Moran Site Information This page contains information related to the Moran building and surrounding land.  Much work has been done to better understand the extent of environmental contamination in and around the building, examine the structural integrity of the building, determine the historic importance of the structure, analyze and map nearby wetlands, etc.  This page describes those efforts, and some other site considerations (such as zoning) that will impact development at the Moran site. (Many of the reports mentioned are posted in PDF format. If you do not have a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it now for free). If you need this document in an alternative format, please call 865-7144. The Moran Building The Moran building is a steel frame and masonry structure constructed in 1954 by the Burlington Electric Department. It is built on fill that was placed between the 1850s and 1950s, and was previously used as a rail yard and, before that, for lumber processing and storage. This sub-section has information regarding the building. Architecture and Engineering Despite the current rough exterior appearance, the Moran Building has some outstanding interior features: a huge interior atrium with outstanding brickwork, overbuilt interior concrete and steel superstructure, and a view from the roof that cannot be compared to any other location on the waterfront. Unfortunately, the poor condition of the building has lead to a generally negative perception of the building. The building also presents some design challenges in terms of its adaptive re-use. For instance, some of the large structural elements will be an impediment to creating open areas in the interior; and there are a number of different levels in the building which create some access issues. There may also be some limitations on exterior design changes (see historic building analysis, below).  However, the conceptual designs described on the front page take advantage of the unique features of the building, showing that these issues can be resolved. On October 20, 2008, the City Council unanimously approved funding for the next phase of architectural and engineering work at the Moran site, which will give the City and project partners schematic drawings of the project and more detailed and reliable cost estimates for the redevelopment plan. The City has selected local firm Freeman, French and Freeman to do this next phase of A&W work. Structural Analysis During the Spring of 2008, the City hired Engineering Ventures, a local engineering firm, to assess the structural integrity of the Moran building.  They found that "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.     Historic Preservation The Moran building is over 50 years old, a threshold that triggers the inquiry into historical significance. The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation provided Burlington’s Department of Planning & Zoning a $4,000 grant to examine the history of power generation in Burlington and the historic values of several structures on Burlington’s waterfront, including Moran.  The full report, authored by the New England Preservation Collaborative, is available here: Historic Building Analysis. Data on the Moran Building: Gross floor area is 44,142 square feet. Building footprint at 96’ elevation (basement) is 16,266 square feet, mezzanine is 672 square feet, 102’ elevation has 2,016 square feet of usable floor area, and 102’8” elevation has another 506 square feet; The site is approximately 2.8 acres in size; The entire structure is built on a thick, reinforced concrete “mat” well beneath lake level; The building is structurally sound and overbuilt for adaptive re-use; The roofs could support and be adapted for new upper story construction; The exterior steel on North side could also support new construction; The first level of the building is at 96’ elevation, below mean lake level; It was built to allow lake water into the building via two sheetpiled sluiceways from the building to the lake; An extensive array of underslab chambers below water level provided water for the coal-fired boilers and cooling of the various components of the generators; Most of interior space on the main floor features ceiling heights of approximately 20 feet and few columns to impede its use; The building has a relatively large level land area surrounding it that is undeveloped in comparison with other waterfront properties. Demolition Estimate After more than 65% of Burlington voters cast ballots on March 4, 2008, in favor of proceeding with the Moran Center proposal, demolition of the building was taken off the table as an option being actively considered.  In advance of the Town Meeting Day vote, CEDO hired a professional estimator, MERKUR Construction, to estimate the cost of demolition. You can view the details here (this is an Excel document - if you get a request for a password, just cancel and continue).  The actual demolition cost would depend on how materials are disposed of, the method of demolition (deconstruction vs. complete demolition), and how much of the foundation would be left in-ground.  The Merkur estimate also does not include retirement of the $361,088 debt still owed to Burlington Electric nor the cost to build a park on the Moran site (approx. $1.9 million). Environmental Concerns Assessment Activities Over the past few years, CEDO’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funded Brownfields* Program has retained several environmental consulting firms to assess current environmental conditions; conduct on-going monitoring of groundwater, indoor air, and water and sediments inside the building; and establish stabilization and remediation plans for the site. Here are some recent reports that describe conditions at the site: Phase II Environmental Site Assessment (May 2005) Additional Assessment Report (January 2006) Estimated Clean-up cost  (October 2007) Semi-Annual Groundwater Monitoring Report (July 2008) Basement water and sediment lab report (August 2008) DEC-approved Corrective Action Plan for building interior (March 2009) Revised Clean-up budget (February 2009) As of October 2008, CEDO’s Brownfields Program no longer had funds to spend on the Moran project.  