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Directory of Burlington Vermont
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Real Estate, Renting, and Housing :
real estate and housing
Real Estate, Renting, and Housing
There are 126 Real Estate, Renting, and Housing links for you to choose from!
Developers of a proposed Appletree Point senior housing and assisted living
facility offered a revised plan Tuesday to the Burlington Development Review Board.
The new plan is meant as a means to discuss ways to alleviate concerns among neighbors of the project, said Bill Niquette of Infill Development Services, which is developing the project. The alternative plan led opponents to complain they are facing a frustrating, moving target.
Infill originally proposed a 256-unit project on 16 acres in the Appletree Point neighborhood. Residents of nearby streets said the project would dwarf homes surrounding the site and worsen traffic in the area.
new
Click here to read more.
A new report says Chittenden county's housing shortage remains
a crisis, and it's getting worse. A housing task force blames a combination of causes, including the escalating cost of housing -- and NIMBY -- neighbors who say Not In My Back Yard.
Chittenden county continues to grow in population, but the demand for housing has grown faster. In spite of several new housing developments like Victoria's Place nearing completion in Burlington, the Chittenden County Housing Task Force concludes the county's current shortfall of housing is almost two-thousand units, and that the gap will grow to five thousand by the year 2010 if the pace of new housing construction doesn't pick up.
Housing Task Force chairman Mark Lords summed it up: "In the last year it's only gotten worse." Lords is a housing builder with the Snyder group. He says the demand for housing is greater than ever, that not even two rounds of layoffs at IBM have eased the housing crunch.
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Affordable housing needs topped United Way’s Community Needs Assessment
2000 report. While a new community assessment report finds that 93 percent of those surveyed describe Chittenden County as an "excellent" or "good" place to live, there are still many challenges facing the county in the areas of affordable housing, medical care, child care and drug and alcohol abuse treatment.
The report, released this week by United Way of Chittenden County, is the third in a series of community needs assessment surveys conducted by the local United Way, Fletcher Allen Health Care and Macro International. The telephone survey of 420 Chittenden County residents was conducted in May 2000.
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Astra Furnished Apartments
offers short or long term rentals
at
383 College Street in
Burlington.
All Utilities Included and
Fully equipped kitchen area
(including microwave)
Completely furnished studio units and one bedroom apartments.
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Attacks On The Dwellings Of The Homeless
A man who won a civic award in Burlington earlier this year build a sturdy lean-to last year and steep hillside above the bike path between Skate Park and North Beach. He used pressure-treated lumber and hung a tarp as his west wall. On Friday, October 19th an apparent arson fire demolished the structure with all his belongings - sleeping bag, clothes, book, papers - leaving him to begin anew with only what he was wearing.
Very dry leaves near the blaze were not singed by flames so intense that they blackened the bark of nearby trees ten yards above the ground. This suggests that an accelerant such as gasoline or lighter fluid was used. The man does not smoke and had no stove or heater at the lean-to.
This crime is particularly disturbing in the context of other recent attacks on the homeless. One man claims he caught Burlington Ordinance Police in the act of setting his tent on fire on three occasions while another man says he caught them setting fire to his tent twice.
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Burlington Apartments . Net
is the largest rental database in Vermont.
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Burlington Apartments For Rent
can be searched for on Burlington Free Press' Apartments.com web site. You can search for apartments based on Price,
Bed,
Bath,
Type of Housing, and amenities.
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Burlington Community Land Trust
(BCLT) is a non-profit, member-based organization in Burlington, Vermont. Our mission is to ensure access to affordable homes and vital communities for all people through the democratic stewardship of land.
BCLT was the first municipally-funded community land trust and today is the largest community land trust in the U.S., with over 2,500 members. BCLT has become a national model of locally-controlled affordable housing and community revitalization.
BCLT provides a wide range of housing opportunities. BCLT properties include over 270 rental apartments and 370 shared-appreciation single family homes and condominiums. Through its land stewardship, BCLT ensures that these properties will remain affordable.
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Burlington Rental Properties
is a lListings of available apartments and houses in greater Burlington area.
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Century 21 Jack Associates
dedicated to providing our clients and customers with the finest service available. Our top-notch team of brokers and agents has the expertise you can rely on to make your home buying and/or selling experience one you'll remember . . . for all the right reasons! Whether you're moving across town, across the state or around the world, our Relocation Directors are specially trained to help. With our extensive broker network, we can make your move an easy one! ... At CENTURY 21 Jack Associates, we pride ourselves on being experts in bringing home buyers and home sellers together. And, with a seasoned team of brokers, agents, and support staff, no one knows our area better! Like the CENTURY 21 Jack Associates team itself, our Web site has been designed to provide you with the information you need to make the right real estate decisions. So check out our site, and then give us a call. At CENTURY 21 Jack Associates, we're here for you.
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Chittenden Commercial Real Estate Association
(CCREA) was started in the early 1980's as an informal gathering of real estate professionals focusing on leasing and selling of commercial real estate throughout the State of Vermont.
Our goals and purpose over the years have changed little. We continue to provide a forum for networking, exchange of information and education. In addition we strive to be a catalyst for enhancing our services and professionalism by the quality of information and education through the utilization of technology.
All Broker members of CCREA are Realtors™ real estate professionals, who as members of the National Association of Realtors subscribes to a strict Code of Ethics.
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Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Realty
is Burlington's largest Real Estate Company and Vermont's largest Coldwell Banker Company. We are involved in over 20% of the homes bought and sold throughout Northwestern Vermont. Our friendly, professional approach has bought us respect as leaders in the real estate industry. Our office is fully computerized and all of our listings are found on the internet.
Our Residential Real Estate Company has a team of over 35 educated and experienced sales associates. Their support consists of customer service representatives, transactions coordinators, a relocation department, and a marketing department. We are large enough to meet all of our clients needs, yet small enough to provide high quality personalized services.
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Finding an affordable apartment in Chittenden County
could soon get easier. For years low vacancy rates have forced prices up but now the market appears to be in transition. Allen & Brooks conducted a new study.
The report shows what many people already know. Apartments in Chittenden County are expensive. A one bedroom is about dollars and a two bedroom runs about dollars. And the cost of apartments continues to rise, up 6 % last year for one bedroom and more than 7 % for two bedrooms. But the report also found that apartment rent inflation has slowed over the past three years. It's one sign that the high cost of apartments could be leveling off.
One reason prices could be coming down is new construction projects. Thousands of new units are being built across Chittenden County. Many contain affordable housing. Mark Brooks follows trends in Chittenden County real estate, he says vacancy rates will increase.
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Hearthside Group
is a real estate company that specializes in selling country inns, B&B's, restaurants, motels and hotels throughout Vermont and New Hampshire. If you are looking to purchase an inn, motel, hotel, or restaurant, we encourage you to explore our site. Our web site is continuously updated, and our goal is to maintain a high level of communication with the people involved in operating, buying, or selling inns, B&B's, restaurants, motels, and hotels. Don't hesitate to e-mail us with any questions or comments you might have.
Gary, Wendy and Pamela have a proven track record of selling country inns, restaurants, motels, bed and breakfasts, and hotels. We continue to specialize in hospitality business brokerage so that we can provide customers and clients the most knowledgeable service with a goal of putting deals together that work for both sides.
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Housing Vermont
, a nonprofit syndication
and development company founded in
1988, creates permanently affordable
rental housing for Vermonters through
partnerships with local organizations,
public agencies and the private sector.
This highly successful partnership has
produced more than 3,300 affordable
apartments in 94 different developments.
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Lake Champlain Housing Development Corporation
is a non-profit organization that is devoted to the development, restoration and preservation of affordable rental housing and apartments within Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties of Vermont.
LCHV provides financially responsible property management and maintenance services for affordable rental housing and apartments within Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties of Vermont.
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Little Eagle Bay Town Houses
is comprised of 77 two-bedroom townhouses located on 13 acres of wooded, private land in Burlington, VT. Amenities include a private beach on Lake Champlain, a raquetball court, a laundromat and plenty of parking.
The townhouses are two stories and include a galley kitchen, a combined dining and living room, two bedrooms and a full bath. Many of the townhouses feature a wood burning fireplace in the livingroom.
Little Eagle Bay is 2.5 miles from downtown Burlington and 3.0 miles from the University of Vermont Medical Center and features an on-site property manager whose responsibility is to make sure you receive what you are paying for. Contact us today for an application!
