[C]ity officials are “eager” for work to begin on the massive redevelopment of downtown Burlington, a project plagued for months by rants, threats and friction between the lead developer and key city officials, as well as “problems” and the near firing of the general contractor overseeing construction.
A month and a half after receiving approval to lay the foundation — a project that the developers insisted this summer was urgent — the concrete has not been poured and, city officials said, the developers have not been issued, or “pulled,” the permit.
Instead, several large pits remain at the vast construction site, which takes up several city blocks near the Church Street Marketplace and will replace the former Burlington Square Mall.
City officials, including Mayor Miro Weinberger, are clearly frustrated work has not begun in earnest, particularly after the developers issued threats and laid down deadlines they said had to be met this summer.
Weinberger said by email Tuesday that it was “time for the developers to act” and keep the public regularly informed.
“The City is concerned about the lack of progress on the site and is in frequent contact with Don Sinex and Brookfield Asset Management about those concerns. The City has made good on all of its commitments to the project. It is time for the developers to act and begin site construction, and to communicate their progress to the public regularly,” the mayor said.
On Monday, two small bulldozers scooped earth at the construction site and moved it into one of the holes. Several other larger pieces of equipment, including a bulldozer and crane, remained idle. There has been no significant construction activity since mid-August when the demolition of all the buildings at the site, including the mall, was completed.
“We expected to see foundation construction soon after” the City Council approved an amended development agreement on Aug. 27 “and so we’re eager to see that work start,” said Neale Lunderville, the city’s top development official who runs the Community and Economic Development Office.
“It’s been six weeks,” he said.
The lead developer, Don Sinex, told VTDigger on Tuesday it would be another “two to three weeks” before the foundation project would begin because some environmental remediation work needed to be completed. Asbestos was found on the site during demolition.
“As far as the foundation, I am finishing up some additional Geotech work and finalizing the pile program so I am looking for a start to the foundation work in about two to three weeks after the Geotech work is completed,” Sinex said by email Tuesday. Geotech is an environmental consultant company in Winooski.
In a subsequent email, Sinex said he also needed to work out details of the contract with the construction manager before going forward with the foundation work.
Laying the foundation is expected to take at least three months to complete, possibly more, moving the project into the winter when concrete can be more difficult to pour. The original construction schedule called for the foundation to be poured in the summer and completed in September.
CityPlace Burlington would have a mix of commercial, retail and residential space. The $242 million project would include two buildings 14 stories tall. The lead developer is Sinex and his New York firm, Devonwood Investors. The construction manager, or general contractor overseeing the project, is PC Construction, the Shelburne-based, employee-owned company that used to be Pizzagalli Construction.
According to public records obtained by VTDigger, Sinex and Lunderville exchanged barbed emails throughout July and August over the issuing of the foundation permit, including threats by Sinex to shut down the project and charges he made that the city was delaying the project unnecessarily and acting in bad faith.
Relations with the city were not the only area of tension for Sinex and the developers.
In August, Sinex told the city that the developers had decided to fire PC Construction and planned to notify PC the following week. The developers did not follow through, though sources said Sinex has interviewed other construction companies, including DEW Construction Corp., to possibly take over the next phase of the project after the foundation is laid.
Sinex said Tuesday in an email that he expects PC Construction to continue as construction manager through the next phase of the project. But he admitted problems with the company and also acknowledged he can be difficult to work with. Sinex said part of the current holdup was working out an agreement with the construction manager, which he said contained some “thorny” issues.
“The problems in the past were minor in the scheme of things but understand I manage the project intensely and I am a very hands-on style of developer and I also expect a lot from my CM [construction manager] regarding budget and timeline and at times I was unhappy with the performance,” Sinex said Tuesday.
“I see a lot of good things in PC and we have worked out the problems that I had experienced so we are moving forward. The CM agreement must be finalized and there are thorny issues to resolve to our satisfaction like delivery, completion guaranty, late delivery damages and the like; all of which must be finalized but as I say I am optimistic that we will work it with PC. As you may surmise, the CM agreement must be in place before we pick up on the foundation work and we are pushing to conclude the agreement,” Sinex said Tuesday.
