CityPlace developers may have cleared a final hurdle for their downtown Burlington development project — which has been stalled since 2017.
Property management company Redstone has dropped its lawsuits against CityPlace developers and the Burlington city government. The parties came to an agreement after mediation sessions.
The agreement allows the city to buy the land Redstone still owns at 100 Bank St.; it’s needed to connect the streets surrounding the CityPlace project.
The city will buy the rights to the land for $400,000, to be paid through tax increment financing — or on the developer’s dollar, if the project doesn’t commence within two years, as stipulated by the project’s development agreement. Tax increment financing comes from taxes that result from the new development; once the investment is paid off, the tax money flows into the city coffers.
In its legal challenges, Redstone raised various concerns about the new permits the Burlington Development Review Board granted CityPlace developers this spring. In its most recent lawsuits, Redstone alleged that the city was attempting to develop its land without approval from its owners.
Attorneys representing the city called Redstone’s legal challenge an “abuse of process” in court filings. They asserted that the city was not taking Redstone’s land, and that Redstone’s leaders had been negotiating with CityPlace leaders about the land long before the lawsuits.
In a statement about the agreement, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said he is grateful that the parties were able to set aside their disagreements and reach a consensus.
“I am pleased to announce that we have reached a global settlement ensuring that we can re-knit the St. Paul and Pine Street corridors as voters envisioned, and that progress can continue on the CityPlace development to bring new jobs, new public revenues, and hundreds of much-needed homes to Burlington,” Weinberger said.
Erik Hoekstra, Redstone’s managing partner, thanked Weinberger for his work on the agreement, as did CityPlace developer Don Sinex.
“As soon as the definitive legal documents are executed by all parties and the lawsuits are withdrawn by 100 Bank, BTC will immediately restart all efforts to get the long-awaited CityPlace project underway,” Sinex said.
The agreement provides Redstone 200 parking permits at the city’s monthly rates in either the Lakeview or College Street parking garages for five years, with an option to renew. In Redstone’s initial complaint about the new permits for CityPlace, it contended that the apartment complex did not provide enough parking for the downtown area’s needs.
John Franco, a local attorney who has for years contested the project on behalf of a group of clients, also previously raised concerns about parking availability and considered appealing CityPlace’s permits to Vermont’s Environmental Court.
CityPlace developers preemptively sued Franco in an attempt to block any more legal challenges to the project. Sinex is also seeking damages from Franco’s clients, for continually challenging the CityPlace project in court.
Franco told VTDigger on Friday that his clients no longer want to pursue an appeal of CityPlace’s new permits. He said he’s filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against his clients, but hasn’t yet heard whether the judge will agree.