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Mike Gannett’s real estate relocation services
cover townships in northwest Vermont’s Champlain Valley. Burlington is Mike’s home base. Be sure to read Why Burlington ? Greater Burlington has been accorded many Accolades and Awards for quality health care, schools, and numerous intangibles contributing to quality of life. The scenic beauty of Vermont’s Green Mountains, Lake Champlain and New York’s Adirondacks inspires everyone… even Vermonters. Mike knows the Valley townships. Most rural towns have easy access to the cultural, educational and recreational draws of Burlington, Middlebury and Stowe. It’s no wonder so many elect to live and raise a family in Champlain Valley.
Mike represents clientele in the purchase of primary and retirement homes, second homes for vacation and investment, and getaway cabins and condos to enjoy lake and mountain activities. Name your personal VT real estate preferences. Mike will find it.
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Nancy Desany's Burlington Real Estate
Offers Area Real Estate and Attractions, Featured Listings, School Information, Seller and Buyer Tips, Real Estate News, Relocation Services and much more!
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Nancy Jenkins
represents Prudential Realty Mart from her office on Kimball Avenue in South Burlington. To Nancy,
Knowledge is power. For Nancy, her lifelong quest for education has been the key to success. Her clients and customers rely on her for the financial insight that has placed her on the cutting edge of the ever changing Chittenden County marketplace. Involved, innovative, a top producer, interested in what is best for each person with whom she works, a leader and true professional.
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Picket Fence Preview
is a for-sale-by-owner real estate guide headquartered in Burlington Vermont, with franchised publications in several Northeastern states. Picket Fence Preview was started with the idea that homesellers needed an effective advertising vehicle to sell their homes without using a real estate agent.
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Redstone Commercial Group
is a full service commercial real estate company with its offices located at 210 College Street, Suite 201 in Burlington, Vermont.
At Redstone, we provide a wide range of commercial real estate services including brokerage, investment, buyer broker representation, development services, site selection, and property management.
(reality)
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The Marcelino Team
believes the role of a real estate agent is to guide you through the buying or selling process, taking the time to make sure you understand every step of the transaction. We are absolutely committed to fulfilling your needs with the highest level of professionalism, expertise and service. Our commitment to your satisfaction is the foundation from which a solid business relationship is built.
We realize that people do business with people they trust. We are interested in what is best for you, the client, and we are committed to establishing a long-term relationship based on trust. We pride ourselves on being knowledgeable and staying current with changes in the industry that will affect the success of your transaction. You have worked hard to be able to purchase the home of your dreams. We feel the responsibility to make those dreams a reality and pursue the right solution enthusiastically.
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HomeShare Vermont
is matching services for homesharing and caregiving. This non-profit organization assists elders and persons with disabilities to live independently in their own homes by bringing them together with persons who seek affordable housing and/or caregiving opportunities. HomeShare Vermont provides a comprehensive screening and matching service and our services are available to anyone in Chittenden County, Vermont.
A corner of Burlington's Old North End will have a prominent
addition this spring -- a three-story building at the corner of North Street and North Avenue that will house the Burlington College library and provide eight apartments for low-income renters.
The .6 million building -- nicknamed "the mermaid" by its developers, for its proximity to a Shell service station and Lake Champlain -- is going up on the former site of Rozzi's Deli.
The college library will share the first floor with a handicapped-accessible apartment.
The foundation for the building is in place and the prefabricated wooden building will appear soon, said Burlington's Housing Director Brian Pine. The general contractor is Neagley and Chase Construction Co.
Pine said the new building is part of the city's North End Revitali zation Project -- a long-term city undertaking to reinvent one of the oldest sections of the city. The project simmered on the back burner for a couple of years before the Burlington Community Land Trust,
A developer wants to build 148 two-bedroom apartments on 40 acres
of woodland and an overgrown meadow on Appletree Point in Burlington's New North End.
Some of the units would be set aside for low-income families. Such housing is much needed in Burlington's tight housing market, said Brian Pine, housing director for the city's Community and Economic Development Office.
Residents of Sunset Cliff Road and other nearby neighborhoods are opposing Keystone Development Corp.'s plan. They appealed a city permit, saying Appletree Terrace defies city regulations and would harm a precious wetland.
Their opposition to Appletree Terrace was heard in "Environmental Court" in June. A decision is pending.
I completely understand that Burlington has a housing shortage, but I don't think that building in places that haven't been developed is the ideal," said Nancy Kaplan, whose Muirfield Road home backs onto the currently vacant woodlands. "I had a fox running through my back yard. Once you lose that, it's gone forever."
A New housing proposal is a hot subject in South Burlington.
The prospect of more traffic at an already busy intersection drew a standing-room-only crowd Tuesday to a meeting of the Development Review Board in South Burlington.
At issue was a proposed development of seven four-story buildings with 160 rental units behind Staples on Williston Road. The 26-acre parcel, at 270 Quarry Hill Road, is owned by Ralph Deslauriers Jr. and would be developed by John Larkin. Dozens of concerned residents of East Terrace and Spear Street turned out for a hearing on the proposal, which was in a preliminary, sketch-plan phase.
Engineer Lance Llewellyn, who presented the proposal, said parking for residents of the housing would be provided beneath the buildings. He also said some of the land would be reserved for unspecified future commercial use. ... Residents expressed their concerns about increased traffic from a proposed road through the development that would connect with East Terrace.
A new study concludes that more working people are finding
it harder to pay the rent. This in spite of new affordable housing construction and low-income rent assistance.
... The report, entitled Out of Reach, calculates Vermont's "housing wage" -- the hourly pay a single person needs to afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent. In the Burlington area the housing wage is .35. In rural areas it's significantly lower, at .63. The statewide average housing wage is .78. The report is issued nationally and ranks all of the states. Among rural areas, Vermont ranks as the eighth least affordable state.
... But to make matters worse, it's not clear if much existing housing would be allowed if it were being built today. Vermont's stormwater runoff controversy has stalled the permitting system and threatens to put a halt to any significant construction. Carpenter spoke for many in the housing business who worry about the implications.
About 25 vacant buildings dotted Burlington four years ago;
that number has dropped to about 10.
The change is due in part to a 1999 law that created a program to keep track of unoccupied buildings. The ordinance requires property owners to make vacant buildings safe and apply for development permits or pay per quarter to the city, said Kathleen Butler, policy analyst at the Burlington code enforcement office. Vacant building fees are used to cover administrative costs of the program. ... A count of the number of buildings that have been removed from the vacant list since 1999 is difficult to establish because some land records are outdated, Butler said.
Unoccupied buildings are viewed as undesirable because they detract from the value of neighboring properties, Butler said. Eliminating vacant buildings also addresses the housing shortage in the city.
The housing shortage has eased during the last year, said Brian Pine at the city's Community and Economic Development Office.
Affordable Housing On Burlington's Waterfront is Raising Controversy.
The Burlington city council is expected to approve a plan to build affordable housing on the waterfront. But is the waterfront the right place?
The Depot Street Triangle has been controversial from the beginning. In spite of reservations by many who say the waterfront is not the place to lock in lower property values, the city council is expected to approve a long-term lease of the nearly two-acre parcel to the Burlington Community Land Trust, to build as many as forty units of affordable housing.
"When the land was acquired, it was acquired for the purpose of creating housing at that location," argues Brian Pine of the Community and Economic Development Office, CEDO. "The real question becomes, should we have affordable housing on the waterfront? And this city has decided that the only way to get a mixed-income, mixed-use waterfront that's vibrant year-round is to make the site available for affordable housing."
Affordable housing remains limited.
Rita Markley figured that the economic downturn would help free up some apartments and houses and begin to ease the housing crisis that has gripped northwest Vermont and the Upper Connecticut River Valley.
Recessions and the job losses that accompany them typically cause people to seek new jobs that require them to relocate, opening at least some housing stock and helping to drive down rents.
That hasn't happened, and so Markley's group, the Committee on Temporary Shelter, followed through on plans to buy a building to house 10 homeless families.
Even with the additional space in the former YWCA in downtown Burlington, there are countless people who have spent the winter -- and quite possibly will do the same throughout the summer -- making do with facilities that wouldn't pass a housing inspection.
