click to enlarge - City of Burlington
- The Gateway Block
Burlington city councilors on Monday night unanimously approved two preliminary agreements with developers that, if eventually enacted, could transform the city's South End and downtown with hundreds of housing units.
The first is for the Gateway Block, a 3.81-acre area bounded by Main Street, South Winooski Avenue, College Street and South Union Street that contains the shuttered Memorial Auditorium. The second involves three parcels in the newly formed South End Innovation District, which was rezoned last summer to allow residential development.
Both predevelopment agreements allow the city to continue ongoing talks with developers to determine whether the proposals are financially feasible. Neither agreement is binding, meaning the council could decide not to pursue either partnership.
The agreement for the Gateway Block says the city and developers Eric Farrell and Joe Larkin will look at redeveloping the area with 200 or more housing units, a 100-room hotel, underground parking, and a “vibrant pedestrian streetscape.” The council previously signed a letter of intent with the developers in November.
Besides Memorial, the Gateway Block contains the College Street Congregational Church and Fletcher Free Library, which would stay put, and the Central Fire Station, which would be relocated. In turn, the developers would build the city a new fire station at an undetermined location, the draft agreement says.
The deal doesn't commit to keeping Memorial standing. A"Central Public Assembly & Activity Space” would replace the building if it's torn down, the agreement says.
Built in the 1920s to honor veterans, Memorial has been closed since 2016 due to structural concerns. Various efforts to reopen it have failed, most recently last April, when the three organizations that submitted redevelopment proposals either dropped out or didn't meet the city's qualifications.
Nonetheless, some residents who spoke at Monday night's meeting said Farrell and Larkin shouldn't be the sole bidders on the project and that the city should seek other proposals. Ron Wanamaker, a member of the nonprofit Preservation Burlington, said the city should fight to keep Memorial intact.
Councilors acknowledged residents' skepticism but said Farrell and Larkin are trusted local developers. Farrell is building the massive Cambrian Rise project on North Avenue, and Larkin is developing an 83-unit apartment building on Williston Road in South Burlington, on the site of a former Holiday Inn.
Councilor Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5) said some people are sentimental about Memorial but that he's "only known this building as a place with no future." He said he's excited to see what Farrell and Larkin come up with.
Mayor Miro Weinberger agreed. "We have seen plan after plan for Memorial Auditorium fail to materialize," he said. "There's a real chance that the future is different from that past."
Per the draft agreement, Farrell and Larkin must provide the city with financial information, including possible funding sources and debts, by June 1. The parties have until December 31 to determine whether the project is viable.
The agreement for the South End attracted much less discussion. The deal says the city will work with two parties — Hula developer Russ Scully and Champlain College — to study the possibility of building 1,100 homes in a new "vibrant, sustainable, and accessible mixed-use neighborhood."
The buildout would happen on three adjoining properties on the west side of Pine Street that together make up 13 acres: a commuter parking lot at 125 Lakeside Avenue owned by Scully, a Champlain College office building and parking lot at 175 Lakeside Avenue, and a city-owned lot at 68 Sears Lane.
Over the next nine months, the parties will create a housing plan, study wastewater infrastructure and identify funding sources, the agreement says. They aim to sign a formal development agreement by the end of the year, which would also be subject to council approval.