The backhoes and crane have been quiet at the site of the mostly demolished Burlington Town Center. Developer Don Sinex has lacked the construction financing necessary under a development agreement with the city to move ahead with the next step: pouring the foundation for the 14-story CityPlace Burlington.
The Burlington City Council voted 8-2 Monday to alter that agreement in order to get things moving again. Mayor Miro Weinberger had requested in a letter late Friday that the council allow Sinex to build the foundation before he has a contract for the rest of the project.
City councilors raised questions in interviews Monday about what the changes would mean for the project, and whether approving the changes would put the city at greater risk if the project were to fail.
If Sinex ran out of money, would it be worse to have a foundation or an empty lot?
And would a no vote — essentially forcing Sinex to wait to start the foundation work until he had certain legal agreements and a full construction loan — potentially delay the project and risk deals with future tenants such as the University of Vermont Medical Center?
“There’s a lot of things we still need answers to,” said council president Kurt Wright (R-Ward 4), before Monday’s meeting.
Currently, Sinex has $56 million in financing, from his own pocket and from Rouse Properties. In April 2017, Sinex’s group Devonwood Investors agreed to finance a portion of the project.
The remainder would be financed by a roughly $200 million construction loan. Sinex hasn’t yet secured that deal, according to the mayor’s letter. Sinex said in April 2017 that he “was highly confident” he’d have that cash in hand the following month.
Now, 16 months later, Sinex asked the city to allow him to build the foundation with his $56 million, rather than wait for that additional cash.
Another hiccup: Under the previous development agreement with the city, Sinex could not proceed with foundation work until he had figured out the costs of the streets next to the building and for the building itself.
Specifically, Sinex doesn’t have a guaranteed maximum price contract for the public or private improvements, which would cap the amount that can be spent on the project. It’s a contract that provides legal protection to the city; without it, there’s the possibility that if Sinex spent more than he originally predicted the city could be held liable for the additional cost, said councilor Jane Knodell (P-Central District).
Sinex attributed the delays to a tardy city design for the streets. He also said he hadn’t bid out the work to contractors for construction of his own buildings. “I’ll satisfy all the conditions — just probably in four months time,” he said.
Knodell emphasized that figuring out why Sinex is behind isn’t the council’s job. “For me, the question I have to figure out is: Is the city better off letting him lay the foundation or not?”
That question, said Councilor Dave Hartnett (D-North District), may take time to answer. “It’s my responsibility as a city councilor to pause and take some time,” he said in an interview Monday. “I don’t think a no vote puts the project in jeopardy.”
Hartnett voted against the measure, as did Max Tracy (P-Ward 2), who said he was “deeply concerned about the continued viability of the project.” Richard Deane (D-East District) abstained.
Weinberger portrayed the vote as a necessary bureaucratic step in a complicated project. Sinex and his investment partners “want permission to spend their equity building this foundation. At this point, barring something unforeseen, we should allow them to do that,” he said.
Weinberger said the council’s involvement is holding Sinex to a high standard. “This is the development agreement working as it was intended, protecting the city, and giving the city visibility into what’s going on,” he said.
Sinex, too, contended that he was adhering to the development agreement, and should be granted permission to move ahead — for the benefit of both the city and his project. “Issuing the foundation permit now as opposed to later will not in any way affect the City but will enable the project to move ahead,” he wrote in an email to Seven Days.
The project fell behind schedule last winter after workers found asbestos in a layer of glue used for a rubber roofing membrane. Amendments to the project in March sparked a flurry of objections from the public and a citizens opposition group. The foundation work was supposed to begin in July.
Sinex has also had disputes with his contract manager, South Burlington firm PC Construction.
“We are aware of disagreements between PC Construction and Don Sinex, have been monitoring the situation, and have encouraged both sides to sort out their differences, if possible,” Neale Lunderville, acting director of the Community and Economic Development Office, wrote in an email to Seven Days in mid-August. “We have some concern that an ongoing dispute could impact the schedule.”
The city council met to discuss the issues in mid-August and again Monday in executive session. Ultimately, it’s Sinex’s job to manage the project, Lunderville added.
Jay Fayette, president of PC Construction, did not return a call for comment.
The council voted to allow the city to fully take over the design of the Bank and Cherry streets portion of the project. Previously, the city managed a portion of that, and Sinex had the bulk of the responsibility.
The city requested the change, Weinberger said, “to minimize the possibility of error and to make sure the city gets the streets it wants.”
Councilor Adam Roof (I-Ward 8) downplayed the long-term implications of this vote on the project as a whole.
