By Kolby LaMarche

The City says it has identified a specific property for purchase, not rent, to house its planned Overdose Prevention Center (OPC), according to disclosures made to state lawmakers, even though the city’s required community listening sessions—intended to inform this very site selection—are ongoing and far from complete. 

As long reported by BDN, the site would provide a medically supervised space for individuals to use pre-obtained drugs, with staff available to reverse overdoses, supply harm reduction materials, and facilitate connections to treatment. 

The project has received $2.5 million in state opioid settlement funding to date, and Burlington is seeking an additional $1.1 million via the 2026 Opioid Settlement Bill (H.660) to fund an anticipated $1 million property purchase and renovation.

In testimony before the Vermont House Committee on Human Services, city representatives confirmed that a property has been identified for acquisition. 

House Human Services Committee Vice Chair Rep. Golrang Garofano (D-Chittenden 23) shared that Burlington expects to proceed with buying and renovating the building, aiming for operations to start in 2026, likely through a partnership with an organization such as Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform. 

The city has withheld the property’s address and other details from the public and the media, with no official announcement or explanation provided beyond legislative discussions.

This identification precedes the full execution of the community’s input process, as mandated by law. 

The listening sessions, as reported by BDN, began earlier this month with the first in Ward 1 and are scheduled to continue across multiple wards. These forums are explicitly framed by city officials as a way to gather resident, business, and stakeholder perspectives on site selection, facility features, accessibility, safety measures, and ways to mitigate potential neighborhood effects like traffic or public safety concerns.

City communications have stressed that these sessions will help shape a data-informed, resident-focused approach, including reviews of survey results and guided discussions. 

Officials have described the process as essential before finalizing any location. Yet the fact that a preferred property has already been singled out—while sessions remain in progress— has created some confusion, with many wondering if the session even matters anymore.

If a site has been identified, it is unclear to what extent later session feedback could alter that direction or prompt reconsideration of alternatives. 

Supporters of the OPC, including Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, maintain that advancing toward a physical facility is urgent given Burlington’s high concentration of overdose incidents and related challenges like public drug use and syringe litter. 

They view the program as a proven, evidence-based intervention to save lives and improve community health outcomes.

Previous reports noted at least one prospective site falling through without public details. Due to that incident, reportedly, the City has decided it won’t, or can’t, rent a space for the OPC.