The farmhouse restoration project at the Pittfsord Village Farm features two rental apartments, a childcare center and a retail operation. Seen in Pittsford on Thursday, September 10, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger What began as a vision among Pittsford residents in 2018 will become reali ty Sept. 15, when a childcare center in the newly restored Pittsford Village Farm is set to open. Already, two families have moved into new affordable apartments, and a new drink shop called Small Town Nutrition has moved into the Pittsford Village Farm, said Lorrie Byrom, the chair of the Pittsford Village Farm board of directors. It has been a “citizen effort” to see the town’s plan realized, and now a ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for Sept. 17, Byrom said.  It all began about eight years ago when Pittsford residents gathered to ask what would be the best use for the historic Pittsford Village farmhouse after the sprawling farm had been preserved for local use. Townspeople prioritized developing a community center, childcare operation, affordable housing and fostering local business, Byrom said.  The total restoration project cost over $4 million, Byrom said, with funding coming from citizen donations, state programs, the National Parks Service, Let’s Grow Kids and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, among other sources.  Byrom said the Pittsford Village Farm is still fundraising around $200,000 to finish the community center portion of the project, which will be a gathering space for everything from potlucks to yoga classes. The childcare center in Pittsford is licensed for 30 slots, open to children who are six weeks to 5 years old, with infant, toddler and preschool classroom cohorts, said Stephanie Carvey, the co-executive director of Rutland County Parent Child Center, which will operate the childcare facility. The Pittsford Village Farm’s campus has opportunities for nature programming, while also being centrally located near the Maclure Library and Kamuda’s Country Market in the village center, she said.  Pittsford Village Farm partnered with Rutland County Parent Child Center in Jan. 2025 to open the childcare facility, after First Children’s Finance helped the nonprofit community group seek out a childcare operator.    In Vermont, childcare is more affordable since the passage of Act 76 in 2023, which expanded the state childcare subsidy program, said Erin Roche, senior advisor for First Children’s Finance. The bill aimed to make wages higher for childcare providers and to increase childcare subsidies for families making up to 575% of the federal poverty line.   There is still a gap between the supply and demand for childcare in Vermont, Roche said. First Children’s Finance helped Pittsford Village Farm secure a planning grant as part of the overall mission to expand childcare access across the state.  Rutland County has among the highest demand for childcare in Vermont: Over 1,000 childcare slots are needed to meet the need, according to 2026 analysis by First Children’s Finance.  The Pittsford Village Farm board decided to honor a Pittsford community stalwart, Breda Harnish, who died at 71 in 2013, by naming the portion of the building that will house the childcare center “Breda’s Place.”  The view from the balcony at Pittford Village Farm after a restoration project seen on Thursday, September 10, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger While owning and operating the Cortina Inn in Rutland, Breda Harnish mentored children through the New York Times Fresh Air Fund and Mentor Connector, among other efforts to educate and support children in the community, Bob Harnish said of his late wife in an interview. “I hope that she would be very pleased to have her name on this portion of the village farm house,” Harnish said. “It’s becoming more and more well known that early childhood learning is important to overall success.” Through this restoration effort supported by locals like Harnish, Byrom said she hopes the historic building in Pittsford will be a cross-generational gathering place for the region. “It is going to house significant opportunities for citizens across our town and our surrounding towns to do many educational, cultural, recreational things together,” Byrom said. Read the story on VTDigger here: Pittsford Village Farm opens with new childcare operation and affordable apartments. ...read more read less