The new owner of the former site of the Burlington YMCA submitted construction plans to the city last week seeking to build a six-story, 89-unit apartment building.
Representatives of Massachusetts-based Giri Hotel Management, which purchased the building in December 2022, submitted a zoning application to the city on June 13 requesting approval to renovate portions of the building and to construct new rental apartments on the rest of the site. The zoning request estimates a $20 million cost for the project. The plans include drawings from local architectural firm Smith Buckley Architects.
The zoning application states that the historic portion of the former YMCA that faces College Street would remain but would be renovated.
“Project proposes to maintain the sloped-roofed portion of the existing historic structure that faces College St,” the developers state in documents submitted with the application. “The balance of the existing structure will be demolished.”
Following demolition, the new portion of the project would become a six-story building with underground parking levels.
The Greater Burlington YMCA moved a short distance up College Street in 2020 to a brand-new facility. Prior to the move, a Florida-based hotel developer, Hospitality Management, purchased the building at 266 College Street and planned for a hotel.
But by early 2022, the building was still vacant and in foreclosure, Seven Days reported at the time. In December 2022, Hospitality sold the building to Giri for $4.5 million, according to city property records. Around the time of purchase, Giri also planned for a hotel.
As the building has remained vacant, it has become a target of graffiti and break-ins. WCAX-TV has reported on the city’s efforts to evict people staying in the building illegally.
In an interview with VTDigger in April, Bill Ward, Burlington’s director of permitting and inspections, said the vacant building was a frequent site for squatters and that a property manager had been working to install plywood, chains on the doors and fencing along the rear roofline in an effort to keep people out. Ward noted the hazards of the building, which does not have a working sprinkler system.
Reached by email on Wednesday, Giri owner Ashish Sangani said he was out of the country and didn’t comment further on the plans.