BURLINGTON — Mayor Miro Weinberger publicly declared Friday that the city will take legal action if the CityPlace developers don’t come up with a plan that sidelines developer Don Sinex.
Under Sinex’s previous leadership, the $220 million project stalled for years. Buildings were razed on the site in 2018, leaving a block-sized hole in the middle of downtown Burlington.
Sinex, the managing director of Devonwood, told the Burlington Free Press Friday he recently acquired a majority share of the CityPlace project from Brookfield Properties. Once again, he’s in charge.
Sinex has also brought in Al Senecal of Omega Electric, Dave Farrington of Farrington Construction, and Scott Ireland of S.D. Ireland Companies as local partners on the project, according to the Free Press.
Four minutes before Weinberger’s scheduled press conference on Friday afternoon, the city canceled it and declined to answer any follow-up questions about the development.
“Given legal considerations, I have to cancel this 2:30 pm availability,” wrote Olivia LaVecchia, a spokesperson for the mayor. “I will be back in touch to share a written statement from the mayor before the end of the day, and will not be taking additional questions at this time.”
In the statement issued later, Weinberger said Devonwood “has provided no assurances that they can take on the major financial commitments to the city that Brookfield is currently responsible for. The new partnership has provided no evidence that they will be able to produce better results in the future than a Don Sinex-led partnership has delivered over the last six years.”
The site has sat idle since August 2018, as the project has struggled to receive financing, and construction restart dates have come and gone without action.
Additionally, Weinberger said Devonwood has asked the city to drop any claims it may have against Brookfield for failing to deliver on the project — “claims potentially worth many millions of dollars to the people of Burlington, to commit to a new development agreement with Devonwood now, and to save our questions for later,” Weinberger said. “That approach is not going to work. Brookfield, and Devonwood must propose a more reasonable and responsible path forward if they wish to avoid litigation.”
On Monday, Weinberger urged the Burlington City Council to work with the administration to coordinate a unified response to Brookfield.
“I think part of the purpose of having an executive session tonight, just so the public is clear, if the path forward involves robust legal action, which it might, I think it’s important that the council and the administration be unified,” he said at the council meeting Monday night. “That is why tonight’s session was important. It is my hope that if not tonight, certainly over the coming weeks, we will get through to a unified position that we’re able to pursue.”
In July, Weinberger said Sinex’s return to leading the project would be “unacceptable” to the city.
“It would constitute a breach of faith and a betrayal of trust,” he said. “Brookfield should keep its commitment to the people of Burlington and see the project through to completion as it has repeatedly promised.”
Sinex was the public face of the project for years as it remained stuck in a bog of delays. But he was sidelined when Brookfield announced in January 2019 that it would manage the project, a shift welcomed by city officials who believed Brookfield could get the project back on track.
On a July 16 call, Brookfield changed its tune after more than a year of reassurances and told the city that it was taking steps to sell its interest and return management authority to Sinex.
Weinberger sent Brookfield a default letter in July, alleging “bad faith and fraud” and charging that the company had breached its development agreement with the city.
He said the city was prepared to sue the company for damages and ownership of the land the city had planned to use to connect St. Paul and Pine streets through the site.
Jeff Glassberg, the city’s consultant on the project, told the City Council Monday that national third parties are interested in continuing the project and that Sinex’s Devonwood has also presented plans to continue the project without Brookfield.
According to Weinberger’s letter Aug. 14, no specific plans have apparently been presented.
Sinex did not return repeated requests for comment.
