Vermont’s villages are its calling card: the general store with granite steps, the inn with a wraparound porch, the town hall with its meeting room on the second floor. These buildings are treasured, and most were built with no thought for a visitor in a wheelchair. Owners and select boards across the state are working out how to change that without losing what makes the buildings special.
At the entrance
A vertical platform lift beside the steps raises a visitor to porch level. It can be placed at a side entrance and screened with planting or lattice, leaving the front of the building as it is.
Inside, at a change of level
Old buildings are full of odd steps where additions meet. A short-rise platform lift bridges them.
On a staircase
An inclined platform lift carries a wheelchair up the existing stairs on a rail and folds against the wall afterward. It needs no shaft and leaves the building’s fabric largely untouched, which makes it a frequent choice for historic interiors.
To a full upper floor
Where a second-floor meeting room, dining room or guest rooms must be reached, a compact elevator designed for low-rise buildings may be the answer, often housed in a small rear addition.
Questions to settle early
- What accessibility requirements apply to your building and its use? An architect or code official can advise.
- Is the building in a designated historic district, or listed?
- Does Act 250 or local design review affect exterior changes?
- Who will operate and maintain the lift?
Funding
- Towns and nonprofits can look into state and federal grants for accessibility and historic preservation
- Businesses should ask an accountant about tax incentives for removing barriers
- Community fundraising has paid for many a town hall lift
Why it is worth doing
Vermont’s population is among the oldest in the nation. An accessible building serves your neighbors as well as your visitors.
Start with a site visit
Nationwide Lifts of Vermont works with inns, businesses, churches and towns. Call (802) 734-0869.