving natural flood storage; reduces flood risks; and opens established hiking and cross-country skiing trails to the public, expanding access to the outdoors.
What was once just a vision is now a model conservation and housing project. Through environmentally sustainable practices, the use of smart growth principles, and the advancement of environmental justice, permanently affordable housing can contribute to healthy and resilient communities that preserve the beauty and charm that our Green Mountain State embodies.
Downstreet thanks Stowe Land Trust and our partners, Vermont Federal Credit Union and the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, for making Muddy Moose a reality.
