2003 Consolidated Plan for Housing & Economic Development
Economic Development Needs and Strategies

Targeted Districts

A Thriving Downtown

The ability to enhance and maintain the vitality of the Burlington's downtown is a core economic development strategy for the City. A strong and vital downtown with a mix of retail, cultural, office and housing development can generate substantial state and local tax revenues. Also, a strong and vital downtown enhances the "quality of life" for local residents.

Retail is one key measure of downtown vitality. Retail in the Central Business District suffered over the last four years due to the renovation of the downtown mall, the Burlington Town Center. With renovations now complete, and with less than 32,000 sq. ft. still vacant, retail is recovering. However, the Central Business District also continues to face ever-increasing competition from suburban retail centers.

Measures of the strength of the retail sector include retail vacancy and retail sales - both within Burlington's downtown and in comparison to the sur Retail vacancy downtown stood at 4.6% as of December 2002, compared with a county retail vacancy rate of 10.0%. (Allen & Brooks Report) Low vacancy rates, with associated higher rents and property values, helps to maintain a balance in the City's property tax base between commercial and residential properties.

You can also view this information in table format.

In fiscal year 2002, the City's share of countywide retail sales was 18.5%. Because of a change in state policy making clothing purchases under $110 exempt from sales tax, it is not possible to directly compare retail sales over the last decade. The City's share of county retail sales, however, continues to suffer from the development of suburban big box stores, as reflected in comparative retail sales tax receipts over the last three years - although this time period also reflects a significant loss of retail from the downtown mall renovations:

* Period from July 1, 2003 through November 30, 2003

Last year, the Community & Economic Development Office commissioned a retail feasibility study of the downtown district, completed by the Market Insite Group in December 2002. The purpose of the study was to: 

• Identify potential retail voids in the downtown area 
• Identify potential retailers to fill the voids 
• Forecast sales that could be achieved by retailers that would fill the identified retail voids 

The study concluded that the downtown market is strong, drawing on a diverse customer base which includes not only local residents but also tourists, out-of-town residents working in the City, and local college students, with the following estimated breakdown of sales generated by each patron segment:

That study identified several current voids, including: 

• Additional Vermont products to appeal to the tourist consumer 
• Additional household furniture and accessories for both the trade area residents and the tourist shopper 
• Additional apparel/activities for children of local residents 

Specifically, the report recommended adding the following mix of tenant types, pending pro forma analysis:

* Includes shoes and accessory retailers.

Another sector reflecting the vitality of the downtown is hospitality, as measured by rooms and meals tax receipts. According to the Vermont Tax Department, the rooms and meals tax revenue in Burlington has increased fairly steadily over the past five years from $4.8 million in FY 1997 to $7.6 million in FY 2001 (a 57% increase overall) and has remained steady at about 30% of the total county rooms and meals revenue.

You can also view this information in table format.

Finally, the office vacancy rate for the downtown stood at 5.7% as of December 2002 - below the county rate of 7.7% for that same time and below the nine-year average for the Central Business District of 7.2%.  (Allen & Brooks Report)

You can also view this information in table format.

Recent Developments in the Downtown Area

During the past 30 years, the City has supported several major public and private sector investments, acted to attract and retain retail and new commercial development, and continued to invest resources in maintaining a quality retail environment. The City has also continued its efforts on behalf of downtown retailers to work to combat sprawl that threatens downtown viability.

A number of important projects have been completed or set in motion during the past eight years, including:

