Burlington Town Center picks contractors

Burlington Free Press – 12.07.2016

The developers of Burlington Town Center have picked South Burlingtonbased PC Construction to play a central role in the downtown residential and commercial project.

Don Sinex, who owns the mall property, introduced other Vermont-based partners for the project Wednesday morning, adding he believed in “shopping local” as construction plans advance.

Groundbreaking for the $200 million project  is projected for mid-2017, Sinex said.

His list of partners:

• Freeman French Freeman (Burlington) — will serve as the local architect for the guiding design, permitting, and LEED certification with PKSB Architects in New York City
• Engineering Ventures (Burlington) — lead civil engineer for the redevelopment
• VHB (South Burlington) — transportation planning, engineering, land development, and environmental services
• Hardy Structural Engineering (Colchester) — lead structural engineer on this redevelopment
• SE Group (Burlington) — landscape, streetscape, lighting and associated design elements
• Unified Parking Partners (Portland, Maine; branches in Vermont) 
• Dunkiel, Saunders, Raubvogel & Hand (Burlington) — law firm, will guide the project during the Development Review Board and related reviews
• Hallam – ICS (Burlington) — mechanical, electrical, and process (MEP) systems
• Elizabeth Miller PLC (Burlington) — strategic management and legal consulting 
• Katharine Montstream (Burlington) — landscape painter, will be commissioned to create the new Burlington Town Center’s first piece of art
• Doreen Kraft – Burlington City Arts — arts and culture development at Burlington Town Center.

Sinex said his firm, Devonwood Investors LLC, would apply for city permits on or around Dec.

15 — a process that will begin a series of reviews by city boards and commissions.

Some design changes might be made during those reviews, he added.

Current designs for the project include the reconnection of St. Paul and Pine streets, sidewalkfacing shops, two stories of parking, large office spaces, and a stepped-back, 14-story residential tower.

Opponents of the project, concerned about the project’s height and mass, worked hard, but failed, to defeat two Nov. 8 ballot items key to the development.

A majority of Burlington voters approved those measures. The first, a zoning change, establishes a new district in about two blocks, one that changes standards for new buildings, including an increased height cap of 14 stories.

The second ballot item allows the city to borrow up to $21.8 million to upgrade road, sidewalk, lighting and stormwater facilities in the area, including the re-opening of St. Paul and Pine streets through the mall property.

Those loans would be repaid through anticipated increases in property tax revenues in adjacent developments — a funding mechanism known as tax-increment financing, or TIF.

A map of downtown Burlington shows the area (shaded in red) proposed for special zoning. (Photo: Courtesy City of

A lawsuit filed by three residents against the city and the developer in Vermont Superior Court on Nov. 22 claims the TIF ballot item, and the public process leading up to it, was flawed.

Michael Long, Lynn Martin, Steven Goodkind and the Coalition for a Livable City are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

The city plans to formally dispute the complaint before the end of this year, Mayor Miro Weinberger said Wednesday.

Earlier, the mayor stated the lawsuit “appears to be based on a basic misunderstanding of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) law.”

Next hurdle for Burlington mall: Permits

What might the redeveloped Burlington Town Center look like? It depends on where you stand, explains Meagan Tuttle, a comprehensive planner with the city.
JOEL BANNER BAIRD/FREE PRESS

This story was first posted online on Dec. 7, 2016.