If you build in Chittenden County, keep an eye on this one. South Burlington is considering moving part of Old Farm Road to make room for planned housing, and the money for the public pieces may come through a fairly new state program.
WCAX reported Monday that the goal is to pivot the road farther away from the Kimball-Kennedy Avenue area, where the station said a 40-unit housing development is planned. Nicolas Storellicastro, the deputy city manager, told the station the move would do two jobs at once.
"What that does is it unlocks some additional development in that neighborhood, in that development, mixed-use development. So the idea is to move it to make it a safer intersection and to create that additional housing and commercial space," he said.
The City Council was slated to take it up at its Monday, Oct. 19, meeting, discussing whether to move forward with a public-private partnership and the funding that can come with it. The outcome hadn't been reported at press time.
A deal that's been in the works
This isn't a new idea. A staff primer in the council's Oct. 19 meeting packet says the council approved a development agreement with O'Brien in August 2025 covering the relinquishment and relocation of Old Farm Road, and that the relocation is already part of the approved planned unit development.
Under that agreement, the city conveys a narrow strip on the western edge of the current right-of-way to O'Brien. O'Brien reconstructs and relocates the road, the "new" Old Farm Road is conveyed to the city, and a portion of the old road is relinquished to O'Brien. City staff say the relocation puts more distance between the Kennedy Drive/Kimball Avenue intersection and the Kimball Avenue/Old Farm Road intersection, helping safety and traffic flow, and opens the door to more units and commercial development along Kimball Avenue.
The agenda cover sheet asked councilors for guidance on a CHIP application and an amended development agreement. Staff listed next steps that include working new dates and timelines into the agreement and adding CHIP application provisions, if the council authorizes them.
What CHIP is
CHIP is the Community Housing and Infrastructure Program, created by the Legislature in Act 69 of 2025. It pays for housing-related infrastructure on a tax increment model: as new homes go up and the Grand List grows, the added property tax revenue pays off the infrastructure. The Vermont Economic Progress Council oversees the program and can authorize up to $200 million a year in state education tax increment for CHIP projects.
Unlike a traditional TIF district, CHIP is limited to a single contiguous site and can't be used inside TIF boundaries. Market-rate projects have to pass a "but for" test, meaning the project would move slower, have fewer units or be less affordable without the help. Increment can be kept for up to 20 years or until the debt is paid off.
The developer's pitch
O'Brien Brothers brought its own presentation for its Hillside at O'Brien Farm neighborhood. It proposes a joint city-developer CHIP application this fall covering a 43-home increment area, with a share of the new property taxes from those homes repaying a loan for an estimated $4 million to $5 million in public improvements.
That list includes the relocated Old Farm Road with a new Kimball Avenue intersection and stormwater upgrades, a connection between O'Brien Farm Road and Old Farm Road, a public park at the historic barn and a rec path along Kimball Avenue toward Potash Road. The presentation says the other 227 Hillside homes and the commercial mixed-use area are not part of the increment proposal.
The developer's timeline targets Vermont Economic Progress Council approval in February 2027, with the homes and improvements built from 2027 onward.
Why it matters for Contractors
Strip away the finance talk and this is real work: a road rebuilt and relocated, a new intersection, stormwater upgrades, a road connection, a rec path, a park pavilion and 43 homes the developer says are already permitted and designed. If the council signs off and the state approves, site, civil and residential crews in the area could see that work line up starting in 2027.
It's also an early look at CHIP in a real deal. Builders have long seen infrastructure costs land on the price of each new home. A program that lets new tax revenue carry roads and parks instead could change the math on other projects, so it's worth watching how South Burlington handles this one.