• Renewal Community - Burlington was designated by the federal government as a Renewal Community for the period from January 2002 through December 2009. Both the downtown and the waterfront - as well as the Old North End - are included in the designation. Federal tax incentives - including wage credits and accelerated depreciation for construction and redevelopment costs - are targeted to this district. There are over 11,000 people (around 5,300 households) who live in the Renewal Community. Around 30% of the City's total labor force - or roughly 7,000 workers - live in this area. There are at least 500 businesses in the Renewal Community - including over 300 retail businesses and around 30 manufacturers. To understand the impact, if 850 Renewal Community workers are each worth an extra $1,500 a year to local businesses, then over the course of 8 years those businesses will have over $10 million to invest in higher wages/better benefits, workforce training, expansion and new jobs, new equipment and technologies, and other strategies.
• Designated Downtown - Burlington's downtown was designated by the State of Vermont as a "designated downtown" - which makes it eligible for a number of benefits including tax credits and loans and grants from various state agencies. To qualify, Burlington developed a comprehensive revitalization strategy for the downtown district and demonstrated broad-based community support. The strategy involves a long-term commitment to enhancing economic opportunities, preserving historic buildings, and improving public space and infrastructure in the commercial district. 
• Burlington Town Center - The downtown mall has been completely renovated, with all but 31,591 sq. ft. rented up. The mall added 23 new retail tenants in the last fiscal year. 
• Filenes Department Store and parking garage - A 150,000 square foot anchor department store is open with an adjacent 400-space parking garage located in the Urban Renewal district. 
• Main Street - A $10 million rehabilitation of the main artery in the City improved access to downtown and the waterfront from the interstate. 
• Condominium Housing on College Street - Development of 80 units of housing located in the Urban Renewal District 
• Park Place - A mixed-use  located across from City hall. This $5 million redevelopment of a building destroyed by fire includes 34 units of affordable housing and 7 commercial spaces for rent. 
• Gateway Plaza - A 60,000 square foot office building with a 200-car parking garage. A new 27,000 square foot building was constructed adjacent to the existing building.
• Chittenden Bank Building - Restoration of the building housing Chittenden Bank (formerly housing Vermont National Bank) on Bank Street. 
• Senior Center building - Rehabilitation of the building that formerly housed the Senior Center and converting this space into retail use. 
• Origanum building - Removal of 7,000 square foot vacant building that use to house Origanum located across from Memorial Auditorium. 
• Flynn Center for the Performing Arts - The once proud Flynn Theatre has been transformed into a multi faceted, multi level Performing Arts Center. A $4 million renovation and addition to the Flynn Theatre that will also add a black box theatre. 
• Woolworths building - Rehabilitation of 25,000 sq. ft. of retail space formerly housing Woolworths, for Old Navy. The lower level, with 25,000 sq. ft., is available for rent. 
• 53 Main Street - Rehabilitation of three-story building that had been vacant for 7 years located across from the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce. 
• College Street - Conversion and rehabilitation of vacant second and third story office space into 8 units of housing located across the street from the Burlington Free Press. 
• 142-144 Church Street and Ken's Pizza Building - Conversion and rehabilitation of vacant second and third story office space into 4 units of housing. These buildings were also brought up to current building codes by adding sprinklers to suppress fires. 
• City Market - Price Chopper closed in June 1999, leaving the downtown and the Old North End without a supermarket. A new 27,000 sq. ft. supermarket opened last year on the site of the former Police Department building. 
• Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts - The $3.5 million complete redevelopment of a five-story former fire station next to City Hall into gallery and arts education space. 
• Frog Hollow - Frog Hollow has developed a hands-on workshop for teaching arts and crafts in the basement of Memorial Auditorium. 
• Hall Block - Redstone Commercial obtained $1.8 million in federal and state Historic Tax Credits for the restoration of the Hall Block building on the corner of So. Winooski Avenue and College Street, creating $14,000 in new annual property taxes and rehabilitating 15,000 sq. ft. of vacant upper story space. 
• Merchants Bank - Spent $750,000 to completely renovate their College Street branch office, its busiest branch office in the state. 
• 156 St. Paul Street - Completed renovated vacant upper story into office space and reconstructed the main floor into the Waiting Room restaurant. 
• Victoria Place - A new mixed-use building on Pearl Street added 10,000 sq. ft. of commercial space, including a new branch for the Vermont State Employees Credit Union and a new Laundromat.

The following projects are under planning and/or construction downtown:

• Church Street Marketplace - Having passed its 20th birthday, Church Street Marketplace - which, together with the Burlington Town Center, anchors downtown retail - is in need of renovations. CEDO helped obtain a $1.5 million grant from the federal government to update the infrastructure and has hired a project manager to oversee renovations. 
• Multi-Modal Transportation Center - A new downtown transportation transit center now has all the permits in place. The Center, to be built at the foot of Main Street, will accommodate Chittenden County Transportation Authority, at-grade retail space, a regional welcome center, approximately 16,000 square feet of upper story office space and accommodations for taxi and tour bus drop off, as well as linking to bike routes and ferry service. 
• Hotel and Parking Garage - The City of Burlington is borrowing Section 108 funds to purchase a downtown parcel of land, located at the corner of Cherry and Battery Streets and currently used by the landowner for surface parking. The downtown parcel purchase will facilitate development of a 114-room hotel with an adjacent 193 space parking garage. 
• BankNorth - Redstone Commercial proposes to buy the BankNorth property bounded by Main, St. Paul, Pine and King Streets, except for the BankNorth building located on Main Street. They propose to build approximately 99 units of housing, renovate the 15,000 square foot Hines office building located on 161 St. Paul Street, and build a parking garage. 
• Community College of Vermont - CCV is planning to add additional classrooms and offices in downtown.
• Redevelopment of the "Superblock" (Memorial Auditorium block) - Plans are underway for the redevelopment of the Memorial Auditorium block, including Memorial Auditorium (as part of the Recreation Center), the Midtown Motel, and the City owned surface parking lots. 
• Federal Courthouse - The Vermont Federal District Court has announced plans to construct a new federal courthouse over the next decade.

