  Hello South Burlington,
As I sit here at City Hall, I can hear construction happening next door on Market Street. Fascinating earth movers and excavators and many many of our hardworking neighbors are laboring each day to realize the community’s vision for our new Downtown. I want to take a moment to share some details on what is happening here in City Center.
Permitting and Construction
Construction is underway at 224 Market Street, 268 Market Street, and 339 Garden Street. These three new buildings will fill the northeast block between City Hall and Garden Street. These new properties will include 161 new homes for our neighbors and 22,675 ft2 of first floor commercial space. This development includes new plaza space and a new 21 foot wide sidewalk that will enable future commercial space to activate the sidewalk. This first-story commercial space – with regularly-spaced doors along Market Street – is part of the Form Based Code Zoning that was put into place to create a designated heart of the downtown.
Construction is also underway at 112 Garden Street. This is the building you see under construction as you turn off Dorset Street toward Healthy Living and Trader Joe’s. This property will include 121 new homes as well as an 1,800 ft2 café and a 5,000 ft2 day care center with associated outdoor play space. An interesting note about this building – there will be balconies for many of the new homes!
Additionally, development of the block on the southwest side of Market Street is under review by our Planning & Zoning Department. This is in anticipation of permits being submitted for an additional three mixed use buildings containing 213 new homes and 27,000 ft2 of first floor commercial space sitting directly opposite the commercial space under construction now.
Each of these properties are developed to the Form Based Zoning Code standards that the community, Planning Commission, and Council envisioned in the last decade.
Commercial Space
Let’s take a moment and talk about the commercial space. Upon full buildout the blocks of Market Street between City Hall and Garden Street and Garden Street between Market and Dorset Street will include over 50,000 ft2 of new first floor commercial space designed with multiple entrances to encourage smaller and mid-sized businesses. These new businesses will add exciting visitors and vibrancy to our Downtown. And we are looking for those partners! Do you or someone you know have a business you would like to locate Downtown? Please be in touch with Ken Braverman at kb@bravermancompany.com to discuss opportunities. It is our business community and our neighbors that can help us realize our goals for a vibrant City Center and add to the extensive commercial space already Downtown!
Green Space
The current green space planned for City Center includes Goose Park, City Center Park, and the 2023 voter-approved Boardwalk that will connect these two open spaces. Together, these spaces provide 9.4 acres of green space within feet of Market Street.
Transportation, Walkability, and Bikeability
In addition to the Boardwalk, on Town Meeting Day 2023 the voters approved funding for three other projects that will help sew City Center together. Those include completing Garden Street from Dorset Street to Williston Road, including re-aligning the white-street intersection; building a shared use path along the South side of Williston Road; and matching Federal funds to construct a walk/bike bridge over I-89 south of Exit 14. Together, these investments will create a truly walkable and bikeable downtown.
Investors and Taxation
Two Vermont legacy organizations, the University of Vermont and the UVM Health Network, have invested millions of dollars to support the creation of housing in City Center. In my conversations with their leaders, they recognize our growing Downtown as an ideal location for their staff and graduate students to live. They are excited about the amenities and the ability for their professionals to walk and bike to work. They are optimistic this investment will help meet both our shared housing and climate resiliency goals. It's important to note that, while they are significant investors, the developers will maintain ownership of all of these buildings under construction and in permitting. These buildings will be assessed at full market value and will pay their full and fair share of taxes.
There’s a lot going on down here. Some of it is complicated and building planning, design, permitting and construction takes a long time. I’m excited to see it all come to fruition and I’d welcome your thoughts and ideas as we move forward! As always, please feel free to reach out to me at jbaker@southburlingtonvt.gov or at (802) 846-4107.
My best,
Jessie
Seeking Volunteers For City Committees
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To Apply and learn More
Charter Committee Forum - May 25th
 Shared on behalf of the City’s Charter Committee and Peter Taylor, the Chair of the Committee
- Should South Burlington have a Mayor?
- Should South Burlington expand its City Council and/or School Board?
- Should South Burlington elect City Councilors and/or School Directors by District? Or should they run City-Wide/at-Large?
Learn more and provide feedback!
- Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of governance models: tinyurl.com/sbgovproscons
- Learn about the Charter Committee’s efforts to date: tinyurl.com/sbgov
- Complete a survey on possible governance structures for South Burlington: tinyurl.com/sbgovsurvey
- And participate in upcoming community forums!
- May 25, 2023 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM in the Auditorium at 180 Market Street - Conference Room 301
City Construction
The City has been awarded a VTrans Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant of $300,000 to replace the culvert that conveys North Brook beneath Bartlett Bay Road.
 Burlington Country Club Gravel Wetland
The Burlington Country Club Gravel Wetland will wrap up construction soon, with the landscaping schedule for completion by the end of May.
 Lindenwood Stormwater Project
The Lindenwood Stormwater Project is also wrapping up construction and is anticipated to be completed by the end of May.
CityPlan2024: First Drafts Under Review
After a successful initial round of hearing directly from the community, we’re into the heart of the Plan: preparing first drafts of each chapter and gathering feedback. A first draft of each chapter is being reviewed by the Planning Commission, followed by additional feedback from City Committees and Departments.
Proposed Amendments: Environmental Protection Standards
 The City Council will be holding a second public hearing on a series of adjustments to the Environmental Protection Standards within the Land Development Regulations on May 15th at 7:30 pm.
Looking for a full and or part-time job? The City of South Burlington is looking to hire great people to join our team.
CLICK HERE for our most current openings. We have several!
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