[S]OUTH BURLINGTON — With 93-year-old Doris Allard wielding a ceremonial shovel, officials Wednesday marked the start of work on a housing development that will bring older Vermonters like her into the heart of the city’s planned new downtown.
The nonprofit developer Cathedral Square Corp. is behind the 39-unit project, which will be primarily affordable housing. It is the first major residential project in the planned City Center.
Allard has the longest tenure among Cathedral Square residents, having moved into its original Burlington residence 39 years ago. The new project is named Allard Square after her.
“It’s an honor to me,” said Allard. “I take the honor for my dad, who was in construction.”
The development will have one- and two-bedroom apartments for older residents.
Construction at the Market Street site is scheduled to last a year, with occupancy slated for November 2018. A public-private partnership linking Cathedral Square Corp. in South Burlington and Shelburne’s Snyder Braverman Development Co. served as the bedrock for the project.
Other funding includes $625,000 from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board; $525,000 from the Vermont Community Development Program; and $350,000 from the Weinberg Foundation.
Cathedral Square Chief Executive Officer Kim Fitzgerald said the project underscores the need for more affordable housing for the elderly. “We are the second-oldest state and soon will be the first in terms of population age,” Fitzgerald said. “Allard Square will be a truly mixed-income community. We’re offering affordable, energy-efficient homes for older Vermonters.”
Cathedral Square says it has more than 800 people on housing waiting lists.
Twenty-five of the 39 units at Allard Square are slated to have rental assistance for “extremely low-income” residents, who will pay 30 percent of their income in rent. Four units are set to have below-market-rate rents for those earning less than 60 percent of the area median income. Ten will have market-rate rents.
South Burlington City Council Chairwoman Helen Riehle said the project will usher in a new era in local development. “This project will be the centerpiece of the downtown development,” she said, praising the municipality’s push to create additional affordable housing.
Dave Adams, chief of program operations for the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, said he was encouraged by the business relationships that paved the way for the project. “This is a wonderful example of public and private partnership,” he said. “This project (underscores) the need for this type of housing.”
Art Casavant, People’s United Bank vice president for community development, said the institution provides financing for similar projects as a way to serve communities. “People’s United remains committed to do as much as possible as we can in the state of Vermont,” he said.
Founded in 1977, Cathedral Square is a developer of affordable housing communities for low- and modest-income older adults and people with special needs.
