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Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss and representatives of
Ice Factor, the Community Sailing Center and the
Green Mountain Children’s Museum publicly sign
Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) for the Moran
Redevelopment Project. |
The City is moving forward on the Moran Plant redevelopment
plan, which was approved in concept by Burlington voters in
March of 2008. At its October 20 meeting, the City Council
unanimously approved two significant aspects of the project.
Finalized Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) were approved for
each of the project partners - the Lake Champlain Sailing
Center, Green Mountain Children’s Museum, and Ice Factor, Inc.
And, $164,533 in funding was appropriated for a first phase of
architectural and engineering work which will give the City and
project partners more detailed and reliable cost estimates for
the plan. These cost estimates are anticipated within 3 to 4
months, during which time the City and its partners will work on
detailed development agreements to implement the project. Like
the MOUs, the development agreements are subject to City Council
approval.
The approval of the Moran MOUs and architectural and
engineering work follows upon site work completed in September
to confirm the structural integrity of the building, and an EPA
grant awarded to the City providing technical assistance on
potential “green building” aspects of the project.
Moran Receives EPA Grant
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected the
Moran Center as one of just 16 projects nationally for a Brownfields
Sustainability Pilot program award. This new EPA effort provides
communities with technical assistance to help achieve greener
assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of so-called “brownfields”
sites, where redevelopment is complicated by the presence of
environmental contamination due to the sites’ industrial past. The
technical assistance will be used to assess the feasibility of
implementing the "green building" aspects of the Moran project,
including the potential for on-site renewable energy production,
energy and water conservation, innovative stormwater treatment
techniques, and ecological enhancements at the site. The complete
EPA press release is available
here.
Structural Analysis of Moran Building
Engineering Ventures, a structural engineering firm hired by the
City to assess the structural integrity of the Moran building, has
found "the condition of the reinforced concrete material of the
building’s base structure is essentially at or near its so-called
original, as-built design capacity and use." These findings clear up
any questions regarding the building’s structural capacity for
redevelopment. A copy of the preliminary findings is available
here.
A full report will be available soon from CEDO.
Pre-Development Agreement with Children’s Museum
Following on the Burlington City Council’s approval last month of
a predevelopment “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) between the
City and the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center, a similar MOU
between the Green Mountain Children’s Museum and the City will be
presented to the Board of Finance on Monday, September 8, in
Conference Room 12, City Hall.
Electric Sub-station and Transmission Lines to be Moved
The September 9th primary day ballot item regarding the East
Avenue Loop transmission upgrade project includes components that
will indirectly benefit the Moran project as well as the waterfront
in general. Specifically, the Burlington Electric Department
substation currently located on Lake Street in front of the old
Moran Plant will be relocated to the McNeil Plant, and above ground
BED electric distribution lines will be removed or under-grounded.
The new underlying transmission system will allow Green Mountain
Power (GMP) to remove its waterfront lines in the next phase of this
project. The cost of the BED project will be covered by the bond
that the voters overwhelmingly passed in March 2008.
Community Sailing Center (CSC)
As we move forward to renovate the Moran Building itself, the
Community Sailing Center (CSC) moved out of the building and into an
adjacent location. This move required an amendment of the CSC’s
lease with the City. On June 9 the City Council approved the lease
amendment.
The only change to the lease is the particular area leased to the
CSC. The storage yard has been reconfigured to provide a secure
staging area and access to the building for City contractors. The
office and classroom space has been moved into an unused shed and
garage bay at the water department. The CSC will supplement the
classroom space with a trailer or tent to be located next to the
shed.
| The CSC has seen a threefold increase in their programs
since the March 4 vote. The CSC held a successful fundraiser
on July 3rd in conjunction with the fireworks to raise
additional funds for their scholarship programs.
Additionally, at the end of June the CSC successfully
re-floated their expanded and improved atlas dock system. |
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Development Agreements
CEDO has been meeting with the prospective tenants to develop
Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) that will guide us through the
preliminary development process. The MOUs generally lay out the
concepts as presented in the “Guide to the Redevelopment of the
Moran Plant.” The MOU’s provide the initial framework for the final
development agreements.
The MOU’s with the Green Mountain Children’s Museum (GMCM) and
CSC will come to the City Council as soon as possible to facilitate
the progression of their capital campaigns. The City is currently
negotiating with Ice Factor. The Parks, Arts and Culture Committee (PACC)
and Community Development Committee (CDC) provided feedback, and the
Finance Board and City Council will authorize the execution of both
the MOUs and the future Development Agreements.
Consulting Services
Environmental Remediation: The City is
conducting additional environmental testing to aid in the
development of interim interior clean-up plan and dewatering plan
for basement. This is funded through the City’s existing EPA
Brownfield program.
Site Survey: The City will soon contract with
surveyor to clarify boundaries and right-of-way along with providing
base information needed for redevelopment.
