Almost 35 years after the Moran Plant was decommissioned on the Burlington waterfront, crews began a “deconstruction” project Wednesday that will turn the five-story structure into the Moran Frame, the centerpiece of a new public park for the city.
The project will peel back the brick and concrete exterior of the former coal-fired power plant, revealing the steel frame beneath, which will remain intact. Then, after hazardous materials such as asbestos and lead paint are dealt with in and around the structure, a grassy park will be created at its base.
At the sunny groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Miro Weinberger reflected on a campaign promise he made nine years ago, when he first ran for mayor, to solve the Moran problem. It had become a derelict building right on Burlington’s waterfront.
“It is a great honor and, frankly, a great relief to be delivering on that today,” he told the crowd of almost 100, nearly all of whom had worked on the project at some point over the last three decades.
Many things were envisioned for the Moran Plant over the years; most went nowhere because of high costs. Weinberger had even pledged to tear the building down if the most recent vision for the site, dubbed “New Moran,” should fail — which it did in 2017.
But when demolition estimates came in at $10 million for removing the structure and decontaminating the grounds, Weinberger asked the Community Economic Development Office to make a last-ditch effort to find a cheaper alternative for the site. That’s when the Frame concept was born. It quickly gained approval from the City Council in 2019.
“Burlington has a number of projects that have been longstanding and remain unresolved for decades around the city,” Weinberger said at the groundbreaking Wednesday. “And for Moran today to join City Hall Park, the new bus station, and the nearly completely rebuilt bike path should restore our confidence that, as a community, we can get big things done.”
He said the project will complete the revitalization of the northern waterfront, alongside the Community Sailing Center, skate park, bike path and dog park, all of which are within a few hundred feet of the plant.
Former Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle said the waterfront of today is a far cry from what it was 40 years ago, when he began work in city government.
“It was a wasteland. Every undesirable use you could imagine was on this waterfront,” Clavelle said. “Junkyards, generating plants that spewed ashes into the neighborhoods, abandoned rail tracks, sewage treatment facilities, ugly, rusty oil tanks. Nobody came here, there was no reason to … but we’ve come a long way as a community.”
Weinberger said he considered ceremonial shovels or sledgehammers for the ceremony, but ultimately decided on a pile of bricks from the original 1953 building — giving one away to everyone who had some part in reimagining the site.
The project has a $6.55 million budget, including $3.5 million from the Waterfront TIF district, a $2 million redevelopment loan from the federal Agency of Housing and Urban Development, and an expected $950,000 settlement from the Burlington Electric Department for environmental costs.
Should more funding come through, a second phase of the project could allow for public bathrooms, shade structures, waterfront paths and viewing decks. Weinberger said he’s confident that philanthropic donations will allow those things to be done.
The project should be completed by the end of 2021.
