Leahy Secures $1.5 Million
For Downtown Winooski

WASHINGTON (Tues., Dec. 4) – Sen. Patrick Leahy announced that the Senate Tuesday passed a bill that includes $1.5 million for the revitalization of downtown Winooski. Leahy, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, included the funds in the annual Transportation Appropriations Bill that passed the Senate in a vote of 97-2. Leahy, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, which wrote the bill, said the bill now goes to President Bush, who is expected to sign it.

"Winooski is a vital part of the Chittenden County economy," said Leahy. "These funds can help crystallize the remaining pieces of the plan to revitalize downtown Winooski. Its success can make Winooski a model for urban renewal in Vermont and elsewhere."

The City of Winooski is at a critical juncture in financing a $167 million downtown redevelopment project that is centered on alterations of a federal road network. The project includes a combination of office, retail and housing development that will restore Winooski as an economic engine in Chittenden County.

The appropriate permits have already been issued by both the city and the state. Last year, in a show of support, the Vermont Legislature passed special legislation designating Winooski as a Tax Increment Financing District, allowing the city to recapture state tax revenue to finance the development.

Under the proposal designed by the Winooski Community Development Corporation, the new downtown plaza will offer nearly 1.4 million square feet of new and revitalized buildings, including a new headquarters for the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation and several hundred units of new housing. The Winooski development plans call for a city-owned parking lot, a pedestrian-friendly town center and improved public access to the riverfront.

With an estimated population of 7,000 within just over a square mile, Winooski is the most densely populated city in Vermont. The revitalization project is intended to help return the city to the vital employment and commercial center it was at the turn of the century.

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