Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Employee Taylor Courville gestured toward the coolers. "All we have left is cream and beer," he said.
The Alvanos family has owned the popular sandwich shop and convenience store on the corner of Pine Street and Flynn Avenue for 11 years. The building is to be demolished and replaced by a new one with 30 studio and one-bedroom apartments.
It's been a four-year process to design the new building and secure permits, said Michael Alvanos, who helps run the deli. The closing of the family operation wasn't particularly emotional, Alvanos said. "We have a lot more work to do," he said with a shrug.
The building will have two commercial spaces on the first floor. Alvanos said he hopes to have a restaurant, but couldn't say for sure if he'd reopen Pine Street Deli.
Demolition is scheduled to begin in early June, he said.
The deli is owned by Alvanos' parents, George and Christine Alvanos. The family previously operated the Parkway Diner near Burlington International Airport. Michael Alvanos, his brother Evan, and Taylor Courville also own the Guilty Plate Diner in Colchester.
"We wanted to design ourselves a project that we feel will support all the great things going on on Pine Street," said Alvanos, who also works as an architect for JRMA Design Studio.
This project would help the restaurant owners make ends meet, Alvanos said. He called the housing options in Burlington "anemic" and said the development would allow the family to diversify its sources of income.
Alvanos sees the development as a way to strengthen his family's ties to the South End. He grew up in the area, as did his mother. "We have a great strong connection to this area," Alvanos said. "We want to put something here that's going to last a long time."
Tags: Pine Street Deli , Michael Alvanos , Image , Web Only
Thursday, May 4, 2017
But real estate developer and pasta sauce company co-owner Rick Bove says a fix is on the menu. He's asked all tenants of the red brick building at the corner of Pearl and George streets to move by June 1 so he can renovate the property.
Bove said he delayed making repairs at 3-11 George Street because of a $500,000 top-to-bottom renovation set to start shortly on the one-time domicile of General George J. Stannard, a Civil War hero.
More recently, the two-story building has been the subject of numerous skirmishes with the city over upkeep.
Tags: Burlington , Boves , Rick Bove , Diversity Hair Salon , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
At a press conference near the Randolph interchange Tuesday, conservation groups announced that the Castanea Foundation will buy most of the 172-acre parcel. The Montpelier nonprofit will pay $1.2 million for 149 acres, and plans to resell it to Ayers Brook Goat Dairy, which supplies milk to Vermont Creamery.* The remaining 22.5 acres will be sold to the Preservation Trust of Vermont, if the organization can raise the agreed upon sum — $1 million — by June 15.
The agreement comes after a lengthy battle between the Greenwich, Conn., developer and local environmentalists. Sammis had been proceeding with the permitting to construct a massive multiuse development at the interchange. Plans included a welcome center, a rest stop, a 180-room hotel and conference center, as well as 274 homes, a fitness center, and light industrial space.
Tags: Sam Sammis , Paul Bruhn , Sandra Levine , Miles Hooper , Vermont Creamery , Exit 4 , Preservation Trust of Vermont , Castanea Foundation , Image , Web Only
Monday, April 17, 2017
Lead sponsor Max Tracy (P-Ward 2) called the 200-page document "a world class vision for walking and biking." At the Wards 2 and 3 Neighborhood Planning Assembly last Thursday, he urged residents to come to Monday's meeting to voice their support. "I'm really, really excited about this," he said.
PlanBTV Walk Bike is part of a Queen City effort to achieve a "Gold Level" designation as a bike-friendly municipality, which requires that 65 percent of its roads have bike lanes. Currently, 12 percent of Burlington streets — 11.9 miles — have bike lanes.
Tags: Max Tracy , Dave Hartnett , Chapin Spencer , PlanBTV Walk Bike , bike lanes , Image , Web Only
Thursday, April 13, 2017
The announcement came a year after federal and state prosecutors levied fraud charges against Jay Peak developers Ariel Quiros and Bill Stenger, alleging they misappropriated $200 million raised through the federal EB-5 immigrant investment program.
“What a difference a year makes,” said Michael Goldberg, the federally appointed receiver who has been managing the Jay Peak and Burke Mountain ski resorts since shortly after news of the scandal broke.
Goldberg reached the settlement with Raymond James after accusing the firm of helping Quiros mix investments and defraud investors. By agreeing to the settlement, which is subject to approval by a federal judge in Miami, Raymond James is not admitting any wrongdoing, Goldberg said.
“They stepped up to the plate. They faced their responsibilities,” Goldberg said. The $145.5 million comes on top of a previous $4.5 million settlement Raymond James reached with the state last year.
Tags: Michael Goldberg , EB-5 , Bill Stenger , Ariel Quiros , Jay Peak , Phil Scott , Burke Mountain , Raymond James , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Sinex's company Devonwood Investors, LLC is set to enter into a joint venture agreement with Rouse Properties, a New York City-based company that owns and operates malls around the country.
The newly announced partnership means the project is on track to break ground in "June or July," Sinex told Seven Days on Tuesday.
"The important thing to announce to the community is the funds are in hand," Sinex said.
Tags: Don Sinex , Burlington Town Center , Coalition for a Livable City , Rouse Properties , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
VTDigger.org, the online news service, has been pursuing the release of related documents for years, and has faced delays and rejections from state officials. The Scott administration has promised a fresh approach to public records requests — but there are significant limits.
“I think it’s good news that the governor wants to release more records on EB-5,” says Anne Galloway, VTDigger founder and editor. “The bad news is, it would appear that an awful lot of information could be withheld on the grounds of attorney-client privilege and the work product rule.”
The work product rule blocks disclosure of materials prepared in preparation for possible litigation. Think of it as an extension of attorney-client privilege.
Tags: T.J. Donovan , Anne Galloway , EB-5 , Bill Stenger , Ariel Quiros , Phil Scott , Peter Shumlin , Bill Griffin , Sarah London , Bill Sorrell , Jim Condos , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Burlington Attorney John Franco, who represents 57 Burlington residents who oppose the project, said Tuesday that he will file a challenge to the zoning permit by mid-April.
Franco said this latest appeal is not merely a Hail Mary effort to halt the development. He ticked off a laundry list of complaints, including the setup of proposed parking lots and the impact of the project on local businesses.
Tags: Coalition for a Livable City , John Franco , Don Sinex , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Burlington Town Center , Image , Web Only
Monday, March 13, 2017
The board voted unanimously, with one recusal, to grant the zoning permit as Sinex's development team and onlookers lined the walls of a cramped meeting room in Burlington City Hall.
The DRB decision came after three lengthy public hearings and two deliberative hearings on the design minutia of the project, involving building materials, construction schedules, awnings and even the varieties of trees to be planted.
Sinex said the final product represents a series of revisions and improvements. "We've gone through a long, exhaustive, collaborative process," he told reporters after the meeting.
Tags: Don Sinex , Burlington Town Center , Development Review Board , Miro Weinberger , Coalition for a Livable City , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Voters will be asked on Town Meeting Day if they want to spend $125,000 to help purchase 428 acres of the former Andrews Farm for a town forest.
The land, located about a mile east of Richmond village, could be used for recreation, birding, nature education, hunting and other activities.
The total cost of the land and conservation is $597,000. Grants and private donations would make up the difference between the full sum and the proposed $125,000 allocation from the Richmond Conservation Reserve Fund.
Voting on the question will take place by secret ballot from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 7 at Camels Hump Middle School.
Tags: Richmond town forest , Town Meeting Day , Image , Web Only