Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Knodell, a Progressive, broke with some members of her party when she voiced her support for the downtown mall redevelopment. That’s put a target on her back for members of the CLC.
Tags: Jane Knodell , Genese Grill , Town Meeting Day , coalition for a livable city , burlington city council , Town Meeting Day 2017 , Image , Web Only
Thursday, December 8, 2016
A citizens’ group is meanwhile promoting a competing vision for the downtown green space.
City officials say a full renovation is needed. The central fountain is choked with leaves, grass has thinned and walkways have deteriorated. “Grass seed isn’t the solution. Because we’ve tried that over the years ,” said Jesse Bridges, Burlington’s director of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront. “It needs a reboot.”
The city’s conceptual plan, designed by the Burlington-based Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architecture, has been five years in the making. The design includes an informal performance area and an interactive fountain for children to play in. The plan includes widened pathways and open green space.
The central fountain would be removed and additional trees would be planted. The city is scheduled to break ground in 2018.
Tags: City Hall Park , Jesse Bridges , Miro Weinberger , BCA , Wagner Hodgson , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
At a press conference at the downtown mall on Wednesday, Sinex announced that PC Construction will build the $250 million project, which he hopes will break ground in the spring. He also introduced a dozen additional contractors, many of them based in and around Burlington, responsible for landscaping, parking, engineering and art projects.
In front of the mall's Christmas array and a Santa Claus, Sinex highlighted the local roots of those he had picked. "Buy local — that's what I've done," he said. It's just the first step in "transforming and strengthening the local economy," he said.
Tags: Burlington Town Center , Don Sinex , Miro Weinberger , PC Construction , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
The Partnership for Burlington’s Future, a political action committee created by Mayor Miro Weinberger and chaired by city Councilor Dave Hartnett, spent about $41,000 on the effort. In the two weeks leading up to November 8, the group dropped more than $20,000 on advertising, signs and posters, along with food and supplies for a spaghetti dinner at the Fletcher Free Library. The PAC paid to host an election night party at the Courtyard Burlington Harbor to watch the results roll in.
The partnership, which also advocated for two other local ballot items that passed, raised about $40,000 and had an additional $3,267 left over from a previous campaign, reports filed Tuesday with the Secretary of State’s Office show.
Tags: Burlington Town Center , Miro Weinberger , Don Sinex , Coalition for a Livable City , Partnership for Burlington's Future , Together for Progress , Image , Web Only
Monday, November 21, 2016
In a lawsuit filed Friday, the Coalition for a Livable City says Burlington misrepresented how $21.8 million in TIF bonding would be paid back. The November 8 ballot question implied that all properties within the Waterfront TIF district would pay off the debt, when in reality only three properties within the district would make payments, the suit alleges.
The phrasing, according to the suit, therefore undersold the financial risk to voters, who are on the hook for the cost of the bond if the project falls through.
Tags: burlington town center , tif , Coalition for a Livable City , Mayor , Miro Weinberger , Don Sinex , zoning , John Franco , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
About 54 percent voted in favor — compared to 46 percent against — of question 3, which asked residents to establish a downtown zoning change that will allow buildings up to 160 feet tall — about 14 stories. On question 4, which asked for $21.8 million in tax increment financing for street improvements in and around the district, 59 percent of voters said "yes" while 41 percent said "no."
Both were instrumental for developer Don Sinex, who wants to get started on a $250 million redevelopment of the mall. Sinex, who proposed the makeover two years ago, thanked his supporters for getting the measures passed.
Tags: Burlington Town Center , burlington local questions , Image , Web Only
Friday, November 4, 2016
Three groups supporting two Election Day ballot questions related to the proposed Burlington Town Center project have spent more than $30,000 trying to get them passed, campaign filings show.
The Partnership for Burlington’s Future, a political action committee, has spent $15,430, finance reports filed October 28 show. Together for Progress registered as a public question committee — meaning it spent cash for political purposes but did not raise any. It spent $9,539, according to a filing from November 2. And BTC Mall Associates, another public question committee, spent $5,586, an October 28 filing shows.
The groups hope voters approve ballot items No. 3, which would create a downtown zoning district allowing taller buildings, and No. 4, which would allow the city to bond $21.8 million in tax increment financing for street improvements around the district.
Tags: Burlington Town Center , Partnership for Burlington's Future , Miro Weinberger , BTC Mall Associates LLC , Together for Progress , Coalition for a Livable City , campaign finance , development , Image , Web Only
Thursday, November 3, 2016
When Burlington College closed its doors for good in May, professors and administrators left behind fully furnished offices and classrooms. Now the items remaining at the institution are headed to the auction block.
A public auction is scheduled at the college for 10 a.m. December 7. Bidders can also participate online. People’s United Bank, which foreclosed on the college in the spring, contracted the Morrisville-based Thomas Hirchak Company to conduct the auction. All items — more than 600 lots — will be sold to the highest bidder.
For now, chairs and desks are piled in the vacated classrooms at the North Avenue campus. The library’s shelves are still crammed with books, and artwork leans against one wall. There’s a refrigerator, cameras and video equipment, flatscreen TVs, rugs, and a 3,600-square-foot tent, according to the auction website.
“In some offices, it looks like [professors] could be back tomorrow,” said Burlington College board chair Yves Bradley.
Tags: Burlington College , Tom Torti , Yves Bradley , People’s United Bank , Image , Web Only
Chip Mason spent weeks on the sidelines as his colleagues discussed and voted on aspects of a new downtown district where maximum building heights of 160 feet would be allowed. The proposed district includes the Burlington Town Center and would allow its owner, Don Sinex, to go forward with his proposed $250 million mall makeover, complete with 14-story towers.
The council on September 29 voted 8-3 to support the zoning change and put it on the Election Day ballot.
The Ward 5 Democrat sat out that vote because his law firm, Gravel & Shea, represented Sinex’s development group, Devonwood, in an unrelated matter.
But since then, Mason has come out in support of the zoning change, which is on the Burlington ballot as question No. 3. He also supports question No. 4, which asks voters to authorize $21.8 million in tax increment financing for public infrastructure around the Sinex project.
Tags: Yves Bradley , Chip Mason , Burlington Town Center , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Polluted soil at the site of the new store, which has a target opening date of October 2017, will cost the company more than $250,000 to clean up, according to Pat Burns, expansion store project manager. Construction of the 14,000-square-foot store is due to begin by early December.
The cleanup costs didn’t come entirely as a surprise. When City Market purchased the parcel in 2015, site analysts gave a “ballpark” estimate, Burns said. Anticipated costs have risen as the project progressed; early estimates stood at about $170,000.
Developers found that the site, at Flynn Avenue and Briggs Street, contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chemicals that result from burning coal, gas, or wood. The PAHs are a result of years of industrial use at the site. Vermont Structural Steel occupied the location for much of the 20th century.
City Market purchased the land from Vermont Rail System.
Tags: City Market , Pat Burns , Department of Environmental Conservation , South End , Image , Web Only