BURLINGTON, VERMONT - Proposed/Construction/etc

[Dallas Snob]

I have not seen a thread for Burlington, Vermont. Although I reside in Dallas, Texas, I have traveled the world and have found it to be one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen.

Proposed condominiums/mixed use downtown by ICV Construction



Westlake Condominiums u/c from their website


Marriott Hotel u/c from their website



More to come once I can find other projects. I know of several more that are out there that are either under construction or proposed.

[Dallas Snob]

[Dallas Snob]

here is a major development taking place in Winooski, the immediate suburb to the north of BTV. The entire city is being re-created.

Site plan and photos from developer website

[Dallas Snob]

From Burlington Free Press Article dated 2/19/08. The proposal was approved by voters and is slated for construction.


"The bike path would be straightened and improved. On the plant's north lawn, Ice Factor would build an ice rink for winter use. It would be stored in the summer and replaced by a city-run splash park. Ice Factor would also run a cafe. The city would build a two-story parking lot near where the skateboard park is, and the skateboard park, remodeled and upgraded, would be moved to the north. The Sailing Center would in time build a storage building on the far north of the 2.8-acre lot, and improve its docks and breakwater.

Inside, on the first floor, the Sailing Center would build its new home, as would the children's museum.

Upstairs, Ice Factor would build a vast refrigerated room for a 70-foot, hydraulic adjustable ice-climbing wall and a separate rock-climbing wall. Ice Factor spokesman Phil McCully says the company also plans a "ropes challenge," a "zip line," for customers to hang on and slide, or possibly "a static wheel," where, he said, "as you fall forward from height, you accelerate, then the cable tightens up and you slow down."

"It's an adventure center," he said.

Ice Factor would include a fitness center and a restaurant high in the building, overlooking Lake Champlain. "It would be a Church Street-style restaurant," McCully said. "A medium-priced pub restaurant."

The city, as part of its share, will build a public observation deck on top of the building, with rooms available for groups to use. Local businessman Pat Robins, who was honored in 1995 by predecessor of the Burlington Business Association for his role in "making the Church Street Marketplace a reality" and for raising money for the restoration of City Hall Park, said he is "excited" by Kiss' plan."

[Dallas Snob]

No additional information other from the website. Blackhawk Helicopter Facility, Vermont Air National Guard, South Burlington, VT. New 180,000 sq ft, $34 million maintenance hanger, flight operations center and support facility. The project is pursuing LEED and SpiRiT certifications. Smith Alvarez Sienkiewycz Architects

[Ex-Ithacan]

Good to see Burlington has a rep here. It is indeed a great college town, and a place I wish Ithaca was more like. Thanks for the info DS.

[Evergrey]

I love Burlington... keep us posted!

[Dallas Snob]

Recent news in regards to the Maple Tree Place in Williston, a suburb to the East of Burlington. Burlington Free Press article.

Pitch planned for growth at Maple Tree Place



By Joel Banner Baird • Free Press Staff Writer • September 2, 2008

WILLISTON -- A team of developers will meet with the Williston Planning Commission at 7:15 p.m today [cwh: Tuesday: ]to refine plans for residential, commercial and office growth at Maple Tree Place. Still in its early stages of planning, Cottonwood Crossing, a mixed-use development, is expected to extend east from Maple Tree Place, replacing the 10-acre driving range on Williston Road. The meeting will take place at the American Cancer Society meeting room on Connor Way, rather than at Town Hall.
Representatives from the development's owners, Inland Western Real Estate Trust of Oakbrook, Ill., are expected to propose a "specific plan option" that will allow departures from zoning regulations in exchange for benefits to the town. Some of those benefits, outlined at last month's commission meeting by Inland engineer Richard Hamlin, include affordable housing, common recreation areas, pedestrian and bike paths, and compact grid streets compatible with the developer's vision of Maple Tree Place as a walkable town center for Taft Corners.
The Williston Development Review Board has listed the total number of housing units at 123, but former town planner Lee Nellis said last month that the numbers would not be finalized until more specific plans were approved.
As it takes shape, Inland's specific plan -- the first to come before the commission since that option was created in a 2006 ordinance -- will come under the scrutiny of a citizen advisory committee, with representatives from adjoining communities and the town's Selectboard and Planning and Conservation commissions.
Cottonwood Crossing lies within Williston's designated growth center, which includes much of the area around Taft Corners.

[Dallas Snob]

I found this on the Burlington Freee Press. Part of the in-going Winooski redevlopment. These units are now under construction. You can visit their website at www.cascadesvt.com

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[Wheelingman04]

I love Vermont.

[Dallas Snob]

In a Burlington Free press article dated 10/14/08. It appears that the final tenant in the Moran Building on the waterfornt will be a new children's museum, along with a sailing cetner and an indoor year-round rock/ice climbing center. The Moran Building (see previous post) will compliment the near by Lake Champlain Museum or ECHO.

Burlington's Board of Finance met at 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.

The board will discuss an updated draft of the legal agreement with the Green Mountain Children's Museum regarding the group's participation in the Moran plant redevelopment. The city has previously reached an agreement with the Community Sailing Center.

The third outside party, the for-profit company Ice Factor, also has reached a tentative initial agreement with the city for the Moran plant project. It is unclear when the details will become public.

the agreement with the Children's Museum, which will go Monday to the full City Council, sets March 31, 2009 as a target date for a completed development agreement between the city, its two nonprofit partners and Ice Factor

[Dallas Snob]

From a Burlington Free Press article on 1/5/09. It appears that the University of Vermont's arena is temporarily (if not permanently) on hold due to current economic times . . .

