Burlington Fails to Find Partner for Memorial Auditorium Project 

The blighted Memorial Auditorium in downtown Burlington will remain empty for the foreseeable future after the city came up empty in its search for a redeveloper.

City officials will solicit more proposals in the coming months, Mayor Miro Weinberger's office said on Friday.

Three organizations responded to an October request for partners who would renovate and reuse the historic, city-owned events center, which closed in 2016 due to structural concerns.

A city committee recommended a proposal by Babaroosa for a large, immersive art exhibit that had previously been planned for Essex. Babaroosa, founded by Teresa and Robert Davis, withdrew its proposal following "initial due diligence," the mayor's office said in a press release. Babaroosa did not return a call on Friday afternoon.
The mayor's team chose not to work with Illinois-based Hawthorne Development Corporation, which wanted to create apartments and a community space for $20 million. Its pitch document to the city bizarrely claimed credit for redevelopment at nearby CityPlace Burlington, though it is not involved, Seven Days reported at the time. The mayor's office cited "feasibility concerns" with Hawthorne's proposal.
The city did not consider a third pitch, from Big Heavy World founder Jim Lockridge, to revive a youth-centered performance space inside Memorial, deeming it unresponsive to the city's request for proposals.

A revised RFP, not yet issued, will combine Memorial Auditorium with a nearby city-owned parking lot on the corner of Main Street and South Winooski Avenue, according to the press release. It will contain "narrower goals and objectives to encourage more responsive proposals," the release stated.

"Our hope is that by opening the RFP process for a second round with broader parameters and greater flexibility, we will find the right partner to realize a great vision for this key block of our downtown," Weinberger said in a statement.

The city has been working since 2018 to revive Memorial Auditorium, but it has limited means to finance a wholesale renovation because its bonding capacity is nearly tapped out. Residents voted last year to allow the city to borrow $1 million for structural repairs to the building. Roof fixes have been completed, and work to stabilize the masonry will be put out to bid this spring.