Burlington Asks to Turn State Office Building Into a Homeless Shelter

108 Cherry Street Credit: Colin Flanders

Burlington officials are asking permission to turn a downtown state office building into a homeless shelter to help address the evictions of people from motels in Chittenden County this summer.

The proposal that Mayor Miro Weinberger outlined on Monday calls for the city to use the three-story brick building at 108 Cherry Street as an overnight shelter for 50 people, with daytime services for up to 75.

The city is also asking the state to extend the stays of 318 people living in area motels who are set to be evicted as of July 28 to give the city more time to connect them to permanent housing. About 194 people already were forced out of their motel rooms in the county last week after a judge declined to block the first round of evictions.

It’s far from clear whether the city’s request — and the estimated $3 million cost — will be accepted by the state, which has asked local governments and agencies to submit proposals to help address the crisis.

But Weinberger, who supports responsibly ending the pandemic-era housing program, said the city needs to do something fast to address the wave of vulnerable people about to lose their housing. “For the state at the end of July to turn out elderly Vermonters, people living with disabilities, and, worst of all, young children and families to live in tents or congregate shelters for months would be unacceptable,” Weinberger said.

The state wants to sell the 110,000-square-foot office building, which is assessed at $29 million. The John J. Zampieri State Office Building, named after a former House representative and Vermont Buildings and General Services commissioner who died in 2021, currently houses the central offices of the Vermont Department of Health.

Burlington officials and homeless service providers discussing the proposal on Monday Credit: Screenshot

Located in the heart of downtown close to the ongoing CityPlace Burlington development, the property is considered prime real estate. The city has already turned one of its own properties, a parking lot on Elmwood Avenue just a stone’s toss from the Zampieri building, into a pod community housing 35 people. The office building could be used beginning in the summer, depending on how long renovations take, until winter, when the state’s program housing the homeless during inclement weather will resume operations, Weinberger said.

The cost of the renovation and operations this year would be between $1.1 million to $1.5 million, according to preliminary estimates. City officials have yet to even tour the building.

“With our partners, we are going to lay out an alternative path for sunsetting the program for Chittenden County residents that is humane, that is feasible and that is affordable,” Weinberger said.

The Chittenden County Homeless Alliance is currently finding permanent housing for about 25 people per month. The group has agreed to focus its attention in coming months on the 184 households being evicted from motel rooms as of July 28. The goal is to keep those people in their rooms until new permanent housing is found, Weinberger said.

That would require an extension of the motel program in the county at an estimated cost of $1.7 million. The funds could be allocated from $12 million earmarked in next year’s budget to help communities address the homelessness problem, he said.