Champlain College is not part of the current development agreement for Burlington's South End Coordinated Redevelopment and has no current plans to build on its land there, a college official wrote in an Oct. 5 email to Six State Signal. The city expects construction on the project's first phase, 205 apartments on a Lakeside Avenue parking lot, to start in spring 2027.
"Champlain College is not currently planning any development on our property," wrote Nic Anderson, the college's assistant vice president of planning and operations. "We were part of the original SECORD MOU and Pre-Development Agreement but are not part of any current development agreement at this time." Anderson wrote that the college is "not ruling out future development of our lot," but is "not actively planning anything."
On May 11, the City Council unanimously approved a first-phase development agreement among the city, Ride Your Bike LLC and RYB Building A LLC, according to the meeting minutes. The draft agreement in the council packet says Champlain College "is not a party to this Agreement."
The college, the city and Ride Your Bike, which the city identifies as the developer of the nearby Hula Lakeside, signed a memorandum of understanding in January 2023 to plan their adjoining land together. Their pre-development agreement, dated March 27, 2024, covered about 13.28 acres: Ride Your Bike's 6.32-acre parcel at 125 Lakeside Ave., the college's 3.65-acre parcel at 175 Lakeside Ave. and the city's 3.33-acre parcel at 68 Sears Lane, which the city owns through its affiliate, the Burlington Community Development Corporation.
That agreement set a goal of about 1,000 to 1,100 homes across the site, with at least 20% meeting the state's definition of affordable housing. It also said any party that found the project not viable could stop and "freely develop its Parcel" on its own. The college signed both amendments extending the agreement's deadlines. The second, signed in April 2025, set a new target of Sept. 15, 2025, for a development agreement among the parties.
The first phase will be built on part of Ride Your Bike's parcel by RYB Building A, which the agreement describes as a joint venture of Ride Your Bike and Rose Companies Holdings LLC. Jonathan Rose Companies calls the building Watershed Building A. The city's September housing update puts the phase at 205 apartments. A May city staff memo put it at about 204.
The agreement requires at least 20% of the first-phase units to be affordable for at least 99 years, according to the staff memo. The developer is aiming for 33% if it can secure more funding.
The city's September housing update says the first phase "breaks ground in Spring 2027" and lists the apartments as anticipated in 2028. The May memo said the schedule depends on closing construction financing by the end of 2026 and is subject to permits and approval under the state's Community and Housing Infrastructure Program. That program is a tax increment financing tool the city plans to use to repay the developer for new streets and sewer and stormwater work.
The agreement commits the city and Ride Your Bike to "good faith efforts" to bring the college's parcel into later phases. City materials describe room for more than 1,000 homes across the full site. Jonathan Rose Companies' project page says more than 1,200.
Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak said 200 to 300 more units could be built on the city-owned parcel off Sears Lane, WCAX reported Sept. 23. The city's written September housing update, checked Oct. 8, gives no unit count for the parcel. The first-phase agreement says deed restrictions on 68 Sears Lane limit its use to highway purposes and require state approval to alter or dispose of it. The city agreed to keep discussing those restrictions with the Vermont Agency of Transportation.
The city's September housing update says the city signed the first-phase agreement. As of Oct. 8, the city's SECORD web page still describes Champlain College as a partner and posts no documents newer than the April 2025 amendment.
Sources: Nic Anderson, Champlain College, email to Six State Signal, Oct. 5, 2026.
City of Burlington SECORD memorandum, signed January 2023
City of Burlington SECORD pre-development agreement, March 27, 2024
Second amendment to the pre-development agreement, April 2025
City Council agenda packet, May 11, 2026: CEDO memo and first-phase agreement, pages 466-492
City Council minutes, May 11, 2026
City of Burlington housing strategy update, September 2026
City of Burlington SECORD page, checked Oct. 8, 2026