Three months after taking office, Mayor Miro Weinberger made good Monday on his promise to deliver a “go-no go” decision on the future of the Moran Generating Station on Burlington’s Waterfront.
The mayor’s answer was no.
“The city will not go forward with the former administration’s plan to have the City of Burlington serve as the developer of a complicated, speculative, commercial real estate venture,” the mayor announced. “I will not risk Moran becoming another Burlington Telecom.”
At the same time, Weinberger announced plans to ask the City Council to authorize the investment of $3 million in Tax Incremental Financing to rebuild the heavily trafficked waterfront section of the bike path. The proposal is part of a “five-point action plan for near-term progress on the northern waterfront.” The steps include:
- A new competitive process to determine the future of the Moran building and site;
- Proceeding with long-planned improvements to the area around Moran known as Waterfront Access North;
- Seeking a permanent home for the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center within the next year;
- Transforming the bike path into “an enhanced, modern, world-class recreation amenity” with the use of a $3 million TIF investment;
- Moving forward with planning for the Urban Reserve, an area north of Moran set aside 20 years ago.
Weinberger made the announcement near the waterfront skate park, flanked by a dozen community leaders who have been involved in waterfront projects. Chapin Spencer, a member of the Bike Path task force, said he welcomed Weinberger’s decision, while representatives of the sailing center said they are pleased to work with the administration on finding a home.
Joseph Boutin, who chaired a Moran Blue Ribbon Committee, cited the growing challenges of the project. “I am pleased to see our new mayor responding to these concerns and charting a new course,” he said in a statement.
Explaining the decision not to proceed with a plan developed by former Mayor Bob Kiss, Weinberger pointed out that there was no precedent for the city to succeed as a commercial developer. It also rested on a highly complex financial arrangement, he added, and this is not the right time for “further speculative financial adventures by the city.”