Aline Demers figured selling a three-bedroom townhouse
in South Burlington's Stonehedge Condominiums would be simple in Chittenden County's sizzling real estate market.
Finding a buyer was the easy part, Demers said. Closing the deal was not. Stonehedge's state stormwater permit had expired, meaning the buyers could not obtain a clear title to the townhouse.
Demers is not the only homeowner who has encountered this problem. About 1,000 stormwater permits for large residential and commercial projects in Vermont have expired. Renewal has been delayed by lawsuits, politics and the low priority permit renewal was given in the 1990s.
Real estate brokers, bankers and title insurance underwriters say the expired stormwater permits add to the hassle of selling a home for a growing number of sellers.
All About Roommates
has been in the roommate locator business since 1998. Together with our affiliates, we've helped thousands of people find roommates and continue to provide complimentary services such as rental property location, moving services, and background screening. Our intent is to provide the most effective and efficient means for you to locate a roommate with confidence.
As resounding as the housing crunch in Chittenden County is,
it's understandable why the grand opening of 50 apartment units is cause for a full-blown celebration.
Housing, banking, and real-estate development officials turned shovels up at an open house for Maple Tree apartments in Williston.
"Why housing is so important at Taft's Corner is it fulfills certain goals that we've had in our town plan," said Mary Weston, chair of the Williston selectboard. "It's really exciting to see them come into place."
Doddi Bourne is still excited about coming into her place.
She moved here in July after living in a cramped apartment in the north end of Burlington, with her children Davilyn and Jayden.
Brad Chenette
will provide you with my personal attention, along with the assistance of my Buyer Specialist, Diane Donnelly, Realtor, you will have outstanding service. My name depends on it!
Previous President of the Vermont Real Information Network, VREIN, State Multiple Listing Service, MLS.
Past local Realtor board Senior Director to the Vermont State Association of Realtors, VAR within the National Association of Realtors, NAR.
" 2004 REALTOR Of The Year" for the local Board of REALTORS.
Brian M. Boardman
returned to Burlington in 1991 and joined the family business, Hickok & Boardman, following a 10-year career on Wall Street as a currency trader. One of Vermont's oldest companies, Hickok & Boardman's real estate division, a Coldwell Banker franchise, has over 35 full-time agents as well as commercial, relocation and rental divisions. Brian is the number one agent in Burlington and has been a top producer since joining the firm. Unique Homes, an international real estate magazine, named Brian as the only "megabroker" in the state of Vermont. This designation reflects his sales record which includes Hill section homes, country property, lakefront and condominiums. Brian's client base reflects his Burlington and UVM roots, as well as, his international contacts from his time spent on Wall Street working for an International Brokerage firm.
Burlington Affordable Housing Taskforce
will assess Burlington’s current housing conditions, both market rate housing and publicly-assisted housing units. This will also include a review of the regulatory and administrative impediments to creating more affordable housing. Although the Task Force is charged with focusing their attention on improvements to Burlington’s policies and programs as they impact affordable housing, there should be time devoted to changes needed at the State and regional level to encourage more affordable housing development and preservation throughout the region. The work of this task force will complement and be coordinated with the efforts of the Chittenden County Housing, which is being convened by the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission.
Burlington Codes office ordered a residence at 354 North
Winooski Ave. boarded shut after Code Enforcement Officer Ray O'Connor issued an emergency public health order declaring the house uninhabitable.
O'Connor said city police and fire departments answered a fire call shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday and discovered what he called "severely unsanitary conditions that made the building not suitable for occupancy."
He said the house is owned by Ellen Norton, a full-time worker for the city's Community Justice Center and that the house was occupied by three people.
Neighbors said Norton lived in the house with her two children. They said the elder son, whom they estimated to be about 20 years old, is blind and unable to speak. The younger child, they said, is a 10-year-old boy.
Burlington CoHousing - East Village
An innovative solution to today's "environmental" and social challenges.
New 1, 2, and 3-bedroom energy efficient flats and townhouses. A mixture of market-rate and affordable homes are still available. Many amenities including a large common living room, dining room, kitchen, and roof deck, garden space, and easy access to Centennial Woods. Pets allowed.
Burlington Cohousing is located on 3.8 acres of land on East Avenue in Burlington, Vermont. Only a mile from downtown Burlington and a quick walk from the University of Vermont and Fletcher Allen Health Care.
Burlington Housing Authority
is Vermont's oldest and largest municipally-based housing authority. Created in 1961, BHA has been providing affordable housing for forty years to individuals and families in the City of Burlington and surrounding communities.
BHA is governed by a five member Board of Commissioners, who are appointed by Burlington's Mayor. Our policies and priorities are established through a Five Year/Annual Plan. We receive most of our funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has rated us a High Performer.
Burlington is Among Most Expensive Places To Live in the country.
The Queen City ied for the 123rd least affordable area.
The most expensive...is Santa Cruz, California.
Other areas in New England making the list include the Nashua, and Portsmouth-Rochester areas in New Hampshire and Maine.
The list is compiled each year by the National Association of Home Builders, which compares family incomes and home prices for metropolitan areas around the country.
The latest survey is based on third-quarter numbers for 2001.
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Burlington is Endorsing A Major Housing Development.
For several months, the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington has considered selling its headquarters for development as a major housing project.
The diocesan property is a prime piece of real estate, 32 acres overlooking Lake Champlain off North Avenue. Specific plans for the property are still in the works, but the concept now has the city's endorsement. This is one of the largest undeveloped parcels of land in the city, and one of the most valuable, although untaxed as church property. ... The property could hold as many as 700 housing units under current zoning, although officials say the plan more likely will call for three or four hundred. The former orphanage, the original buildings dating from 1882, has stood empty for so long (since the early 1970s) that the church was under pressure to do something with it.
Although expensive to renovate, the old orphanage could be made into affordable apartments for the elderly -- a concept strongly endorsed by the church.
Burlington is experiencing a land gentrification problem.
Burlington, Vermont has a Population of about 39,000. It is a charming university city on the shores of Lake Champlain, it's been ranked one of the nation's most livable areas -- if you can afford a place to live. ... Burlington Community Land Trust: What we're experiencing here is a land gentrification problem: The cost of land, the cost of building, the access to land in our state has far exceeded what working people can afford. ... Burlington is one of a growing number of metropolitan areas nationwide, where the median-earning household can't afford the median-priced house. The vacancy rate for rentals hovers around 1 percent. It's even harder to buy a house. Demand has driven up prices, and wages haven't kept pace. Vicky Philby's experience is typical: ... A new landlord decided to renovate the three-bedroom house they had rented for a month for three years, and triple the rent. ... Once the renovations were done, he was going to increase the rent to ,500 per month.
Burlington plans to explain new smoke detector rule.
The Burlington Community and Economic Development Office will hold a workshop for landlords regarding a new city requirement that battery-operated smoke detectors be replaced in rental housing.
The new provision calls for a smoke detector in each bedroom and outside each sleeping area that is wired into the unit's electrical supply system.
The workshop will be at 6 p.m. Thursday in Contois Auditorium in City Hall.
Burlington wants to end homelessness in the city
in 10 years.
A draft city plan released Thursday urges building more affordable housing, a "livable wage," a housing "safety net" for those unable to work and social help for people with substance abuse or mental health problems.
The plan, "Moving Toward Home," was compiled by the city's Community and Economic Development Office.
State and federal help is necessary for the plan to work, the study acknowledges.
John O'Brien, the Boston-based regional coordinator of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, had high praise for the Burlington plan, the first such mayor-endorsed strategy, he said, from any city in New England and the first from a "small city" in the country.
Mayor Peter Clavelle, calling homelessness "a national disgrace," said the number of homeless, both individuals and families, is increasing locally as well as nationally.
Burlington's Development Review Board listened to both sides this week,
but deferred its decision in an easement dispute involving the new Cohousing East Village project on East Avenue.
Board Vice Chairman Eric Miller, after the board listened to passionate testimony from the two sides Tuesday, urged them to try to reach an agreement in the coming days.
Neighbors on Bilodeau Parkway, just north of the project, claim the cohousing group reneged on an offer to sell each of them a strip of land as a buffer between the project and the houses on the parkway.
Cohousing argued in papers filed Nov. 19 with the city that it cannot be made to sell the land. Cohousing spokesman Don Schramm said both groups agree a buffer between the project and the neighbors is desirable but "have a legitimate disagreement over the value of the land."
