South Building is now the tallest building structure in Vermont; Program for entire 740,000 sf block is finalized and permitted; New minority partner Giri Group now on board bringing capital and extensive hotel experience to local partnership
Burlington, Vt. – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger and CityPlace Partners announced recent progress and next steps at the CityPlace mixed-use housing development in downtown Burlington. After 15 Months of construction, the South Building is “topped out” at 10 stories, will be the tallest building in Vermont when complete, and is on track for completion in one year. Further, CityPlace Partners have finalized their building program for the entire site and last week received a permit amendment from the Department of Permitting and Inspection allowing for a minimum of 350 residential units including 70 permanently affordable units (approximately 340,000 sf), a maximum of 350 hotel rooms in two separate hotels (approximately 186,000 sf), 40,000 sf of retail, and 172,000 sf of parking. CityPlace Partners (CPP) also announced a new minority equity partner Giri Group, a well-capitalized developer headquartered in Massachusetts that will operate the two hotels.
“About a decade ago, we set out as a community to do something hard: to take control of our future. We decided to correct old mistakes and fix a long-broken part of our downtown, to turn a community planning vision into reality, and to make it possible for hundreds of new people to live and work in this great, but small city,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “Today, after years of hard work, adversity, and perseverance, we can finally say with confidence that this daring and worthy effort will succeed. The South Tower at CityPlace is the largest building ever constructed in this state, and one year from now hundreds of Burlingtonians, workers, and visitors will be passing through the front doors.”
“Once the site of a failing suburban mall, the CityPlace project is now a bustling construction site spanning an entire city block. We have completed much of the foundation for both the North and South Tower of Cityplace and have recently completed the steel frame and concrete slab floors for all of the South Tower, and now completing the exterior wall constructions and sheathing – the building will be complete by the end of March, "said local partner Dave Farrington. “The construction success that you have seen in the past 12 months is attributed to the hard work and dedication of the subcontractors and design consultants that have been working on this exciting but very difficult job.”
At the next City Council meeting, the Mayor will seek approval for amendments to the existing development agreement between the City of Burlington and CPP to enable the new building program announced today.
Changes Enabled by the new amendments to the Development Agreement (ARDA 2.0)
- In December, the Mayor announced, and the council approved, $1.9 million in ARPA funds for two new Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) affordable housing projects in Burlington, including new homeownership opportunities at Cambrian Rise. CHT has withdrawn from the CityPlace project, and the CPP intend to build the integrated affordable on-site without local or federal subsidy.
- The new building program continues to provide a substantial number of residential housing units (at least 350 including at least 70 permanently affordable units). This remains a far stronger residential program than the ~ 272 units envisioned with the original CityPlace Development Agreement (October 2017).
- Hotel Rooms are smaller than residential units, so more Hotel Rooms can be provided with only a fractional reduction in housing. Further, changes to how the developers will deliver renewably powered in-unit heating and cooling technologies has expanded the developable square footage within the project, allowing for the expanded number of hotel rooms without a significant reduction in housing units.
- Allowing these changes enables The Giri Group’s participation as a minority partner, strengthening the finances of the over $200 million private development and increasing the likelihood it will continue to completion without delay.
- The amendments will also reflect a clarification that the planned community space may be provided in multiple meeting room spaces shared with and likely managed by the hotels, with the permanent public rights to the use of the space stewarded by CEDO to allow greater flexibility for public users.
- CPP expects to South Tower in the first quarter of 2025, and they expect to complete the North Tower no later than the end of the second quarter of 2026. The amendments would extend the outside date with respect to the North Tower from November 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, which is within the current ARDA 2.0 timeline anticipated for final completion of the entire project.
About CityPlace Partner Giri Group
CityPlace partners are excited to announce a strategic collaboration with Giri Group, headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, as a Limited Partner in CityPlace. The collaborative efforts of Giri Group and the local partners, Dave Farrington, Scott Ireland, and Al Senecal, reflect a shared vision for excellence in development. Giri Group brings an extensive track record of successful development projects across New England and shares CityPlace Partners’ excitement for the transformative journey of rejuvenating the old Burlington Mall into a cutting-edge city block.
Local partner Scott Ireland emphasized that the partnership with Giri Group was rooted in their like-minded approach to doing business. Like the local partners, Giri Group manages all of their own projects, performing as much of the work as possible on their own to meet budget and maintain timelines and quality control.
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