Nearly a year after a University of Vermont task force found athletic facilities inadequate and outlined preliminary plans for a new arena and other capital upgrades, not much has happened to expedite any of these improvements -- all of which remain years away, at best.

What has happened is a national economic downturn that has forced UVM and everybody else to tighten belts and readjust goals. In the case of UVM, which has suspended borrowing for new capital projects in the face of a $28 million projected deficit for the next fiscal year, that means that any major new building plans -- at least in the foreseeable future -- will have to be underwritten almost entirely by private donations.

That applies not only to the six athletic and health facilities recommended by the Campus Life Task Force II at a total estimated cost of $188 million, but also to the overhaul of a former fraternity house at 61 Summit St. as an alumni center, which by one rough reckoning could cost $10 million.

UVM fundraisers are still "searching the landscape" for donors to foot the bill for a multipurpose events center -- the most expensive project of the lot -- said Tom Gustafson, vice president for student and campus life, adding that there are some possibilities. Even if those possibilities come through, a new arena is still a long way off.

The first step will be to rank the six task force proposals among other capital priorities. Last year, the board of trustees approved a new system for assessing capital projects -- a ranking system based on a detailed assessment of how each project meets a range of needs. As of last month, No. 1 on the list was a renovation, with new construction, of facilities for the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. No. 2 was a renovation of McAuley Hall, which houses part of the College of Education and Social Services.

When trustees meet next month, they will be presented with a new list of goals, including the six task force projects. As outlined to the board last month, they are:

• A multipurpose event center, or arena, that could accommodate athletic competitions, convocations and performances. $93.9 million.

• A recreation center/fieldhouse that would house club sports and other activities. $42.8 million.

• An athletic/shared use facility including a natatorium that would involve renovations to existing facilities. $29.4 million.

• A center for health and well-being, likely to be located off Main Street, behind the Gund Center. $13.8 million.

• Outdoor fields for track and softball. $5.2 million.

• Outdoor fields for soccer, lacrosse and student recreation. $2.7 million.

[Dallas Snob]

From a Bukrlington Free press article on 12/16/08

SOUTH BURLINGTON -- The list of possible locations for a new South Burlington police station grew shorter at Monday night's City Council meeting -- but not by much.

The council eliminated three of 22 possible sites forwarded by landowners as alternatives to the crumbling and mold-ridden station on Dorset Street -- and approved a $2,400 study that would determine the cost of razing and rebuilding on the current site.

City Manager Chuck Hafter said recent results from test borings at the Dorset Street site showed that a rebuilt station would need a stormwater runoff pond (perhaps in the Interstate 189 cloverleaf) and a foundation strengthened with concrete pilings.

In order to preserve competitive bidding, the council did not price or rank the sites that survived the first round of elimination. Several of its members remarked that a depressed real-estate market might work in favor of the city's needs.

The council has not finalized the space requirements for a new station, but Hafter offered some working numbers: up to 29,000 square feet of space on 2 1/2 to 5 acres of land; and about 100 parking spaces.

A temporary relocation of the police facility -- an option that garnered tepid support on the council and with the public -- remains on the table, Hafter said.

Police Chief Trevor Whipple said he was encouraged by the amicable discussions at Monday's meeting.

"These are baby steps we're taking, but it's going to result in a better public buy-in for the project," he said. "On the force, we're trying to balance a sense of urgency with the knowledge that a permanent solution is worth the wait.

"We still need to have moved out (of the Dorset Street station) yesterday," he added.

In November, voters rejected a ballot item that would have placed a new station on open land set aside for conservation.

Council member Meaghan Emery, who opposed that measure, said early and frequent updates on the cost of the project would help avoid any further setbacks at the polls.

Several members of the public voiced concern that the discussion did not sufficiently address an issue that surfaced at many of the pre-election forums: Should the new police station be a part of the proposed city center along Market Street?

Others asked the council to consider bundling a station with other long-awaited municipal projects, such as a new public library, a senior citizens' center, a central post office and a new City Hall.

[Dallas Snob]

Here is the link to the Burlington Free Press Article on a new hotel being planned for the Burlington Waterfront.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/a...NESS/902200301

[Ex-Ithacan]

Sounds like quite a plus for the downtown. I noticed in the replies the height is suppose to be 23 stories. Is this true? is there a rendering? 23 stories sounds quite tall for Burlington.

[Dallas Snob]

Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan

Sounds like quite a plus for the downtown. I noticed in the replies the height is suppose to be 23 stories. Is this true? is there a rendering? 23 stories sounds quite tall for Burlington.

There is a Burlington, Ontario, which may be where a 23 story hotel is planned. It would be impossible for BTV. The height limit there is 10 stories with concessions. The building originally planned for the lot was 8 stories. The hotel will most likely be the same height.

[Ex-Ithacan]

8 to 10 sound more likely. Thanks for the info, and please post renderings if you stumble across them.

[JManc]

i lived across the lake from burlington (plattsburgh, ny) and haven't been back since i was little but remember it being a really neat place.

[Dallas Snob]

Burlington has grown so much that it is hard to recognize anymore. I was there in the Fall of 2008 and was stunned by the amount of development going on in and around the city. It is now similar in size to Portland, Maine I think, though slightly smaller. It is around 175,000 metro now, but more if you include the northern town of St Albans. (I do not). The city center keeps getting denser with the suburbs exploding with large scale apartment and condo projects.

[Lookinforahome]

Wow I had no idea Burlington had so much going on! I live in Saco (right near Portland, ME), but I have never been out there. Exciting to see so much developments going on over there. Keep us posted.