Carol Audette
has been a licensed Realtor since 1985. Carol treats every client/customer as if they were her only client/customer. Her business has been built on her honesty, integrity and hard work. Carol’s commitment to 100% customer satisfaction and quality service at all levels of the Real Estate Experience is demonstrated by her TEAM and their record breaking performances in Sales, Listings, Closing follow through and personal service. We all go the extra mile for you!
Cathedral Square Corporation
(CSC) is a Vermont nonprofit. Our mission is to develop, manage, or own housing and provide community service that promotes the health and well being of elders, low income persons and persons with disabilities. CSC services are available to all on an equal opportunity, nondiscriminatory basis.
... Cathedral Square Corporation (CSC) is a non-profit organization that owns and manages properties for seniors in Burlington ... all Cathedral Square properties combine excellent supportive services and a caring staff. CSC offers three different types of senior housing, which provide increasing levels of services: independent senior housing, shared housing, & assisted living. ... All communities offer spacious one and two-bedroom apartments, most with wall-to-wall carpeting and window blinds. CSC partners with residents to initiate a variety of programs and activities at our communities, including gardening, dancing, bingo, and exercise programs.
Cathedral Square is Getting a Face Lift
Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., announced a grant Thursday to help seniors like Gillett stay in their homes and help more elderly
residents find housing in Burlington. The ,000 grant will create or rehabilitate 44 units of affordable housing at 3 Cathedral Square, where Gillett lives, and Ruggles House, where Jeffords made the announcement.
The money will pay for seven new units and 21 refurbished units at 3 Cathedral Square, which will also receive a new kitchen, dining area and wellness center.
Nancy Eldridge, executive director of Cathedral Square, said 3 Cathedral Square also will have around-the-clock personal-care assistants. The assistants, who will provide residents with everything from bathing, dressing and transportation to dispensing medicine, are meant to reduce the need for residents to move into nursing homes.
Century 21 Advantage
started out more than 37 years ago. Over the years our technology has changed but our commitment to honest, caring and professional real estate service has not.
In the belief that bigger is better, some companies are obsessed with multiple locations and multiple agents. We, at Century 21 Advantage, hold to the notion that if you treat your clients well, they will spread the word. Customer satisfaction is our obsession.
Over 200 years of combined agent experience goes into the Century 21 Advantage commitment.
We don't rubber stamp our agents. They come in all ages and from all backgrounds so it is easy for you to find someone you enjoy working with. Rest assured, though, two characteristics they do have in common are the desire and the competence to do the best possible job for you, our clientele.
Century 21 Advantage goes the extra mile to meet your every real estate need.
Champlain Housing Trust
is a membership-based nonprofit organization with a commitment to creating and preserving perpetually affordable housing and vital communities in northwest Vermont.
Burlington Community Land Trust and Lake Champlain Housing Development Corporation were each founded by the City of Burlington, Vermont in 1984 to provide affordable, safe, and decent housing to families and individuals with low to moderate incomes. As geographic territory, services, and funding sources increasingly overlapped, the two organizations decided to combine their assets and resources into Champlain Housing Trust. In 2006, the merger was complete.
Champlain Housing Trust staff are committed, compassionate, and motivated. Approximately 80 staff members are located throughout Chittenden, Grand Isle, and Franklin counties. The main telephone number is 802-862-6244.
Cheap financing and the housing shortage are likely to keep
Chittenden County's residential real estate market in high gear despite mounting job losses at the state's largest private employer.
IBM on Monday cut 500 jobs at its Essex Junction plant, bringing the total number of jobs lost at the computer chip-making plant to 2,300 since November 2001. The plant work force, now at 6,200, is at its lowest point since 1994.
Despite the massive loss of high-wage jobs with a median salary estimated to be double the Chittenden County average of ,000 real estate professionals say business remains strong.
My personal business is up 18 percent from last year and I had my best year ever last year,'' said Brian French, owner of the real estate agency Century 21 Advantage in South Burlington. He sees no reason for the market to change much.
In Chittenden County the median price of homes sold rose from ,000 in 2001 to ,000 in the first six months of this year, a 13 percent increase.
Chris Hurd
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Cohousing is a form of collaborative housing
that offers residents an old-fashioned sense of neighborhood. In cohousing, residents know their neighbors well and there is a strong sense of community that is absent in contemporary cities and suburbs. Cohousing is a way of living that encourages social interaction while supporting the need for privacy. Cohousing communities consist of private, fully-equipped dwellings and extensive common amenities including a common house and recreation areas. Residents are involved in the development and management of the community so that the neighborhood reflects their priorities.
Balancing community and personal privacy, cohousing residents own their own homes but have common areas where they can share meals and socialize. This way of living alleviates some of the stress of modern life and encourages an atmosphere of cooperation. Cohousing is a real neighborhood.
Each home in Burlington Cohousing is an independent residence but shares a large amount of common space....
Competition For Housing Has Given BirthTo The Homeward Bound Partnership.
When the housing vacancy rate in Burlington, VT, fell to below one percent, the Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) and the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) got together to form the Homeward Bound Partnership. Over the past four years the increasing competition for limited housing tripled shelter stays for homeless families and doubled the number for homeless individuals with disabilities. The Homeward Bound project, which is funded through a combination of public and private money, helps homeless individuals overcome the obstacles to finding rental housing and provides significant incentives for landlords to enter HUD’s Section 8 (subsidized) housing program.
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Despite the city's population growth, the number of single-family homes
as a percentage of housing stock in South Burlington has dropped steadily over the past seven years.
According to figures from a summary of new housing in the city, the percentage of single-family dwellings built since 2000 fell from 67.4 percent to 60.6 percent at the end of 2007.
South Burlington's population increased by 3,000 residents to 17,800 during the period, and is estimated to top 20,000 within seven years.
The drop in single-family housing has substantial implications for demographics and schools in South Burlington, said Juli Beth Hinds, to city planning and zoning director.
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Geri Reilly
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In the fast-paced real estate market of northwest Vermont, Geri Reilly and “Vermont real estate” are practically synonymous. Throughout her career here in the Burlington area she’s been one of the top agents in residential real estate, helping thousands of families buy and sell homes.
Geri is well-versed in all aspects of the Chittenden County market, having helped clients with all kinds of properties: second homes, condos, investment properties, land, new construction, older homes, and waterfront and island properties.
Grant helps housing for elderly
Connie Gillett would have few options -- specifically, four -- if she didn't live in a housing project for the elderly.
"I would probably have to live with my children," four of whom are in Chittenden County, Gillett said. "They're wonderful children, but I like to be independent."
Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., announced a grant Thursday to help seniors like Gillett stay in their homes and help more elderly
residents find housing in Burlington. The ,000 grant will create or rehabilitate 44 units of affordable housing at 3 Cathedral Square, where Gillett lives, and Ruggles House, where Jeffords made the announcement.
The money will pay for seven new units and 21 refurbished units at 3 Cathedral Square, which will also receive a new kitchen, dining area and wellness center.
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High housing costs hurt many
Vermont residents are caught in an economic vise, the Vermont Housing Council reported Monday. Housing costs are soaring while the earning power of a dollar is decreasing. ... The average Burlington family living in a two-bedroom apartment would have needed a 17 percent increase in pay in the past two years to keep pace with rising rents, the report concluded. In reality, Vermonters are watching their real earnings fall. ... In Burlington, two people sharing a modest two-bedroom apartment -- renting at below the median-apartment price for the city -- would have to work more than 50 hours a week each to afford the rent if they were earning the minimum wage, according to the report. ... Vermont was tied that year for the least affordable state in the nation for both two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments.
Holy Cross Senior Housing is celebrating
its 10th anniversary Friday, but some residents probably won't have a smoking good time at the party.
Holy Cross is among the first senior housing complexes in Vermont to ban smoking in all apartments. The smoking bans are likely to spread to other apartment buildings that house seniors, to the disappointment of some longtime smokers.
Cathedral Square Corp. manages Holy Cross and 22 other affordable, nonprofit housing complexes with mostly elderly residents in four Vermont counties. Nancy Eldridge, Cathedral Square's executive director, said her organization is trying to protect residents, some of whom have health problems exacerbated by second-hand smoke.
... When a smoker moves out of an apartment, it takes a lot of effort to clean the rooms. "Turning over an apartment after a smoker leaves costs us 10 times more," Hammond said.
