November 2, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti
Formerly known as Armory Avenue, Woody Avenue connects High Street and Hillcrest Terrace. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
In an effort to continue to encourage the development of more housing in town, Waterbury officials are looking to the public for input on developing town-owned land behind Brookside Primary School.
The 3.5-acre site along Woody Avenue – the street connecting High Street and Hillcrest Terrace, formerly called Armory Avenue – could potentially be used for residential development.
A meeting scheduled for this Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the school will kick off the conversation with local residents about what that might involve.
A year ago, the town of Waterbury was awarded a $299,985 state Community Development Block Grant planning grant through 2023 flood disaster recovery funding to evaluate the site, envision residential construction there, and work to incorporate public opinion into the concept.
The town this summer hired a consulting team led by Wiemann Lamphere Architects to manage that process, and this week’s meeting is the first to invite the public to share ideas.
Project officials will introduce the concept to date, explain the planning process, and ask attendees to weigh in with suggestions and questions.
The site currently has a town garage, or former armory structure, used for storage alongside a gravel parking lot that is used for overflow parking for the school. It is otherwise undeveloped, and town officials see it as a convenient location near existing services and infrastructure to support housing development. They also note that the spot is outside mapped flood hazard areas in the downtown.
In announcing Thursday’s meeting, town officials said that they will ask attendees for their thoughts on housing types to consider for the property, as well as ideas about building sizes and density, affordability, parking, open space, and connections to the surrounding neighborhood.
The state grant will only cover project planning; project leaders say they likely will hold additional community meetings as the process moves along and before a final concept is decided.
Town officials explain that the project is in the early planning stages. No decisions have been made regarding the number or type of housing units, affordability levels, or future development arrangements. This effort is meant to explore options for future development. Future steps toward building new housing would require financing and involvement of a real estate developer.
Any questions may be directed to Waterbury Planning Director Neal Leitner at 802-244-1018 or nleitner@waterburyvt.com.