Friday, February 20, 2015
Recognizing that the land is iconic, Farrell and the city announced an agreement today to take part in a "collaborative planning process" that will include public input and could change the development plan.
As part of a memorandum of understanding signed Friday, Farrell will work with the city, the Vermont Land Trust and Champlain Housing Trust to arrive at a consensus about what should happen on the 28-acre property. The four entities will share the cost of a consultant who will run a design workshop. The agreement is nonbinding, meaning the city or Farrell can terminate the arrangement if they reach an impasse.
The agreement requires that any new proposal include eight components that mirror the goals Mayor Miro Weinberger laid out several months ago. It calls for a range of housing. It would preserve some open space, and ensure continued public access to the beach. (The full agreement is below.)
Tags: Burlington College , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Vermont Land Trust , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Farrell intends to construct several hundred units of mixed housing on the campus site. A group of residents who want to preserve the land as open space are organizing to oppose his plan. Meanwhile, city officials say they are discussing with Farrell the possibility of preserving public access to certain parts of the property.
The deal, first announced in October, has changed several times since then. College officials have said that the sale will bring more financial security to the struggling institution. The recently appointed president, Carol Moore, said in a statement Tuesday, "Burlington College has a bright future and this is the first step in that direction."
The college is keeping six acres and the North Avenue building where classes are held. It plans to sell the larger adjacent building — formerly an orphanage — to Farrell next year.
Tags: Burlington College , Burlington , Image , Web Only
Thursday, January 22, 2015
The panel presentation and public forum that followed was about saving one beloved and highly valuable tract of open space in the Queen City: the lakeside land behind Burlington College. The school owns an expansive meadow and a small sandplain forest that abuts Lake Champlain.
Three months ago Mike Smith, the college’s interim president at the time, announced a plan to sell most of the school’s 33-acre campus to local developer, Eric Farrell, for roughly $7.5 million. If not for the sale, Smith said the struggling institution would likely shut down within a year.
The school said it would entertain an alternative offer and set a 60-day deadline — which passed last week — for any conservation group to buy the development rights (not the land itself) for $7 million. Spokeswoman Coralee Holm said the college received no bids. Also, the closing of the sale, originally scheduled for last week, has been delayed until early February, according the college.
The real estate transaction between Burlington College and Farrell is private, but Vermonters have been allowed to roam the lakeside property for decades, as if it were public. Roughly 200 people attended Wednesday's event, which was organized by a small group of residents who have been meeting weekly to discuss preserving the land. At one point, panelist Alicia Daniel, who also lectures at UVM, asked how many in the audience had spent time exploring the woods and meadows in question. Virtually everyone — from high school students to senior citizens — raised their hands.
Tags: Burlington College , Burlington , Lake Champlain , Image , Web Only
Thursday, January 8, 2015
The deal isn't expected to take place until next year, but Farrell is giving the cash-strapped college a $250,000 deposit in late January. According to a press release, Farrell will renovate the building, converting it to student housing.
Burlington College had signed an earlier agreement to sell Farrell all but six of its 33 acres — and two properties on Lakeview Terrace — for $7,650,000. That sale is expected to close in late January, after a deadline has passed for conservation groups to purchase the development rights. According to the release, "The deal is moving forward smoothly with no foreseen obstacles."
The college currently occupies a newer addition to the behemoth brick structure built by the Roman Catholic diocese as an orphanage in the 1800s. It purchased the property in 2010 but has been unable to renovate the main building — currently uninhabitable — due to the cost.
Farrell has committed to keeping at least two acres as open space and preserving a public path from North Avenue to a beach on Lake Champlain.
Tags: Burlington College , Lake Champlain , development , orphanage , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
On Tuesday he announced that he'll use a plan — created in 2001 at then-mayor Peter Clavelle's request — to guide his administration's involvement in the project. That document calls for housing "of all types" on the property but also recommends that a "generous portion of the land should remain open space."
Tags: Miro Weinberger , Burlington College , Peter Clavelle , Image , Web Only
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Standing in front of its recently opened L.L.Bean store, Devonwood Investors managing partner Don Sinex outlined a sweeping vision for the aging shopping center. It would include a vast expansion of the mall's retail and office space, 250 new apartments, a hotel and convention center, an underground parking garage and a rooftop park.
"I think this is a big day for Burlington and Burlington Town Center," Sinex said. "This mall has captured my energy and all my passion."
Sinex was joined at the announcement by dozens of business and community leaders, several of whom praised what they said would be a "public-private partnership" between Devonwood Investors and the city's residents.
Tags: Burlington Town Center , Church Street , Don Sinex , Image , Web Only
Interim president Mike Smith told reporters in late October that the school planned to sell 25 acres to either Farrell, who plans to construct a large housing development on the site, or a conservation group. The memorandum with Farrell starts the clock on the second option — interested groups have 60 days, as of November 14, to make an offer.
College spokesperson Coralee Holms said the college hasn't received formal proposals from any groups at this point. Seven Days wrote about this scenario several weeks ago. Most conservation groups said the city administration would need to take action before they got involved, and so far Mayor Miro Weinberger has given no indication that he plans to do so.
The college, which would retain seven acres, desperately needs cash, according to Smith. Without an immediate infusion of money, he has said the small liberal arts school would likely have to close next year. The sale, Smith said, will reduce the school's debt from $11.4 million to $4.3 million and reduce its debt payments from $735,000 to less than $300,000 in future years.
Tags: Burlington College , Roman Catholic Diocese , conservation , Image , Web Only
Farrington's Mobile Park, located in the New North End across from the Ethan Allen shopping plaza, has 120 lots, 117 of which are currently occupied, according to the notice. The rent is roughly $300 a month.
State law gives residents the chance to form a cooperative or to work with a nonprofit to purchase the property themselves. If a majority of residents choose to pursue this option, they would have 45 days to notify the owner of their plans. The law requires the owner to then give them an additional 120 days and to negotiate with them in good faith.
The asking price for the park is $5 million.
The park has been owned by the Farrington family since it was founded in 1923. Rumors about a potential sale have been circulating since the park's owner, Sandra Farrington, passed away in August. Her four children inherited the property. Reached Thursday, her son, Robert Farrington, said that his mother had stipulated in her will that the property be liquidated, leaving them no choice but to sell. But he also pointed to the challenges of running the park.
Tags: Burlington , Farrington's Mobile Park , New North End , housing , Image , Web Only
Monday, November 17, 2014
Eight months ago, Burlington city officials and voters agreed to devote $6.3 million in tax increment financing to a plan to redevelop the long-defunct coal plant on the waterfront. But that sum was far less than the estimated total project cost. Meanwhile, that number has crept up — originally $26 million, the developers are now putting the price at $34 million.
The potential Moran developers spent the spring, summer and fall figuring out just how feasible their plan was, and they hired a private firm, Resilient Philanthropy, to assess how much they could raise through charitable donations. In a brief letter sent to the mayor today (as part of a larger feasibility study) the firm concluded that $11 million is an “achievable” goal. They sat down with potential philanthropists — both in and beyond Burlington — who are capable of giving six- or seven-figure donations, according to their letter. Names and details of these conversations won't be released, but the level of interest was, apparently, encouraging.
The group has raised $1.4 million of that total so far, according to project partner Tad Cooke. He acknowledged that convincing people to make major donations to a brand-new organization — the group established itself as a nonprofit several months ago — is a challenge. To give prospective donors more confidence, Cooke said, they are currently trying to secure what’s called a “leadership pledge” of roughly $3 million.
Tags: Moran Plant , Burlington , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Image , Web Only