UVM Health Network Announces Another Apartment Building, New Childcare Center

Dr. Sunny Eappen at Thursday’s press conference Credit: Colin Flanders ©️ Seven Days

The University of Vermont Health Network is investing $6 million in another employee housing project, one that will include a new childcare center.

The South Burlington building will have 120 apartments ranging from studios to two bedrooms, while the childcare operation is expected to serve up to 75 kids. The building is going up on Market Street — not far from a separate, 61-unit apartment complex that the hospital invested nearly $3 million in earlier this year.

The Snyder Braverman Development Company will own and operate the two buildings and will enter a 10-year master lease with the health network that gives its employees first dibs on both the apartments and the childcare slots.

Network officials think the projects will help attract and retain permanent employees amid a nationwide workforce shortage.

“It is our hope that these two buildings will be the first of others across Vermont and northern New York,” said Dr. Sunny Eappen, the health network’s president and CEO, at a press conference on Thursday.

The announcement comes as the network seeks to regain its financial footing after reporting a $90 million loss last fiscal year. The network has blamed the shortfall on its heavy reliance on travel employees, who work on short-term contracts and often make far more money than permanent staff.

Network leaders cite housing and childcare as the biggest barriers to hiring more permanent staff. New recruits routinely quit within a few months because they’ve been unable to find a place to live or someone to watch their kids. Other employees have left for jobs in areas of the country where the prospect of homeownership seems more within reach.

Network officials held Thursday’s press conference in a muddy pit between the future footprint of the 120-unit building and the nearly complete 61-unit building. As they spoke, the thwack of a nail gun echoed from the roof of the latter project.

The smaller building could open by April 2023, the larger, in early 2024. They will primarily house network employees; some units will be used as transitional apartments for new workers.

Demand for the apartments and childcare slots will be high given the lack of affordable options in Chittenden County. The network has established a committee to oversee the selection process and expects to release more details in the coming weeks on who might qualify, how they will be chosen and potential subsidies.