The University of Vermont, the state’s largest college, only guarantees housing for its undergraduate students for the first two years. That leaves about 5,000 students to find apartments in Burlington, which like the rest of Vermont, is experiencing an historic housing crunch.
Municipal officials think boosting on-campus housing for UVM could help alleviate some of the pressure on the local housing market. And UVM has broken ground on a graduate student housing project in neighboring South Burlington. But a proposal to increase student housing in the Queen City has been stalled for months.
On a chilly gray morning in March, UVM leaders and South Burlington city officials gathered at a muddy construction site.
They each grabbed a green and gold shovel (UVM’s colors), dug into the ground and, in the clichéd gesture, tossed some dirt in the air.
The university was celebrating the start of construction on Catamount Run, a housing development that’s expected to provide 295 apartments for UVM graduate students, faculty and staff. About half the units are expected to be finished by next summer.
UVM President Suresh Garimella told the crowd that the university was committed to expanding housing for students.
“We've accelerated our hunt for options to house our graduate students, and also alleviate some of the pressure on the housing market,” he said.
"For me to move forward with this, I need to know how you’re going to be a participant and a partner in improving the status quo, in providing more housing on campus for students."Joan Shannon, Burlington city councilor
But next door in Burlington, where UVM is based, plans to increase student housing and free up housing stock in the city have stalled.
In February, Burlington’s city council voted to halt work on a proposed zoning amendment that would allow UVM to build more undergraduate housing on Trinity Campus. There’s a residential hall there already, and UVM wants to add more than 500 beds to the 21-acre site. But to build taller, more dense buildings, the city needs to approve a zoning amendment.
Burlington city councilors say they’re in favor of rezoning Trinity Campus, but there’s concern that UVM will use the additional student housing to grow enrollment, which would wipe out any gains for the local housing market. And they are concerned that UVM hasn't formally committed to growing housing stock in tandem with increasing enrollment.
Last fall UVM had 11,326 undergrads — about 700 more students than in 2018. According the university, just over half of undergrads live on-campus.
Garimella said in a brief interview at the groundbreaking ceremony that the university doesn’t plan to grow its enrollment anytime soon. And he said that UVM is still working with Burlington city officials to address housing challenges.
“So it's not a question of re-engaging, we remain engaged, we work closely together,” he said. “There are quite a few options we're looking at. You see a great example here, there'll probably be others and we'll announce them as we can. But of course, if the zoning restrictions on the Trinity Campus were to be rolled back, then that would offer us another option.”
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Burlington city councilors still want UVM to make a formal commitment to its housing objectives and enrollment plans. In February, City Councilor Joan Shannon told university officials that UVM and the city needed a housing agreement.
“The status quo is extremely problematic,” Shannon said. “For me to move forward with this, I need to know how you’re going to be a participant and a partner in improving the status quo, in providing more housing on campus for students.”
A previous agreement expired in 2019. It required UVM to build an equal number of housing units for each additional undergraduate that’s enrolled. So far, UVM has declined to renew that agreement.
“I’m hoping this is not a dead issue,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger during an interview last month.
“So it's not a question of re-engaging, we remain engaged, we work closely together... of course, if the zoning restrictions on the Trinity Campus were to be rolled back, then that would offer us another option.”Suresh Garimella, UVM president
Getting more student housing on Trinity Campus was one point in Weinberger’s 2021 plan to address Burlington’s housing crisis. But in an interview last month, he said UVM’s unwillingness to negotiate a new housing agreement has been problematic.
“If we get to the end of it here, and there's no way for there to be a meeting of minds, I'm concerned it could be many years before both sides sort of try to summon the will to try to make a change again,” Weinberger said.
There might be some progress on a new housing agreement between the city and UVM. City councilors got an update on negotiations from Weinberger last week, but since the discussion took place in an executive session there are no public details about how close two sides are to an agreement.
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