by Guy Page

Tom Bodett, the Motel 6 advertising pitchman who famously ad-libbed “we’ll leave the light on for you,” has won a state grant for a Brattleboro arts center. 

Gov. Phil Scott last week announced 40 Community Recovery and Revitalization Program (CRRP) grant winners. The projects are expected to support 1,810 existing jobs, enable the creation of 117 new jobs, build or rehabilitate 75 housing units, and add 60 new childcare slots.

 One of those projects is called High Street & Green, a downtown Brattleboro nonprofit creative space. It’s owned by Tom Bodett, who was a carpenter in Alaska when an ad agency auditioned him in 1986 for the job of doing Motel 6 voiceovers. The line that made him world-famous for a time – “I’m Tom Bodett, and we’ll leave the light on for you” – wasn’t even in the script. It was just an ad-lib the Illinois-born actor tossed in. The director loved it and the rest is history. 

The Motel 6 pitchman for more than three decades, Bodett has lived in Dummerston since 2013.  He bought the High Street & Green property in 2020. Back then, it was in disrepair.

“Coming out of the pandemic I had the realization that I could play a part to ensure that downtown Brattleboro is a destination for creativity for years to come,” Bodett said.

High Street & Green will use a $188,312 grant to make further enhancements to the eastern and western faces of the building, upgrade the HVAC system, and remove a broken elevator.

“High Street & Green is fast becoming a creative and cultural mainstay in downtown Brattleboro. With the support of the CRRP program our 38,000 square foot facility is now fully occupied and serving the arts and maker community of our area,” says Bodett. “Public support for these improvements allows High Street & Green to continue to offer affordable rents to its amazing community of artists.” 

The 40 projects are receiving a combined proposed award amount of $10,595,644, which is expected to support $104,542,158 in total project costs. The awards are going to projects in 13 counties and the following 31 towns: Arlington, Brandon, Bellows Falls, Bennington, Berlin, Brattleboro, Burlington, Charlotte, Colchester, East Burke, Fairlee, Greensboro, Hinesburg, Johnson, Lyndon, Manchester, Middlebury, Milton, Newport City, Putney, Rockingham, Rutland, Shelburne, Sheldon, South Hero, Springfield, Starksboro, Strafford, Swanton, Vergennes, and Wolcott.

In Windsor, a $397,588 CRRP grant will help Windham & Winsor Housing Trust and Evernorth build 25 units of affordable housing at a development called Central & Main.

Greensboro will use an $800,000 grant to build a new wastewater system to replace septic systems that have exceeded their useful life, posing a risk to the town’s ability to support businesses, municipal facilities, and build housing.