Burlington Community Justice Center

As the oldest and largest Community Justice Center (CJC) in Vermont, the Burlington CJC has outgrown the city-owned office space it has inhabited since 2016. In the 25 years of the CJC’s operation, it has had to move five times and has never had a space designed with its needs and uses in mind. The CJC is managed by 16 staff (and growing!) and 50 volunteers across four locations who offer ten different programs for more than 1500 people annually.

When the Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) purchased the former VFW on South Winooski Avenue in 2022, they presented an opportunity to relocate the CJC into a new space to resolve the legacy of insufficient space for the growing CJC presence in Burlington. This project will fund the equipment and supplies needed to complete the fit-up costs of a brand new, 4329 square foot space for the city to lease from the CHT in their newest building, the Post Apartments. This relocation and partnership will provide space to grow the CJC’s community presence so that more residents know it exists and may use it as a resource. The Post Apartments building will be visible from street-level and include a large meeting space that can be used by community groups and others needing a comfortable, restorative space.