The following are programs targeted by the City of Burlington for downtown and the waterfront development:

• TIF District - Burlington has regularly used tax increment financing to assist in the development of downtown, the waterfront and the City's Enterprise Zone.
• Downtown PARC Program - Low cost shuttle service for downtown workers from the South and New North End to downtown Burlington. 
• Two Hours of Free Parking and more On-Street Parking - The City has established two hours of free parking in City-owned garages and in the garage owned by Burlington Town Center. The city has added 75 new on-street parking spaces by changing to diagonal parking. 
• College Street Shuttle - A free bus service linking the downtown waterfront and the University of Vermont, used by over 200,000 people a year. 
• Street Worker Project - Social service program assisting troubled residents who frequent downtown. 
• Brownfield Redevelopment Program - Business assistance for revitalizing contaminated property. 
• Burlington Technical Assistance and Financing Program - Business loan and technical assistance program. 
• Section 108 - Infrastructure improvements and land acquisition. 
• Zoning - Changes in the City's zoning code have reduced parking requirements and increasing the height of buildings to allow more development of housing in downtown. 
• Designated Downtown District and Renewal Community (See above for description)

Lake Champlain and the Waterfront

The City has assumed the lead role in efforts to redevelop the Burlington waterfront, one of the community's most important visual and recreational resources, and has spearheaded a number planning and infrastructure development efforts. Major milestones in waterfront development process include rezoning, approval of two bond issues, land acquisition, establishing a tax increment-financing district, and public improvements. A priority for the City is to continue redevelopment of the waterfront as a mixed-use neighborhood accessible to all city residents for business, housing and recreation needs. In 1998, the voters approved a revised Waterfront Revitalization Plan. The City will continue to implement that Plan.

Section 108 funds have helped significant waterfront infrastructure improvements, including the reconstruction of Lake Street, upgrading of shower facilities at the Boathouse and stabilizing the Moran Plant. These funds may help with water/wastewater system and/or other infrastructure improvements should those improvements prove necessary as waterfront redevelopment continues.

During the past eight years, the City has improved park and open space, removed vacant structures, cleaned up contaminated land, and made infrastructure improvements to ensure pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle access. Today, the waterfront provides a range of cultural, recreational, social, and economic activities for the entire community.

Recent Developments on the Waterfront

Projects undertaken the last eight years include:

• Echo at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain - Construction of a new lake education center should be completed this year, along with a new park honoring the Naval Reserve. 
• UVM Rubenstein science lab - Development of a new building studying the ecology of Lake Champlain. 
• Rehabilitation of Lake Street - Using Section 108 funds the City rebuilt Lake Street, added a sidewalk, new street lights and improved access to the waterfront. The City also buried power lines along the street. 
• Mossman housing - 10 units of housing have been built on Lake Street. 
• Train Station - A new train station has been built using state funds for the commuter rail. 
• Coast Guard Station - The Coast Guard built a building and a new breakwater to protect their boats. The area inside this breakwater is a new underwater state park. 
• Skate Park - After 11 years of community discussion, a new skate park has been built at the foot of Depot Street. 
• Fishing Pier - A new fishing pier has been built near the Moran generating station à Breakwater ? The breakwater is being rebuilt. 
• Spirit of Ethan Allen - New 500-passenger luxury ship with 3 dining decks, heated and air-conditioned, and handicapped accessible. 
• Lake Champlain Transportation Company new cruise boat - New 120 passenger cruise ship will dock at the foot of King Street next to Breakwaters Café. 
• Lake Champlain Maritime Museum - A community project to build a replica of a canal boat is ongoing at the shipyard.

