BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A University of Vermont plan to build undergraduate housing is on hold. The so-called Catamount Woods project was set to break ground earlier this year, but the school now says cost estimates came in well above the $100 million estimate. It comes as UVM and the city of Burlington prepare to resume talks over an overall housing agreement.
The plan for Catamount Woods was first unveiled last summer. The public-private partnership called for building housing for upwards of 540 undergrads near the southern edge of Centennial Woods.
But UVM’s Richard Cate says the construction costs did not make the project viable. “You have two large projects going on at City Place, in the high school, and that sort of thing. And trying to build this project at the same time where there’s virtually no labor force left to build it with. We’ve been bringing in people from other places and at a significantly higher cost,” he said.
Student housing still remains a major priority for the school and the city of Burlington. UVM officials have also signaled interest in building on the Trinity Campus, but that would require a zoning change that was blocked by the City Council last year after unresolved concerns that future enrollment wouldn’t exacerbate the city’s housing crisis.
“Our housing crisis here in Burlington affects every aspect of our quality of life as the city and our business prospects for business development up and down the socio-economic spectrum,” said Burlington City Councilor Tim Doherty/D-East, who represents the district where thousands of off-campus students live. ”It makes it all the more important that the city and the university reach a memorandum of understanding on the university’s commitment to increasing its housing stock.”
UVM says they are ready to talk when the new administration is ready to come to the table.
Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak said in a statement that they will be resuming negotiations on the mou. “I’m confident that we can find common ground in a way that benefits both the city and the university, with tangible steps to address the housing crisis in our community,” she said.