The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission’s Brownfields Initiative (also EPA-funded) has agreed to pay for on-going groundwater monitoring, and further assessment and stabilization work at Moran.  In August 2008, the EPA selected the Moran Center as one of just 16 projects nationally for a Brownfields Sustainability Pilot program award, which will provide technical assistance to assess the feasibility of implementing the "green building" aspects of the Moran project, including 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.  A complete report will be posted when complete. *Brownfields are real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Closing the Sluiceways The Moran building has intake and outflow sluiceways that allow water from Lake Champlain to occupy the sub-basement chambers that were part of the cooling process for the former power generating operations. When the plant was decommissioned in 1986, the sluiceways were left open and the sump pumps were removed. The basement floor elevation is at 96 ft – exactly the same as the average lake level. The basement floor is dry for brief periods during the year, but when the Lake rises above 96 ft the basement fills with water (in the Spring, lake levels often rise above 100 ft, and there is 4 feet of standing water in the basement!). The City of Burlington is working in cooperation with the VT Department of Environmental Conservation to install a permanent barrier between Lake Champlain and the building, since there is known contamination inside the building (we have tested the sluiceway water immediately outside the building, and there is no evidence of significant contamination).  The City of Burlington is working with an environmental consultant and engineering firm to install the barrier this year, and we have requested a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do the work. Wetlands The area to the north of the Moran property was used as an above ground bulk fuel tank farm; the tanks were removed in the early 1990s.  Some of the low-lying areas surrounding the former tanks have filled with water and are “naturalizing” as emergent wetlands.  CEDO secured a $10,000 grant from the Vermont Downtown Program to conduct geotechnical, structural, environmental, and wetlands analyses at the Moran Plant site.  You can view the full Wetlands Analysis report here . One topic that the Brownfields Sustainability Pilot program (described above) will examine is possible options for ecological enhancements of the shoreline and wetlands areas.  An EPA-funded consultant visited the site in October 2008.  When there is a completed report with recommendations, it will be posted here. Land Use Considerations Zoning As a result of the “zoning rewrite” of the Comprehensive Development Ordinance, the Moran property is now located in the newly created “Downtown Waterfront – Public Trust (DW-PT)” zone. The DW-PT zone is “intended to enhance and diversify commercial and residential development in the downtown waterfront area, and to increase access, utilization, and enjoyment of the lakeshore by the community. Strong emphasis is placed on enhanced public access to the lakeshore.” The Moran Center project will need a zoning permit before construction begins, and the project will have to comply with all relevant aspects of Burlington’s zoning laws. That said, CEDO has kept the Planning and Zoning Office apprised of the Moran redevelopment plans, and the proposed uses appear to be allowable under the DW-PT designation.  A complete list of allowable uses in the DW-PT zone are described at Section 4.4.1(d)(2)(A) of the Comprehensive Development Ordinance (on pages 4-15 and 4-16).  Due to an error during the zoning rewrite process, the northern boundary of the DW-PT district was incorrectly drawn, placing the northern portion of the Moran site in the Urban Reserve zone.  A “technical correction” has been implemented, following public hearings at both the Planning Commission and City Council. Public Trust The “filled lands” in Burlington’s harbor are subject to the “Public Trust Doctrine,” which restricts certain uses to those specifically authorized by the Vermont General Assembly.  The underlying intent of the public trust restrictions is to ensure that public trust filled lands are available to the public on an open and nondiscriminatory basis.  The Public Trust restrictions have been incorporated into the new zoning ordinance, and are also discussed at Section 4.4.1(d)(2) of the Comprehensive Development Ordinance (on pages 4-15 and 4-16). Interim Development Area In 1992, the City conveyed to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board a perpetual conservation easement on the waterfront properties purchased from Central Vermont Railroad.  Most of the VHCB development restrictions apply to the “Urban Reserve,” defined as the CVRR land north of a line “running west from [the] southern end of Lakeview Terrace to Lake Champlain.”  The roughly 40-acre Urban Reserve was set aside for future generations to determine its use. The agreement also established a 6½ acre “Interim Development Area” (IDA) immediately to the south of the Urban Reserve, created specifically to focus appropriate development on the northern end of the downtown waterfront area.  There are no VHCB development restrictions in the IDA, except for some conditional uses within a 100’ foot shoreline area.  The northern half of the Moran Center project is located in the IDA.  In August 2008, VHCB’s Conservation Committee unanimously approved a request by the City to allow the proposed uses described in the Moran Center Guide.  That recommendation was accepted by the full VHCB by consent in September 2008.