FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2016
Contact: Katie Vane
802.734.0617
Public-Private Marina Project Agreement Advances to the City Council
Will Create New Public Park, Add Long-Desired New Slips to City’s Harbor
The Board of Finance voted unanimously (4-0) on Monday, June 13 to recommend approval of a development agreement for the Burlington Harbor Marina project to City Council for its consideration on June 27.
“The exciting transformation of the northern waterfront that broke ground in 2014 is continuing to gather momentum,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “The new marina will build on the City’s recent northern waterfront public infrastructure investments and bring additional visitors and activity to a section of the lakeshore that had been largely abandoned for decades. The project’s new park and public amenities will create new opportunities to enjoy Lake Champlain and our spectacular waterfront.”
Burlington is the largest city on Lake Champlain but has the ninth largest marina. The City has had long waiting lists for slips for many years, and the lack of transient mooring options causes the City to turn away many would-be visitors every year. Expanding the number of boat slips is an important strategy for creating economic opportunity and increasing the use of our waterfront.
The Burlington Harbor Marina project, a public-private partnership that includes the creation of a substantial new public park along the waterfront, would be built between the U.S. Coast Guard Station and the Burlington fishing pier on public lake frontage just south of the Community Sailing Center and Moran Plant. The project includes improvements such as a perimeter-wide floating breakwater open to the public, a floating facility with public restrooms, an interior dock with 160 slips, 40 percent of which will be reserved for transient boaters, a waterfront plaza, pump-out facilities and other services for boaters, and a water taxi stand.
The marina project was part of the plan for the northern waterfront developed during the year-long Public Investment Action Plan process. This process culminated in the overwhelming voter approval of the plan on Town Meeting Day in 2014. The City Council unanimously approved an MOU for the project in May, 2015. The City Council Parks Arts and Culture Committee has also reviewed the proposed project in recent months and recommended City Council approval of the marina agreement.
“We are looking forward to seeing the world-class facility and service we envisioned become a reality on the northern waterfront,” said project developers Chuck Deslauriers and Jack Wallace. “We are confident that Burlington Harbor Marina will help make Burlington the number one boater destination on Lake Champlain. We have enjoyed a lot of support from the community, especially the local boating community who looks forward to improved access to the lake.”
Following approval of the Development Agreement by the City Council, the project will need to complete permitting with the Burlington Development Review Board, along with state and federal regulatory agencies. The marina developers expect to open the new slips and complete construction in 2018.
*The proposed Development Agreement and images of the Burlington Harbor Marina project are available here: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/CEDO/Harbor-Marina
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