Finally in April 1986 the Investors Corporation of Vermont (ICV), under Paul Sprayregen, purchased Park Centre and gutted its interior. Retaining local architects Weimann Lamphere, the developer made major structural and mechanical repairs and remodeled the hotel into 57 luxury apartments. ICV renamed the building Vermont House and initially rented the units: tenants began moving in that November. Sprayregen also built a parking garage, south of the hotel on King Street.

Today residents of the Historic Vermont House are a mix of young professionals, creative people, students, and retirees. In 1997 ICV announced to its tenants that it was converting the building into condominiums. All the units were sold by 2000.

In 2007 a new elevator was installed.  In 2011 the laundry room was renovated and the lobby freshly painted. The condo association plans to continue restoring the building and upgrading its facilities as the association’s budget permits.

Sources used for this history:

Blow, David J., and Lillian Baker Carlisle. Burlington’s Historic Neighborhoods. Burlington, Vt.: Chittenden County Historical Society, 1997.

Child, Hamilton, comp. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Chittenden County, Vermont, for 1882-83. Syracuse, N.Y., 1882.

Defebaugh, James Elliot.  History of the Lumber Industry in America. Chicago: American Lumberman, 1907.

Eley, Rob. “Park Centre’s Demise Stirs Memories of Hotel’s Heyday.” Burlington Free Press, September 27, 1982, p. 1.

“Formal Opening of the New Hotel Vermont.” Burlington Free Press and Times, June 23, 1911.

“Hotel Vermont: The Largest and Finest Hotel in Vermont.” Brochure, n.d. (before 1936), courtesy Sandy Levesque.

“Hotel Vermont and Van Ness House.” Brochure, n.d. (before 1936), courtesy Sandy Levesque.

Freed, Rhonda. “Remember When …” (on American House), Vermonter magazine section, Burlington Free Press, November 7, 1982.

Levesque, Sandy. “The Vermont House … an Historical Overview.” Unpublished paper, November 24, 2004.

“Park Centre Building May Be Sold At Auction.” Burlington Free Press, September 21, 1982, p. 5B.

Thrane, William. “The Vermont House.” Unpublished paper, November 28, 1999.

“Township Information: Burlington,” www.rootsweb.ancestry.com.

Text researched and written and photos compiled by Janet Biehl in April 2012.  Thanks to Special Collections, University of Vermont, and to Preservation Burlington for their assistance.