In a Sept. 10 email to update Lunderville, Sinex said PC Construction was “still in the running” to be the general contractor for the next phase. A phone message on Tuesday to Jay Fayette, the head of PC Construction, was not returned. PC spokesperson Crystal DelleChiaie said by email Wednesday that PC was still under contract.
“We are awaiting word from our client, Don Sinex, on the next phase of the work. Our team remains in place and is ready to go,” DelleChiaie said.
Relations between Sinex and Lunderville were at times tense. In one exchange in July, Sinex rejected Lunderville’s request for a meeting with Sinex’s major investor, Brookfield Associates, about issues including the problems the developer was having with PC Construction.
“There will be no conversation with Brookfield on this matter whether you want it or not, Brookfield is investing $56 million in the City and you do not know the frustrations and problems we have suffered with PC and I leave it up to Brookfield to make its decision regarding PC with no influence from or by the city,” Sinex wrote.
“I manage this project and I am not a school child,” he concluded the email.
In early August, Sinex informed Lunderville that Brookfield had decided they would terminate PC Construction the following week. A joint announcement between the developers and PC was planned to “get ahead of the gossip, rumors and the press.”
That termination never came.
Later, in the first week of September, Sinex told Lunderville in an update that the developers were still looking for a new construction manager. The developers would contract with SD Ireland, a Burlington cement company, directly for the foundation project, Sinex told Lunderville, but still needed to work out the price.
Throughout the summer, Sinex complained repeatedly to Lunderville about delays in getting the foundation permit — he emphasized the urgent need to get the permit issued and keep the project moving forward. Part of the process to get the foundation permit included amending a development agreement with the city. A key requirement in the original agreement was for the developers to have all their financing lined up for the entire project before the first concrete was laid.
For example, Sinex told Lunderville in early July that if a new agreement were required it would delay the permit for weeks and “at that pace, I might as well shut the job down and start from scratch.” Sinex concluded in the email: “If you sense my great frustrations you are correct.”
Part of the problem, Sinex wrote, was that some of the subcontractors had other work lined up and would have to reschedule and come back later to work on CityPlace. Despite the pressure from Sinex, it took until Aug. 27 for the City Council to approve the request to amend the development agreement.
The idea was that even though the developers didn’t have all their financing lined up, it made sense to go ahead and let them pour the foundation. Supporters said whether CityPlace went forward or not, any future project would need a foundation and that pouring it now — a $13 million project — would keep the momentum going.
That was six weeks ago.
The August City Council approval was almost delayed further. Just days before the City Council meeting, which had been specifically called to vote on the amended agreement, the developers missed the deadline to provide information so it could be included on the meeting agenda. City officials were able to get the information included even though it was after the deadline and the meeting went ahead.
Later, after the approval, city officials had to pester Sinex for the developers to return the signature page to make the new development agreement binding.
One of the harshest emails from Sinex came in mid-August, before the City Council meeting, when a Seven Days reporter asked Lunderville whether there was a “rift” between the developers and PC Construction. Lunderville said he was aware of “disagreements” and that the city had encouraged the two parties to work out their differences.
Sinex shot back that Lunderville should have told the reporter her “characterizations are most likely wrong” and sent her to Sinex. He told Lunderville “you fuel her fire” by speaking of problems with the contractor and requested future city comments be approved first.
Lunderville is leaving CEDO at the end of the year. The city just hired a consultant to oversee the CityPlace project, Jeff Glassberg.
On Tuesday, Sinex insisted there were banks interested in financing the whole project and, as he has said before, that he expects to have the financing wrapped up by the end of the year.
“Nothing concrete,” he said of any financing, but added “I can assure you there is a lot of interest in the financing.”
As for concerns about pouring the foundation in winter, Sinex said: “Seriously, winter is not an obstacle and I plan to work right through it — not that we won’t have some cold and bitter days. But we go year round!”
Ed. Note: This story was updated Wednesday at 1 p.m. with comments from PC spokesperson Crystal DelleChiaie.
