Affordable apartments replacing vacant VFW on Burlington's South Winooski Avenue
A transformation is coming to South Winooski Street where the Howard Plant VFW Post 782 currently sits. That vacant building will be demolished and a five-story structure with 38 apartments, a new home for the VFW post and space for the Burlington Community Justice Center will take its place, according to Michael Monte, chief executive officer of the Champlain Housing Trust.
Monte said work on the $22 million project will begin in April 2024 and be finished by July 2025. He said for the next several months, the VFW building will be used as a winter homeless shelter, before construction begins.
"The VFW approached us a couple of years ago with the idea of us buying that whole area and being redevelopers of the property," Monte said. "We have an agreement with them to purchase the building and sell back a portion of the building where they will have a brand new VFW center and will expand to do more veteran services."
Brian Pine, director of Burlington's Community & Economic Development Office, said the city is leasing the building from the VFW, still the current owner, for the homeless shelter, which will open on Dec. 15, and close on March 15. Vermont's Agency of Human Services provided a grant of about $600,000 to operate the shelter, according to Pine.
The shelter will offer 30 regular beds nightly. In extreme weather conditions, Pine said there may be up to 10 additional beds provided. He said 20 of the 30 regular beds will be reserved for people who access the shelter "at the beginning," and show they can follow the shelter's rules. The other 10 beds will be made available on a "night-to-night basis," according to Pine.
VFW and Justice Center below, apartments above
The new VFW center, as well as space for the Burlington Community Justice Center, will be on the ground floor of the building, with the apartments on the four upper floors. The apartments, which will be called Post Apartments in honor of the VFW, will be a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, with rents ranging from $1,075 to $1,600, including utilities. Monte said eight of the apartments will be reserved for homeless households, with five of those for homeless veterans.
"We work with various housing authorities and various organizations to make sure people don't pay more than 30% of their income for rent," Monte said.
The financing for the project is complex, with 16 separate city, state and federal sources of funding. The Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) and Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) are the two biggest funders, with $6.9 million coming from VHCB and $6 million coming from VHFA. Champlain Housing Trust also took out a $2 million loan as part of the financing.
State pays for 90% of brownfield remediation
On Nov. 3, Gov. Phil Scott announced the Department of Economic Development would contribute just over $1 million to the Post Apartments project to clean up the brownfield that the property sits on.
"Transforming these brownfields into job creators and much needed housing is exactly the kind of work Vermont needs (to) advance," Scott said in a statement.
More: A downtown Burlington fixture could be bound for demolition
Monte said the state is covering 90% of the $1.3 million cost for dealing with the brownfield. A brownfield is a term used for land that is abandoned or underutilized because of pollution. The VFW site has chemicals and metals in its soil attributed to urban fill and the site's historic use as an orchard. It also sits on top of a filled-in historic ravine that once served as an unofficial dump for the city of Burlington.
"We're grateful to have received an award from the State Brownfields Program," Monte said in an email. "The site is in Burlington's Designated Downtown, a great location close to jobs, public transportation and services. Environmental remediation of downtown sites is expensive, and complicates infill development."
The project
Project cost: $22 million
Developer: Champlain Housing Trust, Burlington
Contractor: Wright & Morrissey, South Burlington
Architect: Duncan Wisniewski Architecture, Burlington
Address: 176 S. Winooski Ave., Burlington
Progress:
Champlain Housing Trust has lined up the financing for the project, which will begin in April 2024 and be completed by July 2025.
Features:
Thirty-eight "perpetually affordable" apartments, mostly one bedroom, with some studios and some two bedroom. Eight units will be set aside for homeless households, with five of those units for homeless veterans.
Monthly rents will include all utilities, including electric − $1,075 for studios; $1,270 for one bedroom; $1,600 for two bedroom.
The project will create two new commercial spaces:
A new, sustainable home for the Howard Plant VFW Post 782, positioning them to expand their services programming
Office space for the Burlington Community Justice Center, which has expanded and continues to expand, outgrowing their current space
What's in the neighborhood:
Downtown Burlington
Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosi@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Affordable apartments to replace VFW post in downtown Burlington
