Advertisement Burlington's Big Dig: Part 1 Several projects underway Share Shares Copy Link Copy

There will be big changes coming to Vermont's largest city. Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger has major plans for the city and shared them with WPTZ NewsChannel 5.On the WPTZ App? Tap here to see the video.Monday, we started with projects that are already under way.Mayor Weinberger said, "People are going to start seeing real changes on the waterfront for sure." Weinberger said a much larger skate park by the waterfront will break ground during this construction season. The new skate park has been talked about for years and will replace the existing one that's by the old Moran Plant."This will be a significant enough facility that it will allow us to host some events, and it'll be another facility that will bring people to Burlington, here on the waterfront," he said.You'll see changes all over the city, not just by the water. On St. Paul Street the Stratos Project is well underway.It'll be more than condominiums when it's finished. It's right next door to another development, the old Armory building, that will become a new Hilton Garden Inn Hotel with more than 100 rooms. And still, right on that block, the King Street Youth Center is getting a multimillion-dollar makeover. The Old North End won't be left out of the development boom. On North Winooski Street, the Silver Smith Commons Project is moving right along. It will have a few dozen apartments when it's finished and space for businesses on the bottom floor."It's exciting to see that it's actually really happening now," Weinberger said. "It certainly helps with the city tax base, and the overall city housing issues as well." Another project like Silver Smith Commons is planned for the site of the old Dairy Queen just across the street, and there's another mixed-development property, including housing and retail, in the works on North Street."I think you're starting to really see private investment in the Old North End, a part of town that's needed it," Weinberger said.Back to the waterfront, and you'll find construction on the bike path too. That project will expand the bike path from College Street up to North Beach. This story is the first part of a three part series on Burlington's Big Dig: The Queen City's Future. Tuesday night on WPTZ, hear about some big plans the mayor has to better connect the city to the waterfront and the waterfront to the city.