New housing construction breaks ground

In an effort to address the housing crisis in Burlington, Redstone Development has started building new apartments.

The new housing will be located where the Dairy Queen used to be in the Queen City, just down the street from another Redstone Apartment building. Mayor Miro Weinberger and developers met Monday afternoon to break ground on the new building set to open next year.

Kathy Goguen used to own QTees a summer staple in Burlington that was around since the 1950s. She decided to close the shop in 2013.

I was seven and actually grew up here, Goguen said.

Mayor Weinberger joked about the ground breaking being dj vu. He had done the same thing just nine month ago when Redstone opened its Silversmith Commons location on Winooski Street. He said the new housing will be a big help for residents.

From my perspective, we have no larger social problem than the lack of housing in Burlington, Weinberger said.

Aside from the lack of housing, people choosing to live in Burlington are faced with a lack of affordable housing. The project in the Q Tees site is slated to have 28 units with four dedicated to affordable housing. Its another step in what the mayor calls an overall plan to open up the rental market in the Queen City.

We have people paying a really high percentage of their income for rent and part of the solution is having more units and more houses in the downtown and this project, by bringing in 28 more units is a step in the right direction, Weinberger said.

So, at an end of an era, Goguen said she is looking towards the future.

I came on the day of demolition and it was sort of like to say goodbye, Goguen said. I was starting a new life and the property was starting a new life also.

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New housing construction breaks ground