With Unanimous City Council Approval, CityPlace Burlington is a Go!

CityPlace Burlington
BTC Mall Associates, LLC
February 23, 2021

For Immediate Release:

Don Sinex, Managing Member of the CityPlace Burlington Team, is pleased to announce that the Burlington City Council voted unanimously tonight to approve the recently amended and restated Development Agreement reached between Mayor Miro Weinberger and our Development Team.

“I’d like to thank the Mayor and the City Council for all their hard work to reach this historic milestone. CityPlace Burlington will bring many benefits to our Downtown community, Chittenden County, the State of Vermont, and far beyond. Tonight’s vote means we can finally begin planning the construction of this long-awaited project and gives us a solid framework to move forward.” stated Don Sinex.

After the City Council tabled the vote February 16, we came back to the table and negotiated an amendment with the City which secures further benefits for the workers who will build the project. In response to this amendment, the Vermont Building and Construction Trades Council has announced its strong support for the project.

“…I also am appreciative of City Councilors Karen Paul and Brian Pine for their hard work and collaborative efforts over the last few weeks to help the City, Developer, and Trades Council find common ground. This agreement delivers substantial benefits to both Burlington and hundreds of construction workers.” Mayor Miro Weinberger said in a statement yesterday.

“While maintaining management and control over our project, we are delighted to further commit to pay the Prevailing Wage rates to all construction workers at our project and our team looks forward to working with all trades in Burlington to produce an outstanding project that will provide so many wonderful benefits to the City and all its citizens,” said Don Sinex, the managing member of the CityPlace Burlington development team.

Dave Farrington, a CityPlace Burlington Development Partner, added “The local partners in this development have excellent records of paying well and keeping their workers safe. Our intention has always been to make sure that is the spirit of this entire project, and we are happy to formally make that commitment.”

“CityPlace Burlington represents an enormous opportunity for Vermont construction workers, and the Developer’s commitment to pay prevailing wages guarantees that all workers on the job will be compensated well. We can’t wait to get to work on this outstanding project.” — Tim LaBombard, President of the Vermont Building and Construction Trades Council.

With this revised Development Agreement signed and approved, and having recently received a favorable vote from both the Design Advisory Board and the Conservation Board, CityPlace Burlington can now continue moving through the regulatory and approval process.

On March 3rd, the revised project plan will be presented to the Development Review Board (DRB) for approval. Once the DRB issues the amended zoning permit, the CityPlace Burlington Team will initiate all the steps necessary to start construction, including arranging the necessary financing, preparing the required construction drawings, and resolving all other pending matters.

The CityPlace Burlington Team will now move forward on gifting the land to the City of Burlington for the new Pine Street and St. Paul Street reconnections, and make good on our commitment to construct these streets if the project is unable to start construction by an agreed date.

We also are proud to work with the City on the critical challenge of climate change, making the project less fossil fuel dependent with a good faith and reasonable effort to redesign its heating system as an all-electric thermal system. This effort, along with the project’s LEED® Gold designation, is aligned with the Mayor’s commitment to attain carbon neutrality in Burlington. More details on CityPlace Burlington’s commitment to sustainable development can be found at cityplaceburlington.com/sustainable-development.

The entire CityPlace Burlington Development Team would like to thank the people of Burlington for their patience and perseverance though this process. We look forward to breaking ground soon on this transformative project, to bring more housing, new jobs, new streets, community spaces and renewed economic vitality to our Downtown.

For Further Information Contact:

Brad Pettengill
VP Marketing, CityPlace Burlington
Devonwood Investors / BTC Mall Associates, LLC
progress@cityplaceburlington.com