Two years ago, Champlain College began seeking permits to build a dorm in downtown Burlington. The Development Review Board turned the college down. Champlain appealed and came to a compromise, but by that time, two different groups of neighbors had filed suit.
Now, the last of those legal disputes has been settled, clearing the way for the 104-unit project known as Eagles Landing to move forward. The dorm would house 290 students off St. Paul Street, supplanting the vacant Eagles Club and a parking lot.
David Provost, Champlain’s senior vice president for finance and administration, and Mayor Miro Weinberger — who’s been a strong supporter of the project — celebrated the news at a press conference on campus Thursday. “I think this is a really good thing for the city,” said Weinberger, who noted that it will generate roughly $400,000 in property tax revenue and will fill a need for student housing.
Neighbors raised concerns early in the process about the size of the building, its design and the impact it would have on parking.
Weinberger, who thanked Provost for his persistence, acknowledged that he had been unhappy with the delays. But both he and Provost said the process — though tortuous — ultimately resulted in a better building design. Joining them at the podium was Ron Wanamaker, a member of the nonprofit Preservation Burlington and one of those who pushed for a design that blended in with the neighborhood.
Provost showed slides of the new and improved design — the presentation was titled Arrested Development. Among the changes: different window design and cornice details, and a reduced elevation on the Browns Court side.
The city, the college and Preservation Burlington have also agreed to cofund a study of how to revitalize neighborhoods previously dominated by students — another priority of the Weinberger administration. The city and Champlain are each pitching in $25,000; Preservation Burlington is supplying $5,000.
Champlain College hopes to break ground this fall, but it still needs to complete the state’s environmental review (Act 250), and it needs to find a new builder because REM Development dropped out due to the multiple delays.
Weinberger wants local colleges to build an additional 1,500 student beds, both on campus and downtown, to cut down on the number of students living in neighborhoods or “student ghettos.” The mayor said that Champlain’s experience shows the need for more predictability in the city’s zoning ordinance, and that his administration’s efforts to switch to form-based code would likely accomplish that.
Asked if he would have pursued the project had he known how difficult it would be, Provost responded, “Sadly, yes.”
Related Stories
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
This is still a fugly building, Im happy to have a 400k kick into the schools and city service fund tho.
For the life of me I don’t understand how Champlain College can continue to acquire properties and build outside of its Master Plan they submitted to the city several years ago. They said they’d operate within specific boundaries and then almost instantly went outside of it and acquired the Ethan Allen Club and now Eagle’s Landing. Both properties are clearly outside of their Master Plan which apparently doesn’t mean anything. UVM takes a lot of heat for pressurizing the housing market and Champlain seems to get a pass. Champlain continues to muscle its way out of its campus to the detriment of surrounding residents.
I am glad Champlain College is taking responsibility by building housing for its students, instead of just letting them make the shortage even worse. I hope UVM will follow suit.
This type of housing is simply an enclosed off campus dorm but without legal clarifications of how student behavior is managed and by whom? If we need a better tax base the city needs to confront the 46% of our grand list which is listed as tax-exempt. With Champlain getting plenty of developer’s money while it seeks to hire more adjunct facility with lower wages and benefits, it can focus on it’s campus site. Grow or die syndrome is a false way of running our city. If we want to support housing for people that really need it, let’s look at the Wharf, 101 College St, Bobbin Mill, and other locations in the central city. We don’t need a college/resort town. Working folks, including those who send their children to college, need to come first. They built this city with their sweat and don’t appreciate getting muscled out.
Wow- it looks like St. Paul Street is getting widened as well?
Mark makes a good point about 46% of the grand list being tax exempt which puts a disproportionate tax burden on the residents and for profit entities. My understanding is Champlain will pay property tax on the new building which is roughly $400K which seems pretty good. However because it’s owned by Champlain that tax amount never increases, the basis stays the same as long as Champlain owns it unlike a property built by a for profit entity (say the Hilton Garden Inn across the street). So when everyone else gets reappraised (every 10-15 years) and taxes are adjusted, the Champlain property basis stays at today’s rate. The Hilton Garden Inn would see its property tax bill increase as would other similar for profit commercial properties as well as residential properties since their property values go up because of inflation. In the long run having this property developed by Champlain could result in flat tax revenue for this property over time. I wish the reporter would explain that.