BURLINGTON — The city’s plan to reconnect a section of downtown Burlington that was cut off by development decades ago will get an infusion of cash from the federal government, officials announced on Thursday.
Mayor Miro Weinberger was joined by U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., on Burlington’s Bank Street to announce the $22 million grant, part of a program that uses money authorized by Congress in the November 2021 infrastructure bill.
The streets project will be closely aligned with the ongoing CityPlace project which is expected to include over 400 units of new housing and retail space.
Weinberger said the plan is part of “a vision to rebuild and reconnect this once vibrant part of the downtown core.”
In addition to building housing, the city also aims to “restore the street grid and connectivity for both vehicles and pedestrians that was lost during urban renewal,” the mayor said.
The $22 million grant will be added to a $12 million earmark set aside by former U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy before he retired, as well as the $16 million from Burlington’s tax increment financing.
Welch said during the press conference that the money from the infrastructure bill is meant to “revitalize” communities.
“What you end up having is government working for the people, the way it’s supposed to work,” Welch said. “It’s a partnership. The federal government has more resources that can then be sent back to our communities.”
Marc Sherman, owner of Outdoor Gear Exchange, a downtown business next to the CityPlace project, said the streets project would benefit the city.
“This, along with the completion of the CityPlace, will continue to expand the shopping district beyond Church Street, and in doing so bring more and more strength and diversity to the downtown shopping district,” Sherman said.
Weinberger said the grant will allow a total of 10 city blocks of streets to be improved, including Bank and Cherry streets between Battery Street and North Winooski Avenue. Included in the plan is the reconnection of St. Paul and Pine streets, disconnected by the downtown mall development decades ago.
Weinberger said the rebuilt streets would allow for better public transportation and outdoor spaces. The work is expected to begin around the end of 2024.
Main Street in Burlington will go through a similar reconstruction, dubbed the “great streets” initiative, expected to begin either by the end of 2023 or beginning of 2024, according to Weinberger. A section of St. Paul Street was completed using a similar blueprint.