“There’s no indication that I’ve seen that this project is at great risk” — or, at least, no greater risk than has been present since the start, he added. This change “is reasonable within the context of the overall project, which is large,” he said. “We shouldn’t be screaming that the sky is falling.”
Read the mayor’s letter here:
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Wasn’t there a Simpsons episode involving a monorail that summed this up nicely?
Starting to look alot like downtown Newport
Bazinga!
The Wizard of Sinex, coming soon to a theatre near you:
Sinex: “My friends! My foes! My marks! This is positively the finest very large hole in the ground
ever to be shown — well, eh … Well, be that as it may, I, your Sinex, per ardua ad alta, am
about to embark upon a hazardous and technically unexplainable journey into the outer
I’m-gettin’- the hell outer here!
To confer, converse, and otherwise hobnob with my brother grifters. And haul my sorry
ass outta here ‘fore a hard rain of shyte truly gonna fall.
And I hereby decree that until what time, if any, that I return:
– The Knodell, by virtue of her highly superior brains, shall rule in my stead;
– Assisted by The Wright, by virtue of his magnificent heart;
– And The Deane, by virtue of his abstention.
Obey them as you would me.”
Miro: Oh, Sinex – come back! Sinex! Sinex! I bring TIFs! Spot Zoning! Political Conniving! Oh,
Sinex, don’t go without me! I’ll be right with you, mLord! SINEX!”
del Pozo: “Stop that dog!”
Sinex: “This is a highly irregular procedure! This is absolutely unprecedented! Ruined my exit!”
Miro: “Oh, come back, trustworthy developer! Come back! Don’t go without me! Please, come
back!”
Sinex: “I can’t come back! I don’t know how it works! Goodbye, folks!”
Pave paradise and …. put up a ? Do not pour the concrete you idiots who have concrete for brains. You have a much better chance of selling an empty lot than one with a foundation! I am beyond disgusted with the mayor and city councilors who are supposed to have our backs, I think the mayor et al should be looking for a buyer not sitting around hoping Sinex gets his shit together. Unbelievable really, to think we have such dumb elected officials. I also think it’s time we have a city council that understands business much better than this group. Not voting or abstaining doesn’t change anything. We need action. Next resolution: a moratorium on building projects in Burlington.
I think Lando Calrissian said it at his ironic best when he opined This deal keeps getting better all the time… Sinex is a con man… and he found some rubes… a mayor and a council save for a few that were soooo eager for tax revenue they just waltzed into his snare… and now they are pot committed… Sinex will continue to change the goal posts… hes done it every step of the process… this is what happens when you deal with untrustworthy actors… it is unfortunate…
Imagine if Mayor Weinberger and the city council that couldnt vote against him if their lives depended on it spent 1/4 of this much time protecting renters from Slumlords like the Handys and Rick and Mark Bove?
Its about time we had a council and mayor made up of regular workers, not the top 10%.
Paco DeFrancis said “The saddest part is we put Sinex’s project in peril on our own accord. There are things the City Council could’ve done–waived parking requirements, exempt the project from inclusionary zoning, etc–that would’ve helped Sinexc’s pro-forma cash flow, thereby alleviating the pressure he is likely facing from creditors on The Street. Sad!!”
Why should the City exempt this or any other project from inclusionary zoning? We desparately need more affordable housing and the ordinance has been a very successful tool for decades. Liksewise, waiving parking requirements doesn’t solve a problem, it creates one.
April 11, 2017:
“Sinex has narrowed the field to two possible lenders [to secure financing for the remaining 60-70% cost of the project] and expects to announce that deal within the next month. ‘I’m highly confident,’ he said.”
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/arc…
It’s been 19 months and Sinex remains “Highly confident” he’ll have the funding in place when he’s finished laying the foundation late this fall….
uh-huh.
From April 2017
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/arc…
“The deal with Rouse is expected to close within the coming weeks, Sinex said, after nearly six months of negotiations. As co-owners, Devonwood Investors and Rouse will combine to finance 30 to 40 percent of the project, Sinex said. A construction lender will finance the remaining 60 to 70 percent of the project a “pretty typical” arrangement for this kind of development, he said. The project is estimated to cost somewhere between $225 and $230 million.
“Sinex has narrowed the field to two possible lenders and expects to announce that deal within the next month. “I’m highly confident,” he said.”
As an addendum . . no more of this “executive session” crap. If this project is so great for the city and there is nothing to hide then let us see everything that is going on, no more hiding behind closed doors with gag orders on all who attend. If Miro or city council is hiding something they should not be in office. No more backroom dealing or arm twisting. Keep everything out in the open. Otherwise you all should resign.