Housing experts on Thursday announced a plan to boost the number
of affordable homes throughout Chittenden County by asking all local towns and cities to share the burden of producing homes for their residents.
The county has long suffered a serious housing shortage, members of the Chittenden County Housing Task Force said as they unveiled their 15-page plan. The shortage results in median home prices hovering about ,000 above the statewide figure of ,000, according to the task force.
The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission convened the task force including developers, housing advocates and elected officials.
Task force members hailed the plan's strategy of tying all local towns and cities to the same goal: developing affordable and moderately priced housing.
Towns that do not participate might find they run afoul of the Planning Commission, which has some authority over development, said Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle, a task force member.
Housing Shortage Continues To Plague Vermont
A new report out tonight provides further proof that Vermont's housing shortage is still a prevalent problem affecting nearly every part of the state.
The report, titled "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Housing and Wages in Vermont," states that housing concerns reach well up into the middle class.
Kathy Beyer, Deputy Commissioner of Housing and Community Affairs, says "The average housing wage in Vermont is .21. That means if you want to rent a 2-bedroom apartment in Vermont you need to be making that wage."
Housing construction has dropped off sharply since the 1980s boom, which means vacancy rates are low, and the competition for new housing is fierce.
The new report indicates that Vermont is one of the tightest housing markets in the country. The average "fair market" rent for a 2-bedroom apartment has risen 20% in the last 5 years.
The report's authors say the housing supply needs to grow.
Investors Corporation of Vermont
was formed in 1973, in recent years it's principle endeavors has been real estate development in Northwestern Vermont, Connecticut and Florida.
I.C.V. Construction, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Investors Corporation of Vermont, provides general contracting services to its parent company as well as to outside clients. Its areas of expertise are commercial/ industrial construction and development, multi-family housing, design/build construction, and real estate property management. Projects have been completed in Vermont, New York, Connecticut, and Florida.
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It has become a familiar sight in Burlington.
Once grand old homes divided into apartments, occupied mainly by college students. And it was those young people and the subsequent party atmosphere that locals say drove families from downtown neighborhoods.
Last year, the city took the first step in improving the living situation in former family neighborhoods. The Functional Family Ordinance attempted to drive renters out by limiting the number of unrelated people to four who can live in one domicile.
"It was targeted, tailored to those zoning districts to preserve the character of the traditional neighborhoods," Burlington Code Enforcement Officer Ray O'Connor says. "Where there are family, traditional family, not boarding house, not nine or ten people living in one dwelling unit, that's what this is all about."
... Those new rules suddenly made it hard for landlords to make ends meet. Going from seven or eight rents to four has driven many landlords out of the rental market, (people, person)
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Landlord-Tenant Law is Spurring Local Control Debate.
Burlington city officials call it a basic right to local control. City voters in March approved two charter changes extending the legal notification period required of landlords who raise the rent or evict tenants for no cause. But the issue has hit a wall in the legislature.
City and town charter changes are normally routine, but the Senate Government Operations committee was standing room only for Burlington's charter changes. Two measures would benefit tenants who don't have a written lease, requiring landlords to provide up to 120 days prior notice on no-cause evictions and ninety days on rent increases.
... Opponents of expanded restrictions on landlords also question whether the Burlington charter changes would pass constitutional muster. They have requested advice on the legal question from Legislative counsel.
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Lang Associates
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Main Street Landing Company
is dedicated to sustainable development in Burlington, Vermont, currently focusing on responsible redevelopment of the Burlington waterfront.
... We are a company with a vision that includes environmentalism and social conscience. We build buildings, and we build relationships. We own most of the developable land on Burlington, Vermont's waterfront. This is an area that in the mid-1800s was the third largest lumber port in the world. That's why we call ourselves redevelopers. Our project is a 25-year plan and we just completed Phase One. We expect another four phases before we finish our life's work.
... Lisa Steele and Melinda Moulton are the principal partners of the Main Street Landing Company. They have been involved in "environmental and socially conscious redevelopment" since the early 1980's.
Makeshift driveways are erasing Burlington's green space.
Paul Bierman's Geology 255 class set out to study the loss of green space on six residential city blocks last spring. The University of Vermont students identified a problem -- and they were it.
Between 40 percent and 50 percent of private green space -- more than 2 acres -- had disappeared from five of those blocks since 1978. The grass had vanished a few square feet at a time, eaten up by gravel, asphalt and concrete for apartment tenants to park their cars upon.
Most of those tenants are students, the geology class observed. An earlier Bierman study found students occupied 70 percent to 80 percent of rental units in the area.
More pavement and less grass means more runoff to carry urban pollution into Lake Champlain and less aesthetically pleasing neighborhoods, they unhappily concluded. ... That loss has been significant, the studies found. A survey of the area bounded by Pearl, North Willard, North and North Prospect streets found rental properties had lost an average 17 percent of their green space in the past 20 years. Most of the lost green space had been converted to new -- and sometimes illegal -- off-street parking. ... "You have a family living in a house. They have two cars. The kids grow up, and the family sells the house, and it turns into a college rental," Melillo said. Students might live five, six or more to a house -- and each is likely to have a car.
"There's not enough room for all the cars. They park on the lawn in the winter. Then mud season comes and there's a big puddle under the cars. The landlord says, 'I'm going to fix that,'" so he drops a big load of gravel there," Melillo said. He pointed out example after example along Loomis and North Willard streets.
With the change, rainwater once absorbed by the grassy lawn begins to sheet off the new parking areas and into storm sewers.
"Carrying with it everything from what cars leave behind to what dogs leave behind," Bierman pointed out.
Maureen Caron
has been helping people buy and sell homes for nearly 10 years. She has earned the professional real estate designations of Certified Corporate Property Specialist, Previews Property Specialist, and also the Presidents Circle Award. What does this mean to you? It means that whether you are buying or selling, Maureen has the experience, technology and resources to help you make a smooth transition. Real estate isn't just a job for Maureen, it's a commitment. She enjoys helping people achieve their goals. Her most recent satisfying career accomplisment was a complicated transaction whereby she helped an elderly client sell his property and negotiated a life estate for him. One of her most memorable moments in real estate was opening a door in a house, thinking it was another bedroom and finding out it was a door to the basement. Straight down. No stairs. The job is full of surprises. She is a member of the Ethan Allen Club.
Mayfair Park
is South Burlington's first housing development, which offered the town's first post-war housing. Mayfair Park remains one of the loveliest neighborhoods in South Burlington, with mature trees and rambling parkways. Its developer, Arthur Elsom, donated 33 acres of the area to the city so that Mayfair Park's residents could always enjoy its natural state.
... Most of South Burlington's neighborhoods are pop-ular places to live, from the condominium developments on Kennedy drive to the Laurel Hill area off Shelburne Road, from the residential neighborhoods near the airport to the cozy community at the end of Farrell Road, from the developments off Hinesburg Road to the lakeshore communities-one off Bartlett Bay Road and the other in the charming Queen City Park area, one of only two lakeshore communities in the city.
Median house value in Burlington is ,200.
Median house value is South Burlington is ,600. Median house value is Winooski is ,500.
Ming’s at Essex Chinese Restaurant near Five Corners now sits dark
and lifeless, with a commercial “FOR SALE” sign posted at the curb. Next door, a rundown commercial building, where kitchen help from the neighboring eatery once lived — in violation of local zoning ordinances — is also vacant and on the market. Behind Ming’s, the big, white Victorian at 2 Park Terrace is still occupied. However, village officials say it’s no longer the illegal boardinghouse it was earlier this year, when Seven Days discovered as many as two dozen foreign-born workers living there in overcrowded, unsanitary and dangerous conditions.
In May and June, Seven Days ran a pair of stories (5.30.07 and 6.6.07) on the plight of those workers, all of whom were employed at five Burlington-area Chinese eateries. Most appeared to be poorly educated, underpaid and largely unable to speak English, making them almost entirely dependent upon their employers for food, housing, transportation and other basic necessities.
Multifamily permit requests rose in Chittenden County.
High land prices and demand for low-cost housing drove the shift in development in Chittenden County.
Last year the number of building permits issued for units of multifamily housing exceeded the number of permits for single-family homes. ... Statistics released by real estate analysts Allen & Brooks on Monday show that in 2001 building permits were issued for 477 units of multifamily housing compared to permits for 406 single-family homes.
