The university has said it’s selling the land in order to make strategic investments in its continued growth.
The housing is to be built by Spear & Swift Associates, a company von Turkovich formed for the development. The name is a reference to the land’s location between Spear and Swift streets.
UVM announced in September that another von Turkovich company, Eastern Development Corp., was selected from four bidders to purchase the 44 acres. A news release Monday said the university has now reached a purchase and sale agreement with the new von Turkovich company.
The property UVM is selling has two sections. The largest, the Edlund South Tract, is 34 largely wooded acres bordered by Spear Street and Potash Brook. The 10-acre Martin Tract is mostly fields on the north side of Swift Street, near UVM’s Wheelock Farm.
The college uses the farm for agricultural cropland and research; it also contains a 12-plot community garden. The sale does not include the farm or garden.
Von Turkovich’s vision for up to 176 housing units on the land would require a zoning change by South Burlington officials as well as state environmental approvals. The Edlund South Tract is zoned for institutional and agricultural use, while the Martin Tract is zoned to allow for a maximum of four residential units per acre.
As part of the deal, UVM will get a 22-acre parcel a von Turkovich company purchased adjacent to the college’s East Woods Natural Area. The three contiguous parcels “will enable the construction of needed community housing, the enhancement of UVM’s East Woods Natural Area, and expansion of the regional network of public walkways and bike paths,” the university said.
John Evans, a special adviser to the UVM president and provost, praised the agreement with Spear & Swift Associates for adding “needed homes” at “the right scale,” as well as providing the opportunity to expand the walking and biking trails in the East Woods.
“The expansion of the regional bike network will make these homes attractive to many who are interested in biking and walking to work, including our own faculty and staff,” Evans said.
