Burlington South End Public Realm

Utile worked with the City of Burlington, Vermont on a development framework plan that would re-imagine a series of underutilized sites in the south end of the city. The project builds upon years of planning for the area, which include an adopted zoning overlay: The South End Innovation District (SEID), and the planBTV: South End report. The framework calls for contextually sensitive multi-family housing, a series of pedestrian, bike, and vehicular street networks, a centralized parking facility, and various open space improvements. The core values combined fundamental principles in walkability, human scaled urbanism, and resiliency; along with the unique arts, innovation, and culture of Burlington’s South End. 

The framework specifically wove together the interests of a private developer, Ride Your Bike (RYB), the Champlain College, local neighbors, and the city’s progressive vision for sustainable density. The site, currently used as a surface parking lot, is bounded by a rail corridor, private land, and two public streets. In the near-term an extension of route 189 will pass through the area, spurring a need to balance increased traffic with walkability and street-life. Utile led design charrettes with various density scenarios, and program mixes to balance the various stakeholder interests. Many strategies were developed including project phasing, targeted retail activation, pedestrianizing streets, reconnecting bikeways, consolidating district parking, and zoning tools to better predict architectural outcomes.