Big plans for Park Street parcel
9/2/10
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By Greg Elias
The Associated Press
A parcel in the heart of Essex Junction that now includes rusting rails and a laundromat would be transformed into a development featuring housing, stores and a transportation hub under a plan recently presented to village officials.
Called Park Street Station, the project represents an ambitious attempt to redevelop a six-acre parcel just south of the Lincoln Inn with a public-private partnership.
Representatives of the Essex Junction-based Lincoln Development Group appeared before the village’s Board of Trustees last month and outlined the proposal, which they emphasized was based on preliminary plans subject to change. Trustees approved a memorandum of understanding pledging support for the project.
The conceptual plan calls for 200-300 housing units, which could include market-rate and affordable apartments as well as condominiums and senior living quarters. The proposal includes 25,000-30,000 square feet of street-level retail space and suggests that office space or even a hotel are possibilities.
Also proposed is a “multi-model” rail and bus station. “This would allow passengers at one location to board CCTA buses, or regional commuter rails to and from Burlington,” the plan states. “It would also service the current Amtrak route.”
Finally, the plan calls for green space and public areas, potentially including an outdoor hockey rink.
The plan’s mission statement summed up the project’s sweeping vision of converting an aging area near Five Corners into a community centerpiece.
“The investment that we make today is one that has the potential to leave its mark not just on the coming decades, but on the face of the community of Essex Junction for generations to come,” it stated.
Funding for the project, however, remains a question mark, particularly for the bus and rail station, which would be paid for with public money.
“At this point, funding is not specifically available for those components of the project,” said Michele Boomhower, executive director of the Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization.
More detailed plans are needed before public funding for the project can be obtained, she said. But Boomhower noted that this type of mixed-use, centrally located project is viewed favorably by state and federal officials, providing opportunities for grants and earmarks.
While acknowledging credit has tightened as a result of the recession, Lincoln Development Group representatives said they are confident they can obtain financing to construct the housing.
“The project is very viable,” said Benjamin Avery, the group’s vice president of development. He said the group has enough funding to carry the project through the permitting process and noted that even if the rail and bus stations don’t materialize, the housing portion of the project could stand on its own.
Ken Braverman, principal with Lincoln Development Group, said financing is indeed difficult to obtain for single-family home subdivisions. But he said money is available for developments with rental units.
“There’s a pent-up demand for housing within a village or downtown setting,” he said.
Braverman’s company helped develop the Winooski Falls project. He said occupancy rates of the development’s rental units in downtown Winooski range from 95-100 percent. He attributed that to the housing’s central location near public transportation, and noted that Park Street Station would offer a similar scenario for tenants.
The Lincoln Development Group also includes Alex McEwing, owner of the Lincoln Inn and the property to be developed. The fact that the land has a single owner bodes well for obtaining financing, Braverman said.
The parcel includes a strip of land bordered by the railroad tracks on the north side of Park Street. It runs from the Lincoln Inn to the old Flanders Lumber building, which now houses a bakery and coffee shop. The plan calls for demolishing the building that includes the coin-operated laundry but keeps the Lincoln Inn and Flanders building, Avery said.
The group intends to file more detailed plans along with its permit application to the village over the next three months, Avery said.
He said the project would likely be divided into two phases, with the housing/retail portion being completed before the train/bus station.
Braverman said permitting for the project could be completed within about a year. Then it would take about another year to construct the housing, with the transportation center likely to follow some time later.
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| Village calls for 'crescent connector' study
By Matt Ryan
Burlington Free Press - July 30, 2010
ESSEX JUNCTION -- Village officials have commissioned a study to evaluate the potential impact of a new curved road being proposed for downtown Essex Junction, which is intended to relieve traffic at Five Corners.
Dubbed the "crescent connector" by Village Manager Dave Crawford, the road would connect Vermont 2A to Vermont 117, around the Five Corners, over railroad tracks and through a parking lot near the Lincoln Inn.
The road would redirect the flow of traffic and reduce waiting time at the Five Corners, Village Development Director Robin Pierce said.
At its meeting July 20, the Essex Junction Board of Trustees reviewed an introductory presentation of a scoping study that will suggest how the road will affect the village, as well as consider right of way issues and provide cost estimates. The trustees approved the study a month ago.
"If we are serious about developing or redeveloping our downtown, this is where we get serious about it," Trustee George Tyler said at the earlier meeting. "It's in the nuts and bolts -- these kinds of studies that have to move forward and get done."
Resource Systems Group, a consulting firm with offices in Burlington, White River Junction, Chicago and Salt Lake City, will conduct the study for about $53,000, Pierce said. The Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization agreed to pay 80 percent of the tab, leaving the village to pay the remaining 20 percent.
Pierce said he expects the firm to complete the study in six months.
The proposed road would affect property belonging to three to five property owners, including the New England Central Railroad, Pierce said. The landowners are "behind the idea," he said.
Pierce said he thought of the road soon after being hired by the village two years ago. A previous study commissioned by the village determined the road would be feasible to construct.
The village would seek federal money to pay for the road, Pierce said.
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