Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Last week, the mood was notably less celebratory as Hoekstra sat before the mayor and the city council and delivered an ultimatum: His company will stop building in Burlington if the tax bill on that Old North End apartment building isn't reduced.
Hoekstra, a partner at the well-known real estate company, Redstone, was taken aback when the city assessor calculated the property value on the 22-unit property, which also hosts the restaurant, Butch + Babe’s, at $3 million — roughly $1 million more than what he had expected.
When he challenged the assessment, the Board of Tax Appeals, made up of residents appointed by the council, lowered the figure to $2.7 million but upheld most of the city assessor's calculations. Instead of taking the typical next step of appealing to court or the state appraiser, Hoekstra has opted to first try an arcane — and higher profile — alternative: asking the city council, which doubles as the board of civil authority, to hear his case.
Tags: Burlington , Miro Weinberger , city council , Redstone , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
The proposal for a work-shop-live-eat-and-have-fun complex has changed significantly since last spring: The new design would restore the connection between Bank Street to the south and Cherry to the north and create a regular block of St. Paul Street between them. It would provide access to pedestrians, bikes and cars and become a public street.
Also planned: Three levels of above-ground parking with 948 spaces, nearly doubling the 575 spaces at the garage on Cherry Street that now serves the mall. The proposal includes 274 units of housing, 350,000 square feet of office space and 218,000 square feet of retail space, almost twice as much as there is now.
Two of the new buildings would be 14 stories tall — about 150 feet — and require a zoning change to raise the city's current height limit. That detail, which has been under discussion since the spring, has not changed.
Some of the new infrastructure, including the new block of St. Paul street, would be paid for under a tax increment financing (TIF) agreement, if voters agree to a bond for the money at the polls. Tax revenue from the project would then be used to repay the bonds.
Tags: Burlington , town center , mall , Devonwood , height limit. Don Sinex , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Despite the objections, the city council voted unanimously to approve the agreement.
Eric Farrell, the developer who purchased the land from Burlington College, plans to build as many as 770 units of housing on the lakefront site. After an outcry from residents, he agreed to negotiate with the city to preserve some of the open space.
In early December, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced that his administration — along with the Vermont Land Trust and the affordable housing developer Champlain Housing Trust — had reached a deal with Farrell.
Under the plan the city council approved Monday, Burlington and the land trust will purchase and preserve 12 acres from Farrell for $2 million. Housing, including 160 affordable units, will occupy the remaining 15 acres. That development is still contingent on passing the city's normal zoning review and the state environmental review.
Tags: Burlington , Burlington College , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Champlain Housing Trust , Vermont Land Trust , Burlington City Council , Image , Web Only
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Farrell in February purchased the 27-acre property from Burlington College, which was deeply in debt after buying it from Burlington's Catholic diocese.
Following an outcry from people upset at the prospect of losing a large tract of open lakefront land to development, Farrell agreed to hash out a deal to preserve some of the land. The four parties involved unveiled an unofficial plan in August.
Under the new development agreement, the city gets Texaco Beach, the bluffs overlooking Lake Champlain, a path through the woods and a large field — for $2 million. The city will co-own the 12 acres with the Vermont Land Trust.
Farrell is expecting the money in cash by February. Burlington will pay $500,000 from its conservation fund; the Vermont Land Trust will borrow the rest to pay up front. Depending on how much money the Land Trust raises from grants and donations to pay back the loan, Burlington may pitch in another $500,000 from the conservation fund.
The Burlington City Council, whose approval is needed, is scheduled to discuss the agreement on December 21.
Tags: Vermont Land Trust , Burlington College , preservation , Miro Weinberger , Champlain Housing Trust , inclusionary housing , Burlington , Image , Web Only
Friday, November 13, 2015
The court’s decision, issued Thursday, clears the way for the Quechee Highlands project to receive a state Act 250 land-use permit. The District 3 Environmental Commission had previously denied the permit.
“It’s good news,” Milne said Friday, indicating construction could start next year. “This confirms the unanimous support our project received from Hartford several years ago.”
Milne had cited his frustration with the state permitting process during the 2014 governor’s race, which he narrowly lost to Democratic incumbent Peter Shumlin, as an indication that Vermont puts too many roadblocks before businesses.
Milne, who started work on the $30 million development in 2004, said he and business partner David Boies III have sunk $4.5 million into buying land, paying lawyers and acquiring permits. The 167-acre project includes a former farm, a house and a commercial building that the developers propose to turn into a 130,000-square-foot mixed-use business park with offices, stores, restaurants and residences. Milne contends the project would bring 300 jobs to Vermont.
