South Burlington voters will head to the polls Nov. 6 to decide on a $21.8 million bond to fund a community center, which officials hope will spark the creation of a downtown area on Market Street.
The proposed project includes a library, city hall and senior center that could open as soon as 2020 if voters give the city a green light to start construction talks.
The idea for the project has been kicking around for decades, officials said, but financing has always been a stumbling block. Voters have already approved reconstructing Market Street and creating a park in the area.
There are four articles about the project on the ballot, all of which need to be approved by a simple majority for the project to move forward.
Residents will not have to factor a tax increase into their decision — as is often the case with bond votes — because the project will be paid through tax increment financing, called a TIF district, and the city’s reserve fund. While the price tag on the project is $21.8 million, cash on hand brings the debt authorization the city is seeking down to $20.4 million.
TIF district financing leverages the property taxes generated by the new development to pay back the bond for building and infrastructure improvements — allowing the town to divert taxes that would otherwise go to the state education fund and the municipality.
The community center will be located adjacent to the Allard Square senior housing project, at the end of the parking lot of the Rick Marcotte Central elementary school.
The first floor of the building will feature a welcome desk, senior center, library and auditorium which will seat about 120 people. The library will also use the second floor. City offices and meeting spaces will be on the third floor.
Ilona Blanchard, project director for the city, said the project will address a long-recognized need in South Burlington.
“I think this is a project that the community has been looking at, thinking about and dreaming about for decades,” Blanchard said. “I think this community has never had an identifiable center, and to have a central community gathering space is very important to the identity of a community and the ability to build community.”
The city is giving the school district the option to lease the current city hall, located at 575 Dorset St., after it is vacated by the city. After three years, the school district will be able to purchase the building for a nominal price.
The city’s recreation department will continue to use the current city hall building as needed and the city will retain use of the fire station and surrounding land.
The new library will be much larger than the current 7,000 square foot space in University Mall. The design dedicates 24,600 square feet to the library, not including the auditorium. The senior center will be the city’s first.
If voters approve the bond, the City Council will need to approve a construction contract, which would likely happen in spring 2019. If approved, the building could open as soon as fall 2020.
South Burlington city manager Kevin Dorn said that references to a downtown in the Market Street area have been included in comprehensive plans for the city dating back to the 1970s.
“The idea of having our own downtown has been around for decades and the idea of having public facilities there has been around nearly as long,” he said.
Dorn added that modern libraries serve as welcoming gathering spaces for people of all ages with varying interests and are crucial in communities of South Burlington’s size.
Voters supported $5 million in TIF funding in November 2016 for the construction of the 7.65 acre City Center Park and the Market Street renovation. City Center Park opened this summer.
The Market Street renovation project was paid for with TIF funding and a federal earmark.
The project will make Market Street, from Dorset Street to Hinesburg Road, a downtown street accessible to pedestrian, bike and vehicular traffic. Construction has started and the project is set for completion in 2019.
If approved, the community center would join a handful of other developments in the area. Residents are now moving into Allard Square, a 39-apartment senior residential community on Market Street operated by Cathedral Square. The Champlain Housing Trust has broken ground on its Garden Apartments facility on Market Street, which will include space for 60 tenants.
