If you haven’t been to Burlington lately, you might be surprised to discover that a gleaming new 11-story building has sprung up on Bank Street, just steps away from Henry’s Diner and the Farmhouse Tap & Grill.
Inside, contractors are putting the finishing touches on 12,000 square feet of first-floor retail space and a second floor that will include the main lobby of a Marriott AC Hotel, as well as extended-stay rooms, conference rooms, a bar/lounge/dining area and a fitness center; guest accommodations will occupy floors three through seven.
Floors eight through 11 house 53 luxury apartments with breathtaking views of the city. All of them come with a balcony or terrace.
This LEED Gold-certified project — known as the South Building — is just the first step of a larger development that will reconnect St. Paul and Pine streets and bring hundreds of new residents downtown. It sits on land once occupied by the Burlington Square Mall, where “the pit” used to be.
More than a decade ago, real estate developer Don Sinex announced a plan to tear down the old mall and replace it with a complex that became known as CityPlace Burlington.
The mall is long gone. So is Sinex. The project’s local owners — Dave Farrington Jr. of Farrington Construction; Al Senecal of Omega Electric; and Scott Ireland of S.D. Ireland — and their partner Giri Hotel Management have decided to give this complex a new name: Burlington Square.
It serves as a link to the site’s past and a vision of the bustling city center to come.
Bank St. Apartments at Burlington Square
Farrington frequently takes visitors on tours of the nearly finished Bank Street building, the largest project he’s ever managed, which is taking shape with a full crew of folks representing all of the partners. Each tour involves a trip to the top on an outdoor lift that protrudes from the back wall. That’s how all the construction materials go up, too.
On one such outing in late March, Farrington explained that the floors were being outfitted from the top down. The upper floors had cabinetry, door frames, Sheetrock and bathroom fixtures already installed. Different crews of skilled construction workers handled different jobs, he said.
You could tell which group was active on which floor by the music they listened to — Spanish pop songs on one level, country music on the floor below.
In a one-bedroom overlooking the city’s South End, Farrington noted that each apartment has its own all-electric, high-efficiency heating and cooling unit that includes energy recovery from both the exhaust and fresh air.
Residents will have access to a second-floor fitness center shared with hotel guests. Smart elevators will identify residents and allow them to access the floors above the hotel — including the 11th-floor lounge. When they arrive at their apartments, they’ll be able to lock and unlock their doors using their phones.
The complex is expected to open in July 2025.
The North Building
Behind the Bank St. Apartments and Marriott AC Hotel at Burlington Square, another, larger building is taking shape on Cherry Street — the North Building. Workers from S.D. Ireland have already poured the foundation and the structural steelwork has begun.
The $120 million, L-shaped complex will contain 320 apartments, a Cambria hotel, and more retail and/or office space. The elevator shafts have already sprouted on the site. Now, the steel skeleton is being erected with the help of massive cranes that are currently the tallest structures in town.
To finish the frame, Farrington estimated that the site will receive eight to 10 tractor-trailer loads of steel each week from now until Labor Day. “If we have a rainy summer, it might add a couple weeks,” he said.
Already the girders tower over the Cherry Street sidewalk and Burlington High School in the old Macy’s.
Between the Bank Street and Cherry Street buildings, the plans call for a three-story parking garage, which will connect with Bank Street. The project also includes complicated street reconnection work that’s under way, part of which involves putting a road beneath the building at 100 Bank Street, where the entrance to the mall garage used to be.
Seeing the Future
Can’t quite imagine it yet? Farrington can.
He talks about the construction plans as if they’re already completed in his mind. He sees sidewalks poured on Bank Street that leave room for seating at outdoor eateries, including Jitters Café, a new business whose three owners were roommates at the University of Vermont. He sees connections for light posts and EV chargers.
“This stretch of road on Bank Street will be built to the ‘Great Streets’ design, similar to the work done on St. Paul Street and City Hall Park over the last few years,” Farrington said. A wide concrete sidewalk and a line of pavers will be followed by a planter line for the trees, with stormwater recapture areas.
It’s an inviting vision that is tantalizingly close at hand.
“We’re almost there,” Farrington said.
This article was commissioned and paid for by Pomerleau Real Estate.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Coming Soon | CityPlace Burlington Is Now Burlington Square — and Almost Ready to Open”
This article appears in Apr 23-29, 2025.