... Market demand has been for condominiums and apartments because increasingly they are the most affordable type of housing, Allen said. Allen & Brooks also noted that developers who are building single-family homes are building more expensive homes, leaving fewer affordable options.
The price of single-family homes has risen to the point that they are out of the financial reach of many buyers. Condominiums have become entry-level housing. ... The median price for a single-family home in 2001 was ,000 in Chittenden County, compared with ,000 for a condominium. Median price means that half of the homes were priced higher and half were priced lower.
Affordable-housing developer Andy Broderick is pleased to see more multifamily housing being built. As president of Housing Vermont, a nonprofit that builds affordable housing, he sees demand for low-cost housing.
Housing Vermont recently completed a 48-unit project in South Burlington and a 50-unit project in Williston. Both were fully leased within 10 days in May, months ahead of completion this summer. The nonprofit is also developing 160 units of multifamily housing off Farrell Street in South Burlington.
Neighbors who appealed a major housing development proposed
for Burlington's new north end have won an imporant victory.
"Environmental court" judge Meredith Wright has denied Frank von Turkovitch's Appletree Terrace project, which calls for 148 housing units in several multi-family dwellings.
The city approved the project but the judge, in a sixteen -page ruling, found several technical reasons to deny it. The developer plans to meet with city officials to decide his next move.
Neville Companies
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New city regulations in Burlington already are changing
some neighborhoods near the University of Vermont.
Real estate experts say Burlington's new ordinance prohibiting more than four unrelated adults from living in the same household could reshape entire neighborhoods.
In one neighborhood just down the hill from UVM several houses that had been converted into student apartments have been sold.
The new owners plan to live there themselves.
Some may rent some space or convert it all back to a single-family house.
A real estate broker says the reason some owners are selling is because with the limits on students, cash flow projections change
dramatically.
The new owners tend to rehabilitate the housing.
Monday, 2/10/03
New housing proposal moves forward in South Burlington
A bitterly-fought 49-unit subdivision proposed for one of the last rural pockets of South Burlington is moving closer to construction.
The Vermont "Environmental Board" last week approved the project at the intersection of Hinesburg and Van Sicklen roads pending renegotiation of a pact to cushion the loss of prime farmland at the 61-acre site.
The decision was viewed as a victory by developers at The Snyder Companies, an Essex Junction firm that wants to build the homes on a picturesque slice of old sheep pasture framed by stone walls and dramatic mountain views.
Neighbors spent five years and thousands of dollars opposing the development. By law, the neighbors cannot appeal last week's decision to the Supreme Court. They have not decided whether to explore other avenues to oppose the project.
New housing starts in November were up more than eight percent
from the previous month nationwide. The business is keeping Vermont contractors busy.
"We're catching up with that demand that has been out there for a number of years and that's what's leading the housing drive right now," said Kevin Dorn of the Vermont Homebuilders Association.
Economists say the lack of snow and low mortgage rates helped boost the housing starts figures last month. In the last few weeks mortgage rates have started to creep up, but brokers say that shouldn't stop the boom in new construction.
"When we started in the 1980's we were talking 18 percent so seven,eight,nine - they're still great rates. Not as good as six but they're still great, it's still an opportunity for people to own and I don't think it will stop people from purchasing," according to Gene Richards of Spruce Mortgage.
New North End tenants have formed an alliance.
An atmosphere of "fear" has led a group of Northgate apartment residents to form a tenants' group, members said at a meeting Saturday.
A group of tenants is forming the Concerned Residents of Northgate Association to give voice to concerns that they are being intimidated by the property manager and other residents.
Northgate is a 336-unit, resident-run apartment complex in Burlington's New North End for recipients of housing subsidies, called Section 8. Maloney Properties has been Northgate's property manager since 1989.
Saturday, about two dozen residents met at Burlington College because members wanted to express themselves off-site, said the group's spokesman, Matthew Massie. Northgate management has banned Massie from the apartment complex's public spaces.
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Office vacancies in Chittenden County remained at record high
levels at year's end, as they have for the past year.
The vacancy rate for office space was 7.7 percent as of Dec. 1, and unchanged from one year ago, according to a report released Monday by real-estate analysts Allen & Brooks of South Burlington.
In the suburban part of the county, outside of Burlington, the rate is even higher at 8.4 percent. Burlington's central business district has the lowest vacancy rate in the county, at 5.7 percent.
The office vacancy rate reflects a year marked by job cuts and economizing by area businesses.
Allen & Brooks principal Steve Allen sees one sign that the worst might be over. The market includes a single 60,000- square-foot office building in Essex that was rented by IBM. The microchip manufacturer in Essex Junction cut nearly 1,400 jobs over the year and pulled out of the building, Allen said.
Owners of two new establishments hope to bring a positive change
of pace to a couple neighborhoods as they replace bars that were closed in a federal drug investigation.
In Winooski, a low-key, world-travel theme bar named The Monkey House has opened in the former Champion's Tavern. Dino's Pizza and Family Restaurant is coming to the old Steer & Stein building in Burlington.
Last year, Champion's and the Steer & Stein were at the center of a federal drug investigation. The state Liquor Control Department revoked the bars' licenses. Initially, the bars were blocked from being sold, but the order was later allowed to lapse.
Pat Mannino, who also owns Mr. Mike's in Burlington, bought the Steer & Stein building in the city's Old North End. He plans to hire eight to 10 people to staff the new Dino's restaurant there, which could open the first week of December. Another Dino's restaurant in the Burlington Town Center is staying open, he said.
The restaurant will mimic the set-up at the Dino's in the mall
Planners in South Burlington are weighing proposals
that would increase the number of homes and apartments that can be built in the core of the community.
The idea behind the proposed zoning changes is to promote efficient land use and stimulate redevelopment of partially vacant properties such as Kmart Plaza, city officials say. The new zoning proposals will be discussed at Planning Commission meetings scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in the city municipal building on Dorset Street.
Under the proposals, allowable density would increase from 7 to 15 residential units per acre in the Shelburne Road area that encompasses Kmart Plaza and the Gateway Mall. It would increase from 7 to 12 units per acre in the so-called C1 commercial district around Interstate 89. Plots of land between Old Farm Road, Hinesburg Road and Kennedy Drive would also increase in density from 7 to 12 units per acre.
The goal is to direct development to the core of the city, and make it more feasible to put new housing on land already served by transit and utilities, city officials say. "What we're basically saying is, where the land can support it we are proposing to allow a more intensive use that's consistent with the smart growth principle and the comprehensive plan," said Juli Beth Hoover, South Burlington planner.
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Progress and development exact a price,
and the color of the bill is green. During the past 20 years, there s been a dramatic loss of green space in Burlington neighborhoods. Acres of land that used to nurture grassy lawns are now occupied by buildings, parking lots and sidewalks.
For the past three years, Paul Bierman, associate professor of geology, has enlisted students in his geohydrology and geomorphology classes in a service-learning project to study land use and change in Burlington s Hill Section.
Using a combination of high-resolution air photographs, field work and door-to-door canvassing, the project s aim is to better understand why and how neighborhoods are changing and how those changes have affected the way rainfall runs off, finds its way enters Lake Champlain.
Project leaders say they are having trouble getting the state to
sign off on financing for an ambitious million project that would turn a chunk of Winooski's downtown into a mix of offices, retail space and housing.
Originally, project leaders hoped construction would already be under way. Now, they are hoping for next spring.
You can still get a haircut at Onion River Clippers, a Winooski institution for 90 years. It's also where clients and haircutters keep a close eye on the project planned just down the street.
"I think its a good idea," said owner Karen Victor. "It will bring more businesses into the area. We definitely need housing."
The plan calls for 700 housing units near the river, most of them rentals. That would seem like great news in a county with a rental vacancy rate of just 1 percent. But some officials in the Dean administration are throwing up red flags.
... D'elia says officials simply want to ensure the project succeeds.
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Recognizing a need for housing members from the Chittenden County
Housing Task Force believe they can now devise a strategy to improve the situation.
Mark Lords, the chair of the Vermont Housing Task Force said, "our recommendation will be to begin a bottoms up approach to create a regional work force housing allocation and to involve members of towns and municipalities to consider their own resources and constraints and what would be fair and to come together and work on solving the problem of increase the number of housing units in the country."
