Quintown Hub
Serving the Vermont Central Valley Towns of Granville, Hancock, Rochester, Stockbridge, and Pittsfield.
An Innovative Center Fostering
Creativity and Community
At the present time, the repurposing proposal includes the following components:
• Business Incubator
• Adult Day Center
• Childcare Center
• Arts and Learning Center
• Makerspace
• Outdoor Recreation Center
Additional programs are being explored as the research process continues. Community members' ideas and input are needed and most welcomed.
Business Incubator/ Co-Working Offices
Coordinators: Vic Ribaudo and Kathryn Schenkman
Affordable office rentals for small businesses and first-time entrepreneurs that allow tenants to conduct and grow their company while retaining a larger portion of initial income. Benefits could include shared office services, and access to the Makerspace and auditorium.
Arts & Learning Center
HUB Arts and Learning Alliance (HALA)
Coordinators: Sue Ribaudo, Dorothy Robson, Midge Scanlan, and Lesley Straus
HALA is a cultural coalition that builds on the strengths and resources of long-established local organizations that sponsor arts, learning, and outdoor events in the Quintown region. HALA includes, but is not limited to, the following: Bald Mountain Theater, BigTown Gallery/BigTown Projects, Green Mountain Suzuki Institute, Hancock Town Pride Committee, Rochester Chamber Music Society, Rochester Recreation Committee, and White River Valley Players. Also included are: Pierce Hall Community Center, Green Mountain Bikes, Ridgeline Outdoor Collective, and the town public libraries of Hancock Rochester, and Pittsfield.
MakerSpace
Coordinators: Robert Meagher and Dick Robson
Membership accessed shop space that provides tools, training, classes, and networking opportunities on a fee basis. The former RHS shop contains some equipment, and more would be acquired to provide the following: woodworking and metalworking equipment, an electronics lab, 3D printers, stained-glass, 2 equipment, computer-guided routers and engravers, and laser cutters. A community survey indicated interest in training in the trades of plumbing, electrical, and basic auto mechanics.
Next Generation Childcare Center
>> go to website
Coordinators: Lauren Skaskiw, Burleigh Griffith, Kayden Hamlin, and Mickaela Richardson
Childcare shortage is cited in local, regional, and statewide plans. A community survey with 30+ respondents demonstrated an immediate need to support a local childcare center. A core group of preschool professionals that includes teachers in the adjacent elementary school, one of whom is an operator of an existing licensed facility, organized itself as a nonprofit to operate a registered child daycare center in the RHS building. The center will provide toddler daycare and a Pre-School After School Program.
Adult Day Center
Coordinators: Lolly Lindsey and Kathryn Schenkman
Adult Day Center is an identified regional need, intensified during the pandemic and amplified by demographic information. Adult Day Centers support the health, nutritional, and social needs of vulnerable adults in a group setting, by professionally certified staff. The benefits of locating an ADC under the same roof as an Arts and Learning Center is a unique feature to this project. Music, performance, and movement are effectively utilized in therapies for people with mental health problems, cognitive impairment, physical disabilities, and learning disabilities. We are exploring potential partnerships with existing licensed providers, and the possibility of offering onsite LNA certification training.
Four-Season Outdoor Recreation Center
Rec Director: Norm Christiansen
One of the RHS's greatest resources is the grounds and the environment around it, with an extensive network of fields, trails, woods, and other sports facilites running alongside the branch of the White River. Included is an ice skating rink, a basketball court, baseball and soccer fields, disc golf, skateboarding, and biking areas. Green Mountain Bikes, the Ridgeline Outdoor collective, and One Planet summer camps use these spaces throughout the year. The Rec Center will organize events and serve the community as a rental facility for various outdoor sports equipment such as ice skates and snowshoes in the winter, and bikes in the summer.