MIDDLEBURY — Vermont Folklife officials have confirmed a buyer for the nonprofit’s headquarters — the historic John Warren House at 88 Main St. in Middlebury — and hope to close on a deal with the yet-to-be-revealed purchaser this fall.

John Barstow, director of development at Vermont Folklife, said last week he could only share that the prospective buyer is a local entity that plans to use the 220-year-old brick, Federal-style house for its offices.

The organization was founded in 1984 as the Vermont Folklife Center by Addison County’s Jane Beck. Vermont Folklife, as it is now known, is a nationally known education and cultural research nonprofit that uses ethnography — the study of cultural experience through interviewing, participation and observation — “to strengthen the understanding of the cultural and social fabric of Vermont’s diverse communities,” according to its website.

The organization acquired the John Warren House in 2006 for around $600,000 to serve as its home base, according to Barstow. The building’s historic aura and its 7,366 square feet provided ample accommodations for VF’s staff of nine full- and parttime employees and for the organization’s archives that include photographs, manuscripts and many audio recordings that are being digitized.

Successful nonprofits often find themselves outgrowing their space. But the opposite is true for the thriving VF, whose staff, activities and archives have only required a fraction of the John Warren House’s available space.

“When I started working there, I had an office that was one-quarter of the second floor,” Barstow recalled. “It was ridiculous. We knew we could all work in much less space.”

With that in mind, VF several years ago began renting out its second floor as office space that’s currently being used by a diverse collection of therapists and entrepreneurs. A portion of the main floor is also being leased. The rentals have provided a welcome boost to VF’s revenue stream.

At the same, the organization has gradually transitioned from a Middlebury destination to a nimble operation whose primary mission is collecting and preserving Vermont’s unique heritage throughout the state. In line with that shift, the organization has grown its direct engagement with Vermont communities, and recently dropped the word “center” from the end of its moniker.

Vermont Folklife’s transition from a fixed location intensified during the pandemic, according to VF Associate Director and Archivist Andy Kolovos.

“We closed our onsite gallery in the spring of 2020,” he said through a press release, “and rather than reopen it, we decided to bring our exhibits to partner organizations around the state — sites like the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, and the Manchester Community Library. It has been immensely rewarding to build new connections in these communities.”

Kate Haughey, VF’s executive director, pointed to the advantages of the new, more personal touch.

“As a community-focused nonprofit, we find it so important to bring our programs and mission to people — where they are — rather than asking people to come to us,” she said. “And that enables us to foster the face-to-face connections that are at the heart of what we do.”

VF’s first home was in rented space in Middlebury’s Gamaliel Painter House at 2 Court St. The nonprofit in 2000 partnered with the Vermont Community Foundation to purchase, renovate and occupy the former Masonic Hall at 3 Court St. Then came the acquisition and move to the Warren House 18 years ago, just one year prior to Beck’s retirement in 2007 as VF’s first-ever executive director.

The Warren House is recognized as an historic place at both the state and federal levels. In his “Walking History of Middlebury,” Glenn M. Andres notes 88 Main Street was built in 1804 by John Warren, a clothier and the developer of the Frog Hollow cotton mill.

“This was one of the most pretentious and urbane early houses in Middlebury,” Andres writes. “It was of brick (its end walls, of a particularly elaborate Flemish bond, suggest an itinerant mason from New York’s Hudson Valley) atop a dressed stone basement and detailed with marble from Eben Judd’s mill (e.g., the shaped plaques and the turned columns of the Palladian window) and fine woodwork.”

Historic structures require special upkeep, and VF has done its best to keep the Warren House in good condition. But the nonprofit doesn’t have the deep pockets needed for long-term stewardship of the venerable edifice.

“88 Main St. is a unique, landmark structure,” Haughey said, “and we asked ourselves — is this part of our mission? Should we be the stewards of this historic property? Or is it more important that we direct our resources into fulfilling our mission, getting out there and meeting people on their own terms?”

After more than a year of debate and conversation with staff, the VF board recently voted to sell the Warren House. And the property will be conveyed with an important caveat: That its new owner allow the VF archives to remain in their climate-controlled area in the lower level of the building, until the nonprofit has pinned down replacement storage space.

“We like to say that the Archive is the heart of the organization,” Kolovos said.

The Independent reached out to Beck to get her thoughts on the VF’s departure from the Warren House. She said, “I have been retired since 2007 and change comes with time. Of course I am sad to see the organization move out of Middlebury by selling the John Warren House, but for a small nonprofit, economics are a driving force. I respect the decision of those in charge.”

Once 88 Main St. is sold, VF staff will continue the hybrid work schedules they began during the pandemic, while also gathering periodically in a small office the organization rents at 74 Main St. in Burlington.

The Warren House is listed for $1 million, according to Barstow, who added the building’s current tenants have been advised about the potential change in ownership.

Use of the eventual Warren House sales proceeds has yet to be determined by VF, Barstow said.

VF’s departure from Middlebury after so many years is bittersweet, according to Haughey.

“I think about it this way: we may be leaving this particular building, but we’re also not going anywhere,” she said. “We will be out there in Vermont interviewing people, creating and sharing exhibits, supporting culturally based arts, connecting young people to traditional music. When we say we cover the whole state, that includes Middlebury — so keep an eye out for events and exhibits. We will always return to where it all began.”

Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].