City Council Approves Plan for 400 New Homes Near the Waterfront

After four hours of public comment, the City Council voted 9–3 on Monday night to approve a plan for 400 homes on former rail land near the waterfront. The decision, reached shortly before midnight in a packed Contois Auditorium, ends more than two years of debate over the long-vacant parcel and clears the way for apartments, a public plaza and an extension of the lakeside path. Supporters called it the most significant housing vote in a decade. Opponents said they backed new homes in principle but feared the plan would push traffic onto streets that are already crowded on summer weekends.

A quarter of the apartments will be priced for households earning less than the area median income. That works out to 100 homes set aside under the city’s inclusionary zoning rules, with rents capped for at least 30 years, according to a staff memo presented at the meeting.

What’s in the plan

Four buildings of up to six stories, a public plaza, ground-floor shops and a 600-foot extension of the lakeside path. The developer, Harborline Partners, a regional firm that has built two smaller projects in Chittenden County, will lease the land from the city under a long-term agreement rather than buy it outright.

According to the approved site plan, the project includes:

• 400 apartments, from studios to three-bedroom units, across four buildings
• 100 income-restricted homes, spread through all four buildings rather than grouped in one
• About 18,000 square feet of ground-floor space for shops, a café and a child care center
• A public plaza of roughly half an acre, facing the lake
• A 600-foot extension of the lakeside path, connecting to the existing route near the ferry dock
• Covered bike parking for at least 500 bikes and a smaller underground garage

The tallest buildings would sit at the back of the site, closest to the rail corridor, with lower buildings stepping down toward the water. City planners said that arrangement was meant to protect views of the lake from the hill above downtown, a concern raised repeatedly during earlier hearings.

A long road to a vote

The parcel, a strip of gravel and old track beds wedged between Battery Street and the lake, has been empty for most of the last 20 years. Earlier proposals for a hotel and a parking structure stalled amid public opposition and financing problems. The city bought the land in 2023 with the stated aim of putting housing there.

Since then, the planning department has held more than a dozen public workshops. Residents asked for more green space, a guarantee of public access to the shoreline and a share of homes for working families. Several of those requests are reflected in the final plan, including the plaza and the decision to scatter the affordable units across every building.

Monday’s meeting drew more than 200 people. By the time the public comment period closed, 74 speakers had addressed the council, a city clerk’s tally showed. Most spoke in favor, many of them renters, health care workers and teachers who described long searches for apartments they could afford.

We need homes that teachers and nurses can afford. This is a real step.

Councilor Erin Walsh, Ward 3

Walsh, whose ward includes much of the waterfront, said she had heard from constituents who commute more than an hour each way because they cannot find housing in the city. “We have been talking about this site for as long as I’ve lived here,” she told colleagues before the vote. “At some point, talking has to turn into building.”

What opponents said

Three councilors worried about traffic on Battery Street and asked for a parking study before construction begins. They noted that the street already backs up on summer evenings, when the waterfront park, the ferry and several restaurants draw large crowds.

Councilor Martin Doyle of Ward 6, one of the three no votes, said his concerns were about timing rather than housing. “I want these homes built,” he said. “I also want to know what happens on Battery Street on a Saturday in July before we pour the first foundation.” He proposed an amendment requiring a completed parking and traffic study before building permits are issued. The amendment failed 5–7.

Several residents of nearby condominiums also spoke against the plan, saying six stories was too tall for the waterfront and asking the council to reduce the height to four stories. Planning staff responded that cutting two floors would remove roughly 120 homes and make the affordable units harder to finance.

The affordability question

Some speakers who supported the project still pressed the council to go further on affordability. Representatives of a local tenants’ union asked for more of the income-restricted units to be priced for households earning well below the median, not just under it. Others asked the city to require that the child care center offer sliding-scale tuition.

City housing staff said the current mix was the most the project could carry without additional public money. They added that the city plans to apply for state and federal housing funds that could deepen affordability in at least one of the four buildings. The council asked staff to report back on those applications by spring.

Local business owners near the waterfront were mostly supportive. The owner of a café on Battery Street told the council that year-round residents would help steady sales during the quiet winter months, when tourist traffic falls off sharply.

What happens next

The council’s approval is not the final step. The project still needs a series of permits and agreements before construction can begin. City staff outlined the expected timeline:

1. Final lease terms with Harborline Partners return to the council for a vote this winter.
2. The development review board will hold hearings on detailed building designs in the spring.
3. A state stormwater and shoreline permit is required because of the site’s location near the lake.
4. Construction could start next fall, with the first building opening roughly two years later.

The mayor’s office said a traffic and parking analysis, while not required before permits, is already underway and will be presented publicly early next year. Officials also said they are exploring adding a bus stop on Battery Street and expanding the city’s bike share stations near the site.

Key takeaway: The 9–3 vote approves the overall plan, but the lease, design review and state permits all still need approval before any digging begins.

How to weigh in

Residents who want to follow the project or comment on it have several options. Agendas and meeting recordings are posted on the city website, and the development review board accepts written comments before each hearing. The planning department has also said it will host an open house at the site this spring, with renderings and staff available to answer questions.

For many of the people who spoke on Monday, the vote was a long-awaited moment. As the meeting ended and the room emptied onto Church Street, a few supporters lingered in the hallway, talking about which building they hoped to live in. Whether those hopes come true will depend on the months of permitting ahead, but for the first time in two decades, the empty rail land near the waterfront has a plan.

Maple & Main will continue to cover the project as it moves through review. Send tips and questions to our newsroom.