The application takes up two massive binders, accompanied by several large architectural drawings that don’t fit in the binders. The application, submitted Friday, covers only the new structure planned for the block from Pine to St. Paul streets and Cherry to Bank streets.
That building would be the tallest in Vermont, reaching 14 stories in some places, and is expected to include housing, offices, retail and parking. Construction of that portion of the redevelopment is expected to cost $125 million.
Sinex said at a recent news conference, after the passage of two ballot measures integral to his project, that he has raised the $200 million he needs to finance the entire redevelopment, but he said nothing about who the investors are. He promised more information in the coming weeks.
Sinex has not applied to build another structure planned for the half of the mall facing Church Street. That structure is greatly scaled back from what was anticipated in the original proposal and will include a much smaller amount of commercial space.
The latest project design can be seen here.
Sinex’s company Devonwood Investors LLC paid close to $390,000 in permit application fees Monday morning. City officials who reviewed the lengthy application say all that’s missing from their checklist is architectural wall cross-section illustrations.
Once the application is complete, it will be reviewed by the Conservation Board and Design Advisory Board. It’s going to take several special meetings of both boards in the first half of 2017, according to city officials, for them to review the Town Center project and another large project slated for the former Burlington College campus that’s currently under review.
The conservation and design boards will then make recommendations to the Development Review Board, which has final permit authority for projects in Burlington.
Sinex is hoping to begin construction quickly once the permits are issued because his anchor tenant for the project, the University of Vermont Medical Center, has current leases that end in January 2019. The hospital is expected to rent office space in Sinex’s building.
Construction is expected to take 18 months, so Sinex needs to start by July if he is to accommodate the medical center.
The section of the current Town Center Mall from Pine to Church streets will remain open during construction of the first portion of the project from Pine to St. Paul streets.
However, there isn’t enough space — even with several vacancies and plans to further subdivide — in that half of the mall to accommodate all existing tenants.
That means some businesses, including some independent stores, likely will have to close or move to another location.