At a time when other surrounding Vermont downtowns are still recovering from last July's devastating floods, the small community of Berlin is about to launch its new town center on a hill, high above the floodplain, beginning with an affordable housing complex next to the Central Vermont Marketplace, also known as the Berlin Mall.
Downstreet Housing & Community Development, based in Barre, Vt., expects to begin construction in June on Fox Run, a 30-unit workforce housing project, according to Angie Harbin, Downstreet's executive director. Renters could move in as soon as September 2025, she added.
The apartment building will be built on 2.3 acres across the road from Chestnut Place, a 98-unit privately owned senior housing facility next to Walmart. The purchase from Berlin Mall LLC is expected to close sometime in May or June, Harbin noted.
Additionally, the Town of Berlin has granted a zoning permit for a Starbucks to be built next door to Fox Run and expects an as-yet unnamed restaurant and a retail outlet to request building permits in April, according to Tom Badowski, Berlin's assistant town administrator.
All of it will be constructed on a wooded lot currently owned by the Berlin Mall, Badowski told the Montpelier news source, though it is only one component of a larger town center plan that has been in the planning stages for decades.
He said that Berlin's new town center has established partnerships with the Town of Berlin and the mall (which will soon include a land swap so Berlin can build an administrative building there), the Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC) as well as agreements with the state of Vermont and three nearby car dealerships.
Berlin's New Town Center Should Add to Its Growth
The Montpelier Bridge reported that in 2022, Berlin became the third municipality in the state — and the only one outside of Chittenden County — to receive the "new town center" designation from the state.
"To me, that's significant," Badowski said.
With a population of just 3,000, Berlin is located between Montpelier and Barre and home to some of central Vermont's major employers, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont and the CVMC.
To date, Berlin has not had a town center, despite having a retail center, according to the online news source.
The idea for a new town center dates back 25 years, when residents developed a plan that ended up sitting on a shelf for over a decade, Badowski explained. It was dusted off about 10 years ago, he said, shortly before Berlin officials decided to proceed with it.
By the time they completed a new town plan, he said, it had been transformed from a dusty, 500-page, small-font document into one that used a larger font and lots of pictures making it easier to read and use.
Helping to lay the groundwork for the new Berlin Town Center, the Bridge noted, was the construction of a $10 million water and sewer system where one had never existed before. The town drilled four wells, Badowski said, and laid nearly 40,000 ft. of pipe to connect businesses and homes to a central system.
"It's a system we totally built from scratch," Ture Nelson, Berlin's interim town administrator and Select Board member said in speaking with the Bridge.
Badowski is quick to note that the cost of the water and sewer system was covered in part by a $2 million grant, along with user fees.
The town also updated its zoning recently to allow for more housing, he said, to the point that the town currently has no limit on how many housing units can go onto a lot.
"The planning commission has a vision of 350 to 500 [more] units," Badowski continued. "We are a small town with 3,000 people, but we want 5,000 residents, and have people come live here and make central Vermont their home."
Fox Run Likely to Help Improve Berlin's Walkability
Both Badowski and Nelson told the Montpelier news source that building housing so close to the mall, the car lots, the hospital and Berlin's elementary school will create an environment where people can walk more and drive less.
Regarding Fox Run, Harbin noted, "From that site you can walk to the school and there's sidewalks to the hospital and medical center. Creating all of those connections right there really does make sense."
In fact, Badowski said walkability is a big part of the new town center plan. Earlier in March, he noted, the town heard it was likely to receive a $1.6 million grant to build a multi-use path situated away from the busy road and parking lot.
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