Mayor Miro Weinberger Announces City of Burlington Closes with CityPlace Developer on Land to Reknit Pine and St. Paul Streets
Reconnection of lost streets is guaranteed at no cost or risk to taxpayers, and the developer may advance transformational project
Burlington, VT – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced that on May 14 the City and CityPlace developers closed on the Settlement Agreement and Amended and Restated Development Agreement approved and authorized by the Burlington City Council on February 25, 2021.
As a result of the closing, the streets will be reconnected through the former mall site at no cost to taxpayers, the City secured millions of dollars in public benefits, and the City has dropped its lawsuit – the legal relationship between the City and developer is now defined by the Amended and Restated Development Agreement and the Developer can now advance the transformational commercial and housing development toward the start of construction.
“Reconnecting Pine and St. Paul Streets is a long-held goal of the City that will transform and enable to flourish a section of our downtown that has been troubled for decades. This reconnection will happen,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “I appreciate the hard work that went into reaching this important milestone by all parties involved and am pleased the CityPlace developers can now move forward on this great project that will bring new activity, housing and affordable housing, and good jobs into the heart of our City. The new development agreement now in place ensures that their success will be Burlington’s success.”
Don Sinex stated: “The Cityplace Team is happy to be part of returning these long lost streets back to the citizens of Burlington – for future generations to enjoy and interact in the new spaces being constructed. Scott, Dave, Al, and I are pleased to close our deal with the City and we all look forward to clearing out the remaining challenges and obstacles facing the CityPlace project and starting construction.”
Settlement Delivers Reconnected Streets
St. Paul and Pine Streets will be reconnected through the former mall site. This has been addressed in key ways:
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The developers transferred to the City, at no cost to taxpayers, deeds to the land on which the reconnected St. Paul and Pine Streets will be built, which the developer had appraised by a National real estate consulting firm at $4.3 million.
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The City received a guarantee from the CityPlace developers to reconnect St. Paul and Pine streets at no cost to taxpayers if the developers do not succeed in starting to build the project in approximately two years, or if the developers start but do not continue in keeping with established milestones. The value of this construction contract is estimated at $3.2 million.
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If the project does proceed as planned, then the City will reimburse the developer for the cost of the streets, including other costs outlined in the new development agreement, from the Waterfront TIF district - which uses income generated by new revenues from the project – not taxpayers. Some street finishes in areas other than around the project site would be built later, outside of this contract to avoid the need to rip out newly constructed work.
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