- April 2023: City Council Work Session
- November 2022: Mayor Weinberger Celebrates Opening of the Moran Frame
- February 2020: City Council presentation, City Council memo
- August 2020: Mayor Miro Weinberger Announces Groundbreaking on the Moran Frame
- June 2019: Mayor Miro Weinberger Announces Opening of Water Works Park
- December 2018: City Council Presentation
- September 2017: City and New Moran, Inc. Cease Moran Redevelopment Effort
- January 2014: Mayor Miro Weinberger Announces Slate of Public Investment Action Plan Projects for Waterfront TIF District
- July 2012: Mayor Miro Weinberger Announces "NoGo" Decision on Moran; Unveils Five-Point Action Plan for Near-Term Progress on Northern Waterfront
- September 2023: Public Meeting Slides and Recording
- May 2023: Selected Proposal from Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA)
- April 2023: Moran Frame Phase II Conceptual Design RFP
Although Burlington Electric Department did an excellent job decommissioning the coal-fired Moran electric generating plant in 1986, some environmental contamination remained in and around the building. The completion of the first phase or redevelopment at the Moran Frame also completed the comprehensive clean-up of the site. Documents related to the assessment and clean up of the site can be found below.
- September 2011: VT Department of Environmental Conservation Approval of Corrective Action Plan
- August 2011: Moran and Waterfront Access North Corrective Action Plan (CAP)
- March 2009: DEC-Approved Corrective Action Plan for Building Interior
- February 2009: Revised Clean-up Budget
- August 2008: Basement Water and Sediment Lab Report
- July 2008: Semi-Annual Groundwater Monitoring Report
- October 2007: Estimated Clean-up Cost
- January 2006: Additional Assessment Report
- May 2005: Phase II Environmental Site Assessment
Since the transfer of the Moran Plant from Burlington Electric to the City Council, many proposals have been crafted for adaptive re-use for public benefit. A Renaissance Center for Science and the Arts was proposed, but lacked support and fundraising capacity. The ECHO Center considered and rejected the Moran site, and a proposal to relocate the Discovery Children’s Museum to Moran failed to come to fruition. Burlington Parks and Recreation considered a recreation center on the waterfront north of Moran, but concluded that the cost of construction and the regular subsidies required to operate such a facility were beyond the means of the City. The idea of a baseball stadium was advanced, but it became clear that a stadium did not fit on the site.
A Request for Letters of Interest in 1993 yielded several proposals, all with inadequate funding or programming plans. The City issued a second request for proposals in 1995, and a proposal by UVM’s Fleming Museum was selected. After several years of planning, the Fleming chose to not move forward, instead turning their energy to further develop on UVM’s main campus.
The reasons for past proposal failures vary: it can be argued that they have been either too extravagant, costly or unrealistic in terms of site conditions, design and engineering, development costs and parking, and/or involved unrealistic operating income projections.
- Fall 2017: Administration charges CEDO with developing the Moran Municipal Generating Station Deconstruction and Demolition Study. This study provides detailed information regarding the costs for various demolition scenarios and steps needed for any redevelopment of the site. The demolition costs as stated in the report in 2017 dollars could range from $3,983,773 to $5,414,966 for Scenario 1 (building would be demolished to current grade) to $8,745,230 and $10,716,661 for Scenario 4 which requires extensive environmental remediation.
- Fall 2017: City and New Moran, Inc. Cease Moran Redevelopment Effort
- Fall 2016: Request for Qualification (RFQ) and Detailed Letter of Approach for the redevelopment and operation of the Moran Plant and associated lands. A redacted version of the proposal submitted by New Moran Inc. on December 22, 2016, can be found HERE
- March 2014: The Public Investment Action Plan Process
- July 2, 2012: Mayor Weinberger releases an "Open Letter to the People of Burlington" about the future direction for the redevelopment of the Moran site
- As part of the Moran Revisioned process, the City launched the Waterfront and Downtown Public Investment Action Plan (PIAP)
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.
On September 13, 2010, after consideration by the Parks, Arts & Culture Committee; Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization Committee; and the Board of Finance, the City Council resolved to formally submit a nomination of the Moran Municipal Generating Station to the State of Vermont State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and to the National Park Service for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Click here to review the National Register of Historic Places Nomination for Moran.
The Burlington Historic Preservation Review Committee (BHPRC) reviewed this nomination at their meeting on October 12, 2010, and unanimously recommended this property for inclusion on the National Register to the State [BHPRC Recommendation] The Vermont Advisory Council on Historic Preservation recommended this property for inclusion on the National Register.
The Moran Municipal Generating Station was listed on the National Register of Historic places on December 17, 2010.
About the Moran Frame
Site & Project History
Friends of the Frame
Interpretive Panels
Do you have questions about this project? Contact Samantha Dunn, Assistant Director of Community Works, CEDO, at sdunn@burlingtonvt.gov