The study's results also show a failure of the supply of housing to keep pace with the demand which currently comes up with a shortage of almost two thousand units.
... Also factoring into the crisis: A weak economy and close to a thousand layoffs at IBM in the past year.
Renting an apartment in Chittenden County's notoriously tight
housing market has been getting easier lately.
The vacancy rate among apartments is at its highest level in nearly a decade and more than twice as high as it was in June, according to a new report from a local real-estate market-research firm. Real-estate experts attribute the shift to a declining economy and more apartments being built in the county. Tenants will be the ones to benefit, the experts said.
The current apartment-vacancy rate is 2 percent, up from 0.9 percent in June. The last time the rate was more than 2 percent was December 1993, when the figure stood at 2.1 percent. The low in the past decade was December 1999, when the rate was 0.3 percent. A rate of about 3 percent is considered healthy.
The effects of the vacancy-rate increase are wide-ranging. Renters can be more choosy about where they want to live. Properties that would be snapped up in a day sit for a month or more.
Retail Vacancy Rates Surprisingly Down
For years, opponents of sprawl have warned that Chittenden County has been building too much commercial retail space, especially in the form of big box stores in the suburbs. Overbuilding, they said, would hurt the economies of downtown areas. But a recent report suggests that the proliferation of new stores is not having the negative impact that some expected.
Take a look at the amount of new development in Williston and you'll understand how this town became Vermont's number-one retail center, with the lion's share of new commercial development. Maple Tree Place accounts for most of it. Overall, total retail space in Chittenden County jumped by nearly 5%. ... Oversupply would mean a lot of empty space for lease. What happened was just the opposite: the vacancy rate actually declined to only 5%.
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Robert Trudo
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Ruggles House is expected To Get a Face Lift.
Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., announced a grant Thursday to help seniors like Gillett stay in their homes and help more elderly
residents find housing in Burlington. The ,000 grant will create or rehabilitate 44 units of affordable housing at 3 Cathedral Square, where Gillett lives, and Ruggles House, where Jeffords made the announcement. ... Ruggles House will be expanded from 11 to 16 units. The historic South Prospect Street home, which was almost closed last year because of a lack of money before Cathedral Square Corp. took it over, will receive an elevator, kitchen and new bathrooms.
The residents of Ruggles House have moved temporarily to McAuley Square, another Cathedral Square elderly housing project, while the home is renovated.
Seven Days first visited this boarding house at 2 Park Terrace
— behind Ming’s of Essex — in mid-March at the invitation of one of its previous residents. Yuki, a 25-year-old woman who has since left the state, was employed at the Orchid Restaurant in South Burlington, one of six Chinese restaurants in Chittenden County owned by Sheun Lai Poon and his younger brother, Yun Poon. Their holdings include East Orchid in Williston, Ming’s of Essex, Ming’s of Colchester, Ming’s of Burlington, and Fortune Cookie in the University Mall in South Burlington. Yuki (who asked that her last name not be used) contacted Seven Days to complain that she was being underpaid and expected to live in an overcrowded and unsanitary apartment.
The front door of the house is always unlocked; evidently, the lock has been broken for months.
Smith House
in Burlington features ten rehabilitated living units of transitional housing for homeless individuals.
The home gets its name from the old couple that owned the house and rented the rooms in it for many years at / week.
South Burlington apartment development is due to open in June.
New housing starts in November were up more than eight percent from the previous month nationwide. The business is keeping Vermont contractors busy.
"We're catching up with that demand that has been out there for a number of years and that's what's leading the housing drive right now," said Kevin Dorn of the Vermont Homebuilders Association.
Economists say the lack of snow and low mortgage rates helped boost the housing starts figures last month. In the last few weeks mortgage rates have started to creep up, but brokers say that shouldn't stop the boom in new construction.
"When we started in the 1980's we were talking 18 percent so seven,eight,nine - they're still great rates. Not as good as six but they're still great, it's still an opportunity for people to own and I don't think it will stop people from purchasing," according to Gene Richards of Spruce Mortgage.
South Burlington is building a big future.
Hundreds of new homes dot the landscape and more are on the way. Suburban sprawl is a concern.
The latest plan from Retrovest Associates hopes to change that image. The developers plan to build 300 units of housing off of Spear Street. Homes would be built close together with narrow streets. It's housing the city needs for its growing population.
The developer plans to put in some affordable housing units. But the 240 acre project is not just about housing, developers are preserving a section for a 35 acre farm. ... Along with the design, what makes this large housing development different from other projects is that so far it has not stirred up any opposition from neighbors.
"I think most of my neighbors feel positive about it" said Buddy Floyd who lives across from the proposed development. Floyd likes the development's village design and says it seems much more attractive then other big homes that were recently built on much smaller lots.
Spinner place,
THE NEWEST OFF-CAMPUS HOUSING FOR STUDENTS, IS NOW LEASING!
LOCATED IN THE NEW WINOOSKI FALLS DOWNTOWN, RESIDENTS OF SPINNER PLACE WILL HAVE CONVENIENT ACCESS TO SHOPS, RESTAURANTS, AND CAFÉS.
WE INVITE YOU TO TAKE A NEW SPIN ON LIFE AT UVM AND APPLY TODAY TO LIVE IN A PLACE THAT COMBINES THE FUN AND FREEDOM OF OFF-CAMPUS HOUSING WITH THE CONVENIENCE AND AMENITIES OF LIVING ON CAMPUS.
Steve Lipkin
Student Trash
is a problem every spring in the Champlain Valley: college students who are leaving behind tons of trash, when they move out for the summer. But now Burlington's trying a New way to clean up this mess. At this hour volunteers from Burlington's neighborhood action project are canvassing this part of town. They're going door to door, Spreading the word about a new recycling program. They're handing out these specially-marked plastic bags with labels for things like clothing and household items.
It's moving day for Zack brown and Tim Olsen. They just graduated from UVM, and want to get rid of extra stuff.
Tenant activists at Burlington's Northgate Apartment
complex are suing its owners.
In their lawsuit, Matt Massie and Christa White charge they are being evicted from the federally subsidized Northgate for questioning management practices.
Managers deny those claims.
They say the two longtime tenants are being evicted for refusing to sign a federally mandated lease amendment.
The other 334 households at Northgate did sign that paperwork.
Both Massie and White helped found a tenants' rights group.
Their lawsuit has been filed in Chittenden Superior Court.
The city of Burlington would help develop a hotel-and-condominium
complex on Battery Street if the City Council approves a request under consideration at tonight's meeting.
Some details of the project are outlined in the resolution, which would grant Mayor Peter Clavelle authority to purchase the land and enter into agreements with the proposed developers.
The plan includes a hotel with up to 150 rooms, more than 30 condo units, affordable housing and a nearly 200-space garage to be built at the southeast corner of Battery and Cherry streets. City planners also want to add an additional level to the Lakeview Garage, off Filene's.
"We need the hotel space," said Councilor Jane Knodell, P-Ward 2.
The complex would sit on an empty lot north of the Radisson Hotel Burlington.
Westlake Hospitality LLC approached the city about developing the land, according to the resolution. The land is owned by Burlington Square Associates.
The land behind TD Banknorth and the armory on Main Street,
bordered on the south by King Street and bracketed east and west by St. Paul and Pine streets, is being transformed by a variety of building projects, and -- unusual for Burlington -- without concerted opposition from neighbors.
Developers and city officials offer it as a model of dense urban development -- all an easy walk from the city's busy downtown.
On King Street, across from the King Street Youth Center, the Champlain Housing Trust has begun construction on a four-story, 13,600-square-foot building. It will be the new home for the trust's offices, have commercial space and be topped by two floors of affordable housing.
Pine said the building represents continuity in the neighborhood, which, with the help of former CEDO director Michael Monte, fought off gentrification pressures in the 1970s.
The King Street Neighborhood Revitalization Project, Pine said, wanted assurances (and help from City Hall) to stabilize the neighborhood....
The market for Chittenden County industrial properties in 2002
was the worst in a decade, thanks to the slow economy.
Demand for warehouse and manufacturing space was down 40 to 50 percent compared to last year, according to a report released by South Burlington real estate analysts Allen & Brooks.
The vacancy rate for industrial properties was 9.7 percent as of Dec. 1. That's slightly lower than the 10.2 percent rate seen in June, but 14 percent higher than one year ago. More than 1 million square feet of industrial space was for rent in Chittenden County as of Dec. 1.
