Burlington waterfront projects get underway this summer
Coverage by: WPTZ / David Charns
BURLINGTON, Vt. —On Town Meeting Day, Burlington voters overwhelmingly approved plans to revitalize the city’s waterfront, so how are the projects coming along?
The Community and Economic Development Office, which is overseeing the slate of six waterfront investments, predicts you could start seeing changes along Lake Champlain by the end of summer.
Before bids are put out on the projects, CEDO is looking toward the lake, figuring out how the harbor has changed in the past decade.
“Our weather patterns and our usage in our harbor are different,” said CEDO’s Nate Wildfire. “I think anybody that was here when I was not, and was here for Irene or for any of the big storms know that the actual way our winds and waves operate in our harbor is actually different.”
Wildfire said wind and wave patterns have changed since the last harbor study.
“We’re starting to get significant wind from a large fetch to the north that kind of barrels through our northern harbor, as well as to the south, which we didn’t have before,” Wildfire said. “If you ever want to know what that looks like go down to the Community Sailing Center on any day that it’s blustery.”
What Wildfire called the “spine” of the waterfront projects, Waterfront Access North, will begin construction later this summer, he said.
The city put in a $7.8 million bond application last week for upgrades near the Moran Plant to the bike path, Waterfront Park and the sailing center and better access to Lake Champlain from that area.
As for the Moran Plant itself, project leaders have filed as a non-profit to raise money. Developers must raise tens of millions of dollars to privately fund the project. They plan to revitalize the building that has been vacant since the 1980s with public spaces, restaurant and a brewery. Wildfire said Moran Plant developers have raised more than $200,000 to commission a study to see if they can pull of their design.
As for other projects:
- The city is waiting to hear from the Agency of Natural Resources regarding improvements to Waterfront Park. The city has planned $800,000 in upgrades to improve electric and water infrastructure.
- Designers have begun work on a new marina design. They are waiting for the result of the Harbor Management Plan.
- Leaders at the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center have laid out what they want in a Sustainability Park to be built outside the center.
City Council will become more involved as the spaces require lease agreements to move forward, Wildfire said.