Foundation Investigation and Report: CEDO
solicited Engineering Ventures to develop a proposal for testing the
foundation at Moran and certifying the structure. They have provided
the City with a proposal to conduct an investigation of the
foundation using inspection, concrete cores and testing to provide a
report.
The City executed a contract with Engineering Ventures to conduct
the structural analysis. The core sampling took place on July 8, and
we hope to have the results of laboratory tests on those samples in
mid- August.
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Taking the core samples on July 8 (left)
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First concrete core sample (above)
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| Equinox Sculpture Repurposing Process The
granite blocks currently located north of the Moran Plant
cannot be accommodated in their current location as part of
the Moran Center proposal. CEDO has begun discussions with
Burlington City Arts and Parks Department to outline a
process for this issue. |
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Technical Corrections
Zoning: In the Zoning rewrite process, the boundary lines
for the Urban Reserve and Downtown Waterfront – Public Trust
districts were incorrectly shown on the zoning maps. The new zoning
map incorrectly drew the boundary along an existing parcel line and
not as intended on the boundary of the Interim Development Area.
This is a technical correction that the Planning Commission has
already taken action to correct along with some other minor
technical corrections by holding a public hearing on June 10, 2008.
The City Council will hold a public hearing on this item.
| Burlington Comprehensive Development
Ordinance p. 14 |
| ZA-08-03 re: Misc. Amendments and
Corrections |
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2. |
Correct southern Urban Reserve boundary
(as depicted on Maps 4.2.2-1, 4.3.1-1, 4.4.1-1, 4.4.7-1; and
Sec. 4.5.4 (b)1A) to be northern property line of Interim
Development Area for conform to City Master Plan.
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| Sec. 4.5.4 Natural Resource Protection
Overlay (NR) District (b) Areas Affected |
| This overlay district includes all areas
delineated on Map 4.5.4-1-Natural Resources Protection
Overlay (NR) District and is divided into four (4) subparts:
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1. |
A Riparian and Littoral Conservation Zone
which consists of all surface water and a corresponding
upland buffer area, and specifically includes the following
areas: |
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A. |
Uplands within 250 feet of the Lake Champlain lakeshore
(measured at 100-feet above mean sea level) with the
exception of that portion of the shoreline between the
northern extent of the Interim Development Area
north of the former Moran Generating Station and the
most westerly extent of Roundhouse Point described as the
“Urban Waterfront” in the 2000 Open Space Protection Plan;
(new language includes the word "extent" after the word
northern and the words "Interim Development Area north of
the" after the words northern extent of the...) |
Transportation & Infrastructure
Waterfront Access North Transportation Improvement Project:
The project is a "scoping" project, which means it is setting out to
develop alternatives for addressing transportation issues, problems,
and opportunities within the project area. See map at:
http://www.cedoburlington.org/waterfront/Waterfront_North-Issues_Map%20070308.pdf.
The City held two local concerns meetings on July 10, 2008 at
Burlington College. CEDO and DPW are working with Resource
Systems Group on the Waterfront Access North Transportation
Improvement Project. This is the second phase of a larger waterfront
design project, the first phase of which is located proximate to
lower College Street.
March 11, 2008, Burlington VT - The City of Burlington and its
partners have started work on the Moran Plant redevelopment project
approved by voters by a wide margin on Town Meeting Day. Earlier
this week, City staff from the Community and Economic Development
Office and Parks and Recreation Department and Burlington Mayor Bob
Kiss met with the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center, Green
Mountain Children’s Museum, and Ice Factor, the three tenants for
the project
On March 4, 2008, as outlined in an advisory question, Burlington
voters were asked whether they wanted to move forward with the
proposal - and, 65 percent voted in favor. The plan was developed
after an extensive public process to solicit feedback and comment
from residents, including a Town Meeting Day poll in 2006, numerous
open houses and public informational meetings, presentations to all
five of the Ward NPAs, and the establishment of a citizen-driven
Moran Advisory Group.
Mayor Kiss expressed his appreciation for the public’s support
and the importance of moving forward from this point: “I’m pleased
that there is such clear support for redeveloping Moran in a way
that will bring substantial community and economic benefits to
Burlington and the region. I especially appreciate the hard work
that went into the proposal by, among others, the proposed tenants,
City staff, the City Council, and Burlington residents. Our task now
is to begin the work on the details that will make this project a
reality.”
With a public vote now in favor of the plan, the City and its
partners have started taking the next steps towards achieving the
development project. This includes legal agreements between the City
and partners, additional architectural and engineering services,
addressing City financing and fundraising campaigns by the Community
Sailing Center and Green Mountain Children’s Museum.
Elements of the finalized project, such as the development and
lease agreements, will require approval by the City’s Board of
Finance and the City Council. The project will also need to go
through an extensive permitting process administered by the City’s
Planning and Zoning department.
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