This story by Cassandra Hemenway was first published in The Bridge on June 24.
A planned 31-lot subdivision on Isabel Circle in Montpelier that’s been in the works for nearly three years has been suspended. The “Stonewall Meadows Phase II” project, which is fully permitted with ground-breaking originally expected this year, is now on hold according to Gabe Lajeunesse, one of four partners invested in it.
“The partnership has determined that due to rising costs and the current economic uncertainty, we must suspend work on this project for now. The financial risks have become highly speculative, making it difficult to proceed in a market-based approach,” Lajeunesse wrote in an email to The Bridge, which also went out to Montpelier city officials.
“It’s maybe a five-plus-million-dollar project with no guarantee of any money coming back,” Lajeunesse told The Bridge in a June 20 interview. He pointed to a partnership with the city that fell apart as one of the reasons for pausing the project.
The four partners on the project are Lajeunesse, his brother Jason Lajeunesse, Barre City developer and mayor Thom Lauzon, and Pat Malone of Malone Properties in Montpelier.
The group bought the 72-acre wooded parcel just off of Isabel Circle for $3 million in 2024 and clear-cut a large swath of it in November of that year, preparing the site for housing lots. The four partners had planned to take advantage of a new city policy under which the city might pay for the project’s infrastructure — roads, water pipes, and sewer pipes — funded by a bond of $1.5 to $1.7 million that voters would be asked to approve. Aacred would have to guarantee that enough homes be built to pay the bond back via increased property taxes and water and sewer fees.
The plan never reached voters. In January 2025, city councilors cancelled a vote about proposing a bond for the Stonewall Meadows project after learning taxpayer investments might not be fully protected from the risk of loss.
In his June 12 email to The Bridge, Lajeunesse wrote: “We initially moved forward following early discussions with Montpelier that indicated potential financial support. However, efforts to secure a Strategic Partnership Agreement did not advance past city council to the voters. While we had hoped to continue solely through market-driven solutions, current conditions cast significant doubt on that path.”
Lajeunesse was careful to say the development is paused, not stopped. He pointed to new legislation signed by Gov. Scott, which creates a new financing tool for infrastructure that supports housing construction, but the timing and mechanism for that tool is not yet clear.
“We would love to see some public support that would make it more feasible,” he said, “… (and) we’re open to reengaging with the city and seeing if there is a strategic partnership.”
Lajeunesse ended his email with “Montpelier’s support would not only create much-needed housing but also set a precedent for future large-scale projects like the Country Club Road and Sabin’s Pasture projects.” He then thanked the city staff for their support, and said he “remain(s) open to creative solutions that could help make this project a reality.”
