[B]URLINGTON — Brookfield Asset Management will take a more active role in the day-to-day operations of CityPlace Burlington, as developer Don Sinex moves out of the spotlight.
Chase Martin, a senior vice president for Brookfield Properties, told the Burlington City Council Tuesday that the company was completely committed to the project. Sinex, who had been the face of the development, was expected to appear at the meeting but was conspicuously absent.
Brookfield, an international company based in the New York, is the majority partner in CityPlace, with 51 percent control, while Sinex’s Devonwood Investors has a 49 percent stake.
Tuesday’s meeting was Brookfield’s first public appearance in Burlington.
“Our role as an investor and owner has evolved,” Martin said. “We are now involved in the day-to-day development operations for Burlington Town Center’s transformation into CityPlace Burlington. Devonwood remains a valued partner.”
The downtown development, which replaces the former Burlington Town Center, was to be completed in January 2019. The project, however, has been mired in controversy, lawsuits and delays. Construction will not begin until the spring of 2019.
The $242 million CityPlace development features 288 apartments and 230,000 square feet of office space. Local residents have opposed the scale of the 14-story project, which required a change to the city’s zoning ordinance.
Last summer the Burlington Town Center mall, which occupied two city blocks was torn down, leaving a large fenced off hole on Church Street Marketplace, Burlington’s signature retail and pedestrian zone. Construction was supposed to begin early last fall, but the foundation has not yet been poured. Sinex has said he had not yet fully lined up funding for the project before winter set in.
Sinex, who had previously been very responsive to questions from reporters via email, told VTDigger Tuesday night that he would forward a set of questions to Brookfield. The questions included whether he was going to remain the public face of the project, why he was not at the meeting and if he was planning on seeing the project through to completion.
Sinex ruffled feathers when he blamed the city for construction delays. The city council voted in August to allow the developer to pour the project’s foundation.
Martin said that Brookfield was working on reviewing the components of the project with the goal of breaking ground in the spring. He stressed that the University of Vermont Medical Center remained committed to renting space in the facility.
“We appreciate the patience of the community … and look forward to bringing this difficult project to fruition,” he said.
Mayor Miro Weinberger said it was welcome news that Brookfield was taking the lead on the project.
“Knowing that there is a group with the technical resources and financial resources of Brookfield that is publicly fully committed to trying to get this in construction this spring is reassuring to me and I hope it’s reassuring to the people of Burlington,” Weinberger said.
Council President Kurt Wright said he felt better about the project after Tuesday’s update.
“No one really knew what was going on between Brookfield and Mr. Sinex, and we didn’t know if Brookfield had soured on the project,” he said. “We now know that they have not, they are full speed ahead, and springtime is hopefully right around the corner.”
Wright said Brookfield was clear they would be the face of the project moving forward.
“They’re the 51 percent owner, and they will be the ones that when we have questions, we will call now, it appears,” he said. “They will be giving us more regular updates and be in more regular communication with us.”
For months, Sinex had said the foundation was about to be poured and that the project’s financing was nearly secured. In October, he said that winter “was not an obstacle” and that he planned to work right through it. Those plans did not come to fruition.
Martin said the delays did not contribute to Brookfield’s new role as the public partner in the project, and Sinex would remain involved.
“Don and Devonwood are still joint venture partners,” he said. “They are still a valued partner, this is less about them and more about Brookfield’s ability to leverage our platform for development.”
Martin said Sinex was out of town and would have been at Tuesday’s meeting if he had been available.
Weinberger said he had expected Sinex to attend the meeting but there was a miscommunication and he would not further read into Sinex’s absence.
“I think it was a coordination issue, and I think it was a sign that of the communications that the city is having, a lot are coming directly from Brookfield,” he said.
Friction between Sinex and city officials bubbled up in the fall. Weinberger said the city was concerned about the lack of progress on the site and some city councilors, most notably councilor Dave Hartnett, expressed serious concerns about Sinex.
Weinberger said he thought Brookfield was wise to not try to over promise short-term results.
“What I sense from Chase Martin tonight is a desire to under commit and overdeliver, and at this point in the project I respect that and I think it’s prudent of them given where the project is at this point,” he said.