Tags: Scott Milne , Vermont Act 250 , Quechee Highlands , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Bowing to concerns voiced by artists and other South End locals about gentrification, both Mayor Miro Weinberger and the entire Burlington City Council in recent weeks declared their opposition to allowing housing in the corridor.
But that didn’t stop the Planning Commission from continuing the debate on Tuesday night.
Commission members Emily Lee, Jennifer Wallace-Brodeur and Lee Buffington called the proposal, which would allow for studios where artists could both live and work, a “win-win.”
“The intent of this proposal is to narrowly focus on strengthening the arts district by increasing studio space and providing affordable housing units for artists,” they wrote in a memo. “It is not intended to introduce or revisit the broader issue of housing of all types or price points.”
Tags: Burlington , South End , artists , Miro Weinberger , Image , Web Only
A revised design for the Burlington Town Center should be coming soon, and the mayor said he looks forward to a makeover of what "is essentially a suburban mall dropped down on the rest of our downtown."
And one more thing - save the date for Nov. 30. The city is holding a 7 p.m. public meeting on the proposed Champlain Parkway at Champlain School.
These news tidbits came up during Weinberger's constituent coffee klatch in the South End Tuesday morning. About 20 people showed for the 8 a.m. gathering to sip java and nosh bagels (not taxpayer-funded) at Feldman's on Pine Street. Outside, the sun shone on a rush-hour parade of cars, cyclists and school children on foot, while inside the mayor chatted about bike lanes, housing and lead abatement. Opinions flowed with the caffeinated beverages.
UVM sometimes acts as a "bully" in the community, and the mayor should push hard on the University to house more of its students, suggested Keith Pillsbury, a Ward 8 resident and former city school board member. Pillsbury said, "They are not going to do it unless there is political pressure to do it."
Tags: Burlington , politics , development , Mayor Weinberger , Image , Web Only
Thursday, October 29, 2015
In a paper notice left on nearby residents’ doorsteps this week, the Burlington development and real estate company informed neighbors that it plans to construct a six-story apartment building — two levels of parking and four stories of housing — on what is currently a parking lot and a steep forested slope.
“It’s a phenomenal location,” said Redstone partner Erik Hoekstra. “It’s no secret that Lakeview Terrace is one of the most desirable addresses in the city of Burlington.”
The current inhabitants of the quiet residential street will likely have more conflicted feelings about another large building going up nearby. Last year, residents raised concerns about the Committee on Temporary Shelter’s (COTS) planned expansion, which will include a new day station and 12 apartments across the parking lot from the Redstone site. Two years earlier, the Packard Lofts, a 25-apartment project at the other end of the street, met with prolonged resistance from residents living close by.
Tags: Redstone , Burlington , Lake Champlain , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Shortly after the press conference, a trio of park hangers-on weighed in on the plans for a new splash fountain, performance stage, walkways and outdoor cafe. They were drinking and smoking on the back steps of City Hall in a cold, late-afternoon drizzle and looking out at the square of green that serves as downtown's outdoor living room.
A new fountain would be great, said George Josler, but "you have to have a sign that says: 'No Bums Bathing.'"
He and two friends, all of them formerly homeless, but now with secure housing, didn't disagree with the subtle yet clear sentiments city leaders expressed at the announcement, revealing hopes that the renovation will bring wholesome activity to the park and discourage fights, drunkenness and drugs.
The park habitues liked the idea of more events and more police presence. The current scene at the park isn't as bad as some might think, though, they said. "Nobody's injecting things here," Josler said. "Nobody's snorting."
The big redo is scheduled to start in summer 2017.
Tags: Burlington , Tony Pomerleau , City Hall Park , Image , Web Only
Monday, October 26, 2015
A group of artists and small-business owners fought back forcefully against the proposal, arguing that housing would make artist studios and commercial space unaffordable, and new residents would prove incompatible with nearby businesses.
“It has been loud and it has been constant,” said Democratic Councilor Chip Mason, of the dissent. Mason represents Ward 5, which includes the area under debate.
Although the vote was unanimous, the council didn’t offer wholehearted support for the opponents’ argument per se. The resolution it passed said nothing about housing being a bad idea. Instead, it made the case that “opposition has diverted attention from the broader discussion of the future of the South End.” Mayor Miro Weinberger offered a similar explanation when he announced last month that he’d be withholding support for the proposal.
Tags: South End , Enterprise Zone , Burlington , Image , Web Only