By Kolby LaMarche

After 15 years of operating from rented spaces across the Chittenden County region, the Islamic Community Center of Vermont (ICCVT) is under contract to purchase its first permanent home — a mosque and community hub that leaders say will serve Muslim families and their Vermont neighbors for generations.

The organization, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, announced the milestone in a public appeal this week, framing the move as a pivotal step for a community that has grown steadily since its founding. 

Board member Mukhtar Abdullahi, who also serves as a multilingual liaison for the Winooski School District, described the moment as both urgent and historic.

For more than a decade, ICCVT has provided prayer services, educational programs, youth activities and support for new arrivals without a dedicated facility of its own. 

Families have gathered in temporary spaces, adapting to the rhythms of a Vermont life while maintaining their religious and cultural traditions. 

The center’s work has included mentoring young people, offering a gathering place for elders, and fostering connections with the broader community through interfaith dialogue and refugee assistance.

The new property, now under contract, is expected to address longstanding space shortages. Plans call for a dedicated youth “third space,” expanded sanctuary areas, and resources open to all Vermonters. 

The total purchase price is $1,450,000. To close the deal, ICCVT must secure a $290,000 down payment plus approximately $10,000 in closing and launch costs — legal fees, inspections and transaction expenses — within the next 40 days.

The fundraising goal is $300,000.

“All donations are tax-deductible,” the group emphasized. ICCVT is encouraging both Muslim donors, who may view contributions as ongoing charity (Sadaqah Jariyah) that continues to generate spiritual reward through future prayers, classes and mentorship, and non-Muslim neighbors who see value in strengthening Vermont’s social fabric.

Vermont’s Muslim community has long relied on volunteer-driven efforts and rented venues. A separate organization, the Islamic Society of Vermont (ISVT), operates the state’s primary mosque at 400 Swift Street in South Burlington. 

That low-slung brick building, a former Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints property, was acquired through an earlier community-wide fundraising drive launched around 2019. 

Supporters raised roughly $500,000 via GoFundMe and other donations to purchase and convert that church into a full-service Islamic center. 

ISVT’s facility now hosts daily prayers, a weekend Islamic school for K-12 students, youth halaqas, fiqh classes, a free health clinic open to the public on Saturdays, funeral services, weddings and other events. 

It serves an estimated 500 families and has become a visible anchor for the faith tradition in the region.

ICCVT’s leaders position their own effort as complementary rather than duplicative. While ISVT’s South Burlington center provides the state’s largest dedicated worship and program space, ICCVT has focused on serving families primarily in the Winooski and greater Burlington corridor from more modest, leased quarters at 88 Malletts Bay Avenue. 

The new Burlington-area facility — details of which remain tied to the contract — would give ICCVT its own permanent footprint, allowing expanded programming without the uncertainty of rental agreements.

Community leaders note that Vermont’s Muslim population, though small in overall numbers, reflects the state’s increasing diversity. 

Many families include recent refugees and immigrants who have found stability in the Green Mountains. 

ICCVT has played a quiet but consistent role in that integration: offering safe spaces for youth who might otherwise feel isolated, connecting elders with cultural familiarity, and opening its doors for conversations that bridge faith communities.

The 40-day timeline adds pressure. Under the purchase contract, the down payment must be secured quickly to prevent the deal from collapsing. 

Organizers are transparent about the numbers: $1,450,000 purchase price, $290,000 down payment required, $10,000 in ancillary costs. 

The organization has not released detailed architectural renderings or final programming plans, citing the need to finalize the transaction first. 

Once closed, leaders say the facility will prioritize flexibility — balancing worship needs with youth activities, elder support and open community use.

The Riverside neighborhood in Burlington has become a focal point for the area’s small but growing Muslim community. Located along Riverside Avenue near the Winooski River, the neighborhood has long been a diverse, working-class corridor that includes immigrants and refugees. It is run by the Burlington Housing Authority. 

Many Muslim families — including those from Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Bosnia and other countries — have settled here in recent years, drawn by affordable housing, proximity to public transit and community support networks.