CityPlace decides to build its own affordable housing rather than relying on nonprofit

There's been a change of plans for the affordable housing at the CityPlace project, now rising from the former pit in downtown Burlington.

Mayor Miro Weinberger announced in a press release on Friday that CityPlace Partners will themselves build the roughly 70 permanently affordable apartments required for the downtown Burlington project, rather than partnering with nonprofits Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) and Evernorth to build stand-alone, publicly financed affordable housing on the western side of the site, as originally planned.

CityPlace is being built by three local businessmen: Scott Ireland of S.D. Ireland Construction in Williston; Dave Farrington of Farrington Construction in Shelburne; and Al Senecal of Omega Vermont in South Burlington.

Michael Monte, chief executive officer of the nonprofit Champlain Housing Trust, said he's disappointed the partnership with CityPlace is ending, but said CHT has shifted its focus to building affordable housing at Burlington's Cambrian Rise development instead, together with Evernorth.

"We are about to sign an agreement to develop 30 new permanently affordable condominiums through CHT's shared equity program, as well as 40 permanently affordable rentals at Cambrian Rise, in partnership with Evernorth, including apartments available to serve our community's most vulnerable," Monte said in a statement.

CityPlace decides to 'absorb' affordable apartments rather than farming them out to nonprofits

Patrick O'Brien, project manager for CityPlace Partners, said in a statement that while he and his team worked closely with Champlain Housing Trust and Evernorth over the past year, the partnership decided to "absorb" the affordable housing into the overall project, which is largely dedicated to housing, rather than placing all the affordable units in a single building.

"This decision is a win-win for everyone because CityPlace Partners will provide affordable homes, with very little if any public subsidy, which will free up millions of dollars of incentives for the creation of units elsewhere in Burlington," O'Brien said.

More: Affordable apartments replacing vacant VFW on Burlington's South Winooski Avenue

The 70 affordable apartments will be integrated throughout the north building on the CityPlace site, the foundation for which is already poured. Weinberger said CityPlace Partners anticipates construction of the building to begin in the first half of 2024. No completion date was given.

Weinberger asking city council to approve spending millions of federal dollars on affordable housing

Weinberger will ask the City Council at Monday night's meeting to approve giving $950,000 of federal money the city controls to Champlain Housing Trust for its Cambrian Rise project. The money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act. He will also ask the council to give another $1 million to CHT for its project to build 38 affordable apartments where the Howard Plant VFW Post 782 currently sits.

The vacant VFW post 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 CHT's Michael Monte.

Monte said last month that 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.

All told, if the City Council signs off, Weinberger said in a statement that the three projects − CityPlace, Cambrian Rise and VFW Post 782 − will add more than 180 permanently affordable homes in Burlington.

"The only way out of our long-standing, acute housing shortage is to build a lot more homes," Weinberger said.

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosi@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Affordable housing planned at CityPlace in Burlington, VFW Post 782