This commentary is by Ron Jacobs, who lives in Winooski and spends a fair amount of his time in Burlington to shop, work and play.
Instead of giving the corporate and financial predators more time to fulfill their “promise” regarding the failed but not forgotten City Place project in downtown Burlington, let me propose a better alternative.
Those financiers, developers and others involved in the project have had several years to produce what was promised. The voters of Burlington even gave them money to play with, yet the only thing that has been built in the space proposed is a fence to keep curious eyes from peeking.
In other words, that group of scammers have had their chance. It’s time for a new proposal — a proposal that would benefit local businesses, residents, tourists and transients while providing a template for a greener future not beholden to interests who care about their profits and little else.
Simply put, the proposal sketched out in this article would be locally owned, locally financed and answerable to those who live and work in the region. The whims of a CEO more concerned about tax shelters in the Caymans and bigger projects and profits elsewhere would not determine the fate of the project or an individual store that might be part of the project.
The money made would be kept as local as possible and taxes would benefit the city, not be negotiated away in the name of courting a heartless corporate entity that pays too little in taxes already. The businesses allowed to participate would be Vermont-based, both cooperative and private, and committed to an environmentally friendly model.
Here are a few general suggestions for the space:
- Small, locally owned businesses and restaurants, cooperatively and privately owned.
- A green space with a small bandshell for entertainment, etc.
- An indoor farmers market to operate year-round, owned and operated through the city.
- A permanent low-barrier shelter with cots, showers, job search and mental health resources, and other appropriate services for houseless and other people down on their luck
The first part of this undertaking would involve getting the property into the public domain. This was done in the 1980s under the Sanders administration, when citizens rallied to turn the Burlington Waterfront into parkland. It will be a challenge, given the refusal of many legislators to see property as something besides a way to make money, but with the proper convergence of political will and the mobilization of the people, it can be done.
The second part would require the floating of a public bond to the voters of Burlington. This was done in the 1990s when Onion River Food Co-op members decided to try to become the downtown grocery store in Burlington after the Price Chopper closed down. As anyone can attest, the market succeeded beyond our dreams, paying back the money it borrowed from the taxpayers in less than 10 years. In fact, its success enabled the opening of another store in Burlington’s South End.
Unlike Sinex and others involved in the boondoggle known as City Place, the recipients of this loan would not be corporate/bank scammers, but locals who consider the success of the space their primary goal.
This is a very general concept in the making. It requires architects, planners, attorneys, regular citizens, organizers, dreamers and others to make it real. It also needs support from Burlington’s City Council.
The fate of the space called CityPlace needs to be addressed in the upcoming campaign and city council election in Burlington. It is certain that there will be many roadblocks. We cannot be one of them.
There will also be naysayers and resistance. We should ignore the naysayers and neutralize the resistance we cannot convince by our actions.