Moran Redevelopment Update - October 28, 2008

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.

Moran Redevelopment Update on Progress - October 22, 2008

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 Redevelopment Update on Progress - September 5, 2008

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.

Moran Redevelopment Update on Progress - August 11, 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.

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.

				Taking the core samples on July 8 (left)
				First concrete core sample (above)

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.

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.

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.

City and Moran Redevelopment Partners Move Forward on Plans After Strong Public Support Demonstrated for Project

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.