Christine Auer Hebert Credit: File: Oliver Parini

The iconic Auer Family Boathouse property on Burlington’s northern shore is on the market for $2.5 million.

Located on Lake Champlain in a peaceful enclave at the very end of North Avenue, the property was home to a seasonal bait shop, snack bar and boat rental store for decades. Locals called it “Charlie’s Boathouse,” and it was run by Charlie Auer Jr. and his sister, Christine Auer Hebert, until his death in 2021.

When Hebert died last year, her husband, Ken, took ownership of the property. Now, at age 98, he’s ready to sell it.

“Taxes are high, and he doesn’t want to deal with it anymore,” said the Heberts’ daughter Karen Fay. “At this point, I want someone to love it, and if they’re willing to pay for it, then so be it.”

The listing was worrisome news for some neighbors, who would like the flood-prone parcel to be conserved. But the property is being advertised as a development opportunity — and is priced accordingly.

Whatever happens, longtime neighbor John Shappy II said, “it’s gonna take somebody with deep pockets to make it work.”

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Sitting at the confluence of Lake Champlain and the Winooski River, the boathouse was built by Charlie Auer Sr. in the 1920s. The ramshackle shop near the Burlington bike path was beloved for its cheap eats — including the $5 “Charlieburger” — and its easygoing owners. Following their dad’s tradition, Auer Jr. and Hebert would encourage people to come and enjoy the view even if they weren’t paying customers.

The siblings, who took over the operation in the 1990s, kept the business going through droughts, floods and the pandemic. But Hebert closed the boathouse after her brother’s death, letting people use the property as a park. Visitors would stick cash under the door, an unexpected charity that helped pay the property taxes. One person offered to buy the place, but the price wasn’t right.

“I’m not going to let it go for nothing,” Hebert told Seven Days in the spring of 2022, about two years before she died. “We worked too hard, too long.”

Charlie Auer in 2016 Credit: File: Matthew Thorsen

The property went through probate after Hebert’s death, eventually being awarded to her husband. Fay, the Heberts’ daughter, said it was her father’s decision to put the property on the market and that it wasn’t offered to anyone in the family, including Auer Jr.’s four daughters, who, through one sibling, declined to comment when reached by Seven Days.

City records say the property is worth $461,300, which includes the red, barnlike boathouse and nearly three acres of land. Fay said the $2.5 million asking price reflects both the results of a property appraisal and the value of owning lakefront property. Indeed, the Zillow listing highlights the lake access, describing the plot as offering “unmatched privacy at the end of a quiet road.”

“Opportunities like this are vanishingly rare,” the ad says. “A lakeside sanctuary with commercial potential and deep roots in Vermont’s heritage.”

But developing it would be tricky. Much of the property is in a flood zone, and water has washed ashore on several occasions. Any new structures would need to be built above sea level, meaning a developer would have to bring in fill or raise a building on stilts, according to Scott Gustin, Burlington’s principal planner and zoning division manager.

A small-scale boat or bike business would be allowed to open there, per city zoning rules. Housing is also allowed, up to two buildings with four units apiece. In that case, a developer would likely have to build a septic system that meets state standards in a flood zone or connect to the city’s treatment plant farther down North Avenue, which could be costly.

“It’s really up in the air as to what someone can do with it,” said Cheryl Boissoneault, a real estate agent whose firm listed the property earlier this month. “There’s a lot of possibilities, but they’d have to jump through the hoops.”

Boissoneault said she’s already heard from a number of people interested in the property, but none have made formal offers. Gustin, too, has gotten a few phone calls about what’s possible to build on the site.

Fay said the land could become a park but neighbors are opposed because it would bring traffic to their quiet street. She claimed that some neighbors once dug holes in the road to make it harder for cars to reach the boathouse.

Shappy, whose family has lived in the neighborhood since the 1950s, disputed that claim. But he does admit to being worried about traffic. That end of North Avenue isn’t maintained by the city, and, after a recent rainfall, puddles filled the abundant potholes in the narrow, gravel drive.

Shappy would like a park on the boathouse property, but one that’s only accessible by bike and foot, he said.

“A lot of people just come down and sit and just enjoy the quietness and the peacefulness of the area,” he said. “We’re hoping to keep it that way.”

The Winooski River Park District, which owns more than 200 acres of land next to the boathouse, approached the family last year but didn’t offer to buy the property. Nick Warner, the nonprofit’s executive director, said the group is “monitoring” the property and plans to discuss it at the board’s next meeting on October 28.

Warner wouldn’t comment on the asking price, including whether it would be out of the park district’s budget.

“Yes, it’s a high number, but these are good folks,” he said of the family. “We’re not trying to do anything other than consider what this property could be for the community.”

Robert Bristow-Johnson, an avid canoeist who lives on nearby North Cove Road, hopes the park district will end up with the land. But he worries that the $2.5 million price tag limits who can afford to buy it.

“There’s enough land there that they could put two homes on it, two rich-people homes,” he said. “I’d hate to see it become some rich person’s mansion.”

Fay, for her part, said she just wants it off her father’s hands.

“Best offer wins,” she said. “That’s all.”

The boathouse property Credit: Courtney Lamdin © Seven Days

Once a welcoming spot, the property is now closed off with a metal gate. Just beyond is the boathouse, its iconic green sign visible through the changing autumn leaves. The windows are boarded up, and, a few weeks ago, vandals broke in and caused more than $7,000 worth of damage, according to Fay.

Neighbors, including Shappy, try to keep an eye on who comes and goes. On a recent afternoon, a cyclist paused by the boathouse to put on a dry jacket after a pouring rain. She didn’t give her name but told Shappy she’s a family friend, an apparent acknowledgement of the fact that where she was standing was technically off-limits.

“I know Charlie wouldn’t mind,” she said.

And Shappy agreed. Charlie wouldn’t mind at all.

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Courtney Lamdin was a staff writer at Seven Days 2019-2025, covering politics, policy and public safety in Burlington. She received top honors from the New England Newspaper & Press Association, including for "Warning Shots," a coauthored investigation...