There was more than one reason to celebrate this past weekend as residents from two of the newest New England ROCs gathered in their respective neighborhoods to celebrate their purchase.
Westbury Home Owners Association in Colchester, Vt. held its post-purchase celebration on Saturday. The 250-home community became resident owned on March 6 and was one of four communities to become ROCs this year in Vermont already, with a total of 13 in the state.
The celebration marked an important milestone in the legacy of the community, according to Wendy Gaudette, Social Committee Chair and a Member At-Large for the democratically elected Board of Directors.
“It was so important to buy because of the security – knowing we can stay here and not have to worry about leaving,” she said. “I love it here. I’ve been here since 1985 and I’m not the longest by a long shot. I think that speaks to what a great place Westbury is.”
Residents from Charter Oaks Village Cooperative in Arundel, Maine, celebrated on Saturday as well after purchasing their 40-home community on June 11.
“We are looking forward to becoming a stronger, more tight-knit community and keeping is safe,” said James Lantagne.
Charter Oaks residents joined nine other communities in Maine in securing resident-ownership.
Westbury and Charter Oaks residents purchased their neighborhoods for $11.2 million and $1.1 million, respectively.
Both groups will be working with Cooperative Development Institute for the duration of their mortgage – at least 10 years. The CDI staff works with 46 communities in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Nationwide, ROC USA® and its nine affiliates work with 239 ROCs made up of more than 15,500 homes in 16 states.