The following projects will begin construction in the next few years on the waterfront:

• Main Street Landing Company - Main Street Landing Company plans to build a $ 8 million dollar project including a 34,000 sq. ft. office building, black box theatre, movie house, retail space. 
• Depot Street Housing - 40 units of mixed-income waterfront housing are in the predevelopment stage. 
• MultiModal Transportation Center - See downtown projects above. 
• Light Houses - Two replica historic lighthouses will be built on either end of Burlington's breakwater. 
• Dolphin Removal - Assuming funding is obtained, these permanent docks - which used to provide barges a way to offload petroleum products without docking on the shores of Lake Champlain - will be removed. 
• Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center - The Sailing Center plans build and install a floating breakwall in front of the Center's operations on the waterfront at the Moran Generating Station. 
• Breakwaters Restaurant - Breakwaters restaurant will be torn down and replaced with a new 6,800 square foot restaurant and the breakwater surrounding the restaurant will be repaired. 
• Depot Street - The embankment above Depot Street will be stabilized.
• Public Market - Plans have been developed for the Pease Grain site on the waterfront. à Moran Plant - Plans are underway to stabilize the building and begin efforts for its re-use. 
• IDA infrastructure - Infrastructure for the entire area incorporated as the Interim Development Area (IDA) of the Urban Reserve needs to be undertaken. 
• Overhead Utilities - Efforts are currently underway to insure that the utility lines are removed from the waterfront by 2004/2005.

The beginning phases of a long-term plan to clean up pollution in Lake Champlain have received federal funding. The City has developed a Harbor Management Plan, based on public input, which designates uses within the harbor area and attempts to minimize conflicts between uses.

North Street Commercial District

The "Main Street" of the Old North End and surrounding area are home to a number of small businesses that serve the immediate neighborhood. It is the only district in the City zoned Neighborhood Commercial and is identified as a Neighborhood Activity Center in the Municipal Plan, allowing for a 50%+ administrative parking waiver and a greater range of permitted uses to serve the neighborhood. The City adopted a neighborhood-developed comprehensive plan to revitalize this district, which includes a $5 million reinvestment in the public infrastructure and targeting of the City's community organizing, housing and economic development programs. This district is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Enterprise Zone Areas -Smart Growth District 

The Smart Growth District is a new initiative focused on the City's industrial core, an area disproportionately impacted by contamination and underutilized properties. There are three concurrent project activities: 1) a comprehensive development analysis of environmental and engineering concerns; 2) creation of a development "toolkit" with data on topics critical to the redevelopment of commercial properties and; 3) a small grants program for site-specific analyses to guide the responsible redevelopment of contaminated parcels.

Several important projects have been set in motion in this district, including:

• Innovation Center of Vermont - The redevelopment of the General Dynamics property is underway with the completion of Phase 1. Tenants in the facility south of Lakeside Avenue include General Dynamics, British Aerospace, Advanced Engineering Research Associates, UVM capital campaign, a café, and a gym. 
• Blodgett Company/Middleby Corporation - The City has assisted the Blodgett Company in reducing costs, assuring that the Middleby Corporation will continue to support and invest in the Blodgett Company at its Lakeside Avenue location.

Intervale 

Burlington has several hundred acres of agricultural land, the Intervale, within the city borders available relatively close to the urban population center, making sustainable agriculture another area of opportunity. Sixteen farms currently produce over 500,000 pounds of food annually, providing fresh organic food to over 1,000 local families. Production of food crops on this land and the distribution and consumption of locally produced foods through a public and farmers' markets, local grocery stores, and community-supported agriculture will be supported and expanded.

The new Intervale Community Food Enterprise Center will meet the unique needs of local farmers, food producers, community supported agriculture, community gardening, and the Old North End neighborhood. The Center will be a state-of-the art facility featuring organic food growing/processing/fulfillment, a community kitchen, environmental research, and education in approximately 20,000 square feet of food production, shared storage/support space, and 21,000 square feet of greenhouse. The large greenhouse at the Center will feature a rotation of tenants and crops based on season and market need including indoor farming, community supported agriculture, seed starting, and agricultural research. The greenhouse will include an innovative root zone heating system, fully opening roof, and a combination of highly efficient polycarbonate and plastic film coverings. The Center will use "waste" energy from the McNeil Generating Station, the largest publicly-owned wood-fired electric generation plant in the country. Hot water from McNeil now routed to cooling towers will be intercepted and re-routed into a radiant heat system at the Center, greatly reducing energy costs and dependence on fossil fuels. Construction is scheduled to begin this year.

A new bike path will be built this year connecting the Old North End and the New North End through the Intervale. Recently, Paul Caulkins donated his mother's farmstead to the Intervale Foundation. The Intervale Foundation has plans to rebuild the Abair house, move and restore a barn, build a footpath linking the Calkins and Abair houses, and build additional parking. The Department of Public Works recently obtained a grant to develop a plan to improve Intervale Road to make it safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles.

Page last updated May 13, 2003