There are some signs that the worst might be over, said Mark Brooks, a partner in the firm.
... Poor economic conditions are the reason for the dismal market, Brooks said. IBM played a significant factor in the local economic picture. The microchip manufacturing plant in Essex Junction cut nearly 1,400 jobs over the year, creating a ripple effect felt by companies that work for IBM, Brooks said.
The market hasn't been this bad since the early '90s,
The Real Estate Guide
on-line magazine of property listings throughout New England.
The Vermont Human Rights Commission and Vermont Legal
Aid are suing a property management agency, saying it discriminates against low-income tenants.
The two groups say Preston Property Management and its president, Albert Loranger, won't rent to people who get federal
housing assistance.
They say Loranger violated Vermont's Fair Housing Act.
In their lawsuit, they're asking for a court order to stop Preston from discriminating.
And they want civil penalties of up to 10-thousand dollars for each violation of the act.
Preston Property Management and Leasing Services is based in Burlington.
Monday, 2/10/03
Think of the homeless and you may be reminded of shelters.
But this story is about people who live outdoors year-round -- on their own.
A tent camp in the woods is their only home in a world where not much is permanent and for many, comfort comes from a bottle. "This is just to get us started," a camper named Mike joked with his friends as they passed a quart of beer. "But it's the weekend so we can cut loose a little bit today."
Tom Berard makes no excuses, admitting, "We're all a bunch of alcoholics, there ain't no doubt about that." He's been homeless for the last twenty years, most recently at this makeshift camp not far from downtown Burlington. He and his wife, Nancy, and a few others choose to live here because they don't fit in a homeless shelter. Places that put up the homeless, including the Committee on Temporary shelter, generally refuse to take drunks.
Toni B. Trombley
says she is "a leading real estate agent in both northern Vermont and southwestern Florida, I offer my talent and experience in matching people and properties. Those who have done business with me note my professionalism, attention to detail and skillful negotiations. I take pride in being attuned to each individual's needs."
Two years ago Tim and Audrey Ziter traded in urban life
in New York City for the quiet hills of Vermont.
"We thought we'd have a much better way of life moving here from the city," says Audrey. "Then our prospects for apartments were so slim and it was worse than the college living situations I had when I was in school."
The apartments they eventually found were subsequently put up for sale - and the couple is now in the midst of their fourth housing search. With the help of a broker the did find a property.
... The apartment vacancy rate is at 2.7 percent that's up from 2 percent six months ago and it's the highest it's been in a decade. But analysts say that certainly doesn't mean the market is flooded.
"The market is still very strong but it's a lot closer to being in balance between supply and demand than it was say last year or two years ago," says Brooks.
V/T Commercial
Specializes in Vermont
commercial real estate
vacancy rates in the commercial property market are...rising.
Office vacancy rates outside of downtown Burlington and industrial vacancy rates are at the highest level seen over the past eight years. Industrial vacancies spiked 20 percent in the past six months, according to the real estate analysis firm Allen & Brooks in South Burlington.
"The demand is not particularly strong because there has been a lot of job loss in Vermont," Pizzagalli said. "There are not a lot of reasons for businesses to come to Vermont."
His firm has only about 45,000 square feet on the market, however, and IBM "from time to time moves in and out of buildings," he said.
IBM officials said June 4 that the plant would be culling equipment that produces older technology, such as aluminum-based computer chips. In the Aug. 1 memo, IBM said it will also remove excess equipment such as chillers, a cooling tower, a nitrogen distillation plant, fuel oil tanks and other mechanical components.
Vermont Emergency Management is encouraging people to clear the snow off
their roofs.
This week's warm-up will help melt the snow. But rain in the forecast could be bad news for roofs that still have a lot of snow. That's because the moisture will make the snow even heavier, and that could cause a weak roof to collapse.
"A lot of homes have significant snow on their roofs," Vermont Emergency Management spokesman Mark Bosma said. "As it gets warmer, that's actually a good thing-- some of the snow is going to melt. But once it starts to rain, that adds to the snow load and the weight of the snow on homes. We just people to be aware of it and keep an eye on it so the roof doesn't collapse."
Vermont Housing Finance Agency
was created in 1974 by the Vermont State Legislature. VHFA's mission is to finance and promote affordable housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income Vermonters. VHFA assists Vermonters without using state tax dollars.
Since 1974, VHFA has provided financing for approximately 23,000 homeowners and almost 4,900 affordable apartments. In addition to offering mortgage financing programs, VHFA offers many other financing opportunities to address a wide spectrum of housing needs in Vermont. Much of this effort has been directed at assisting nonprofit an private developers to provide permanently affordable housing in their communities. VHFA operates our homeownership programs with the cooperation of banks, mortgage companies and credit unions throughout Vermont. In addition, VHFA collaborates with other state and federal agencies to provide affordable housing opportunities.
Vermont's Economy Stymied By Housing Shortage
Although Vermont and the rest of the nation are in a recession, there are signs that it may be coming to an end. Still, here at home an economy that shows signs of recovery faces a serious obstacle that policy makers can't seem to get a handle on.
...
Thus, home improvement represents over half of all home construction dollars in Vermont. But buying a home is a tough proposition and economists say the housing shortage continues to hurt the economy. The problem was apparent at another show this weekend, the Vermont Housing Finance Agency's home buyer fair in South Burlington.
In spite of record-low interest rates, the VFHA's mission of making home ownership possible for moderate income earners is squeezed.
... Until then, home improvement will remain a strong part of the Vermont economy -- and home buying as difficult as ever, even with help from VHFA.
Andy Potter, Channel 3 news.
Vermont's housing shortage shows only slight signs of easing up
as a result of the recession and the construction of several new housing projects. Governor Howard Dean made housing a priority, and it looks like his successor will too.
A groundbreaking ceremony in the city's Old North End invited the question: will the change in administrations affect state policy on affordable housing?
Several projects in the neighborhood used the same financing package totaling .1 million. A total of 32 units of housing will be renovated or built from scratch. These include a new building at the corner of North street and North avenue (the former Rozzi's). The first floor will hold a new library for Burlington College. The two upper floors will hold eight apartment units.
... Housing advocates may wonder if governor-elect Jim Douglas will maintain the Dean administration's prior support for housing. The answer to that question appears to be yes.
Westlake Residential
will be a prestigious residential condominium, located on Battery Street in downtown Burlington, immediately adjacent to a new luxury downtown hotel, The Courtyard at Burlington Harbor.
When there's a car accident, first responders race to the scene to help
victims. Now, the city of Burlington's Community Justice Center has established its own first-response team to react to vandalism and other minor property crimes. That might not sound like much, but the effect of a such a team could be huge, said Mike Reilly, coordinator of the Community Justice Center.
Winter weather's arrival makes homeless life more difficult.
The arrival of winter weather often places new stresses on people who are homeless, whether they stay in shelters or live in the encampments tucked into out-of-the-way corners of Burlington. The onset of the holiday season also can create sadness for people who don't have a permanent address.
... Winter can mean new transitions for people who already spend their days moving from the library to the park bench to free meals at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf and the Salvation Army. Some homeless leave Vermont for Florida or Arizona once the leaves fall.
... Other homeless people fold up their tents and head for shelters they normally avoid because of the sobriety rules. ... Other homeless people merge their often meager finances for hotel rooms or apartments, and still others do what Kilty is doing -- bundle up in their make-shift digs. The number of homeless people living outdoors through the winter is a matter of debate.
With Burlington's median home price now ,000,
people like Cheryl Bundy feel squeezed out of the market.
... Just 42 percent of Burlington's residents own their home, 25 percent below the national average.
The mortgage company Fannie Mae is unveiling a unique plan to boost that figure.
"We're calling it BHOP, the Burlington Home Ownership Pilot," said Dennis Corrigan of Fannie Mae.
Fannie Mae will provide low-interest mortgages of around 6 percent to people buying in Burlington.
A down payment can be as low as bucks -- which can come from a loan.
There are also other money-saving incentives built into the plan:
Buy a home within a mile of where you work and commit to walking to work and receive a monthly credit on your mortgage.
There is another credit for taking public transportation.
Homeowners who take steps to making the house energy-efficient, and the money saved on utilities will also be credited to the mortgage.
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