Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the Winooski News
WINOOSKI — Beginning in 2024, the Main Street Revitalization Project has sought to improve the once bustling core of the city.
The project includes a slew of goals to accomplish, such as new stormwater and sewer infrastructure, better landscaping and street lighting and more pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. The project is slated to conclude next summer, over two years after the construction began.
The construction has been a hot topic in Winooski from the start, with many residents and business owners speaking out on how they’re being impacted by the project.
Bhakti Dahal, owner of Vermont Curry and Cocktails, had a brief moment of normalcy before the disruption began right in front of his restaurant.
“I purchased this restaurant one month before the construction started. After that month, business was slow,” he said.
“There is no parking, and there is slow traffic. It’s been difficult for us to run the business,” Dahal added. “As you can see on the road construction site, there is no parking area. Nobody can walk.”
Dahal, who grew up in South Burlington, said he had no knowledge of the upcoming construction project when establishing his restaurant in Winooski. He turned down the loan he was offered from the Main Street Small Business Loan Program, as he perceived it as unhelpful.
According to Winooski’s website, “Green Mountain Credit Union (GMCU) is committing $40,000 to an interest rate buy-down fund that will support up to $200,000 in 0% loans.”
Dahal didn’t see the use of the loan. He said if his business remains as slow as it is, he would have trouble paying the loan back.
“We’re working with family. Anyway, I have to pay back that money. I have to pay back, and I have to make money. If I don’t make money, how can I pay (the loan) back?”
Not all businesses share this sentiment.
Ed Boldwin opened Dumb Luck Bar and Grill about ten months ago. The space formerly housed Wicked Wings, a 14-year-old business that closed down roughly four months after the construction began, citing revenue losses due to the Main Street Revitalization Project as the reason.
Boldwin views the project differently.
“People over-exaggerate the difficulties of traveling through here and make it worse than it is, because it’s not that bad. Maybe a couple times a day there’s a three-minute wait, but other than that, traffic flows quite steadily,” he said.
Though Boldwin has felt minor impacts on his restaurant, he sees the project as necessary.
“It’s been hard. You work through it. You know it’s gonna end, and you just try to get there,” he explained.
“It’s looking better out there, and it’s gonna be better overall when it’s done,” he added.
Boldwin, who opened the restaurant with his wife, Patricia Boldwin, was aware of the construction and its potential impacts when opening his restaurant. He said there’s been good communication between him and those working on the Winooski construction.
“They were always informative when they were doing something that might hinder our business. They always came in to let us know ahead of time and see what they could do to make it less invasive,” he said.
There have been other programs established to aid small businesses, such as the Mosaic Campaign, which promotes and encourages support to local businesses.
Communications Director Paul Sarne shared how the campaign came about after reports from Main Street businesses of a 30-70% revenue drop.
Officials coordinated “over 30 meetings with financial institutions, government agencies, and business counseling providers to explore options for loans, grants, donations and other support. Input was also gathered from communities with similar projects, including Middlebury, Brandon and Burlington,” he said in an email.
The campaign includes receipt raffles, where people can submit their receipts from local purchases for a chance to win a prize bundle filled with items like gift certificates donated by Winooski businesses. With paid meta-ads, almost 90,400 people have viewed ads created to promote and encourage Main Street businesses, Sarne added.
Winooski interim Mayor Thomas Renner said he had a hard time visualizing what the construction would actually look like when it finally got set into motion.
“We received presentations about what the construction was going to look like,” he said. “I do think for most people, many members of council and city staff included, the first time we turned onto Main Street and saw essentially a dirt road leading all the way up and people’s cars getting covered in dust, for a lot of us, we weren’t expecting that.”
When the construction began, there was a clear shift in how the Main Street area was perceived.
“Main Street was all torn up. It was dusty and dirty. People didn’t really know how to navigate it,” Renner said. “At that moment, it became really difficult for businesses. People weren’t frequenting the businesses as much.”
Despite some commotion, the Main Street Revitalization Project hopes to positively impact Winooski for generations, Renner said.
“It’s going to look beautiful. It’s really going to open up Main Street. It’s going to make it feel much more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly,” he said.
“I think the businesses that exist directly on Main Street are now going to have a more inviting facade. I think housing developers will look at Main Street and say, ‘This is a new open, clean space for new housing projects to go in,’” he added.