Burlington Voters say "YES" to Redevelopment Plan for Burlington Town Center. Tuesday's election produced a positive outcome for our downtown! Burlington Voters approved Questions 3 & 4 on the City of Burlington ballot, advancing redevelopment plans for Burlington Town Center. Said Don Sinex, owner and developer of the BTC, "I am humbled and appreciative that Burlington voters have allowed this project to proceed by affirming the City Council's downtown zoning changes and supporting the City's use of Tax Increment Financing for the associated public improvements. With this transformative redevelopment, we will eliminate the out-of-date suburban mall now weighing down the middle of this beautiful downtown. We will replace the aging, rusting, underutilized mall with new housing, new streets, new jobs, increased revenue, and greater opportunity, bringing new life to the heart of the downtown. This will become a place where people can once again live, work, and enjoy a connected, vibrant downtown Burlington."
Trick or Treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!
Our second annual Trick or Treat Street Halloween event, sponsored by Northfield Savings, was a hit with moms and children. Northfield Savings We saw strong support from a diverse group of families -- from the suburbs to the neighborhoods immediately around Church Street. We value being both a commercial and community center. We received a post from a participating Mom on our Facebook page, thanking us for making her young daughter's first Halloween a fun and safe experience. Made our day..
Funding our Street Outreach Program: We continue our work with Howard Center and United Way of Northwest Vermont to plot a path towards a sustainable funding plan for the Street Outreach program (which is managed by the Howard Center). We'll be convening a meeting of City partners (Burlington Police, Mayor's Office, Church Street) plus community partners (UVM Medical Center and United Way) in December to plan FY 18 budget. Given the City's high use of Street Outreach services, its financial commitment will need to dramatically increase in FY 18.
Downtown's "Other 9-5 Economy" In January, we'll survey all downtown's food & beverage businesses to chart the economic impact of downtown hospitality on Burlington's economy, plus track patrons served, # of Burlington employees, trends, concerns. We're inspired by research conducted in and for the
The Responsible Hospitality Institute has invited a public/private/non-profit team from the City of Burlington to attend an Austin, Texas conference in February, and give a presentation on how our small city plans, manages and polices our night-time economy. Representatives from UVM, BBA, Burlington Police and City Council are planning to attend. Are you a restaurant or bar owner and interested in attending and presenting?
Did Plato really say, "He was a wise man who invented beer?"
We convened a meeting with Mark Hegedus, new president and GM at Magic Hat Brewing and Burlington Police, Burlington Fire, Parks & Recreation and Delaney Management to discuss Magic Hat's vision for enhancing 2017 Magic Hat Mardi Gras Parade. Look for more events in downtown (and on Church Street) starting Thursday (Comedy), Friday (more live music in downtown) and Saturday (more events a live music on Church Street before and after the parade).
So, where do I store my cart?
Our thanks to Department of Public Works Assistant Director Pat Cashman who has offered the Marketplace the opportunity to manage a vendor storage space in Marketplace Parking Garage. It's a "big deal" for CSM Cart Vendors, and they're working on a business plan for operating, managing the space
"I don't do fashion. I am fashion." -Coco Chanel. Kudos to our Marketing Director Jenny Morse, who led another successful Fashion's Night Burlington event in late September. Three on-street DJ's, three photographers, a fashion show at Sweet Lady Jane were just some of the night's activities. Our retail merchants are highly engaged thanks to Jenny's efforts; we received reports from some merchants that they exceeded sales expectations. The event continues to grow in populariity. http://www.wcax.com/story/33115263/fashion-night-on-church-street NBC 5's Tom Messner reported live from the event.
And what about that empty kiosk at Church and Cherry? To date, we've raised $7,000 to repurpose the kiosk at the old Church & Cherry bus station. We've installed power, BT is bringing an internet connection and Select Design has provide a blueprint for rebranding the kiosk.
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Figuring Out How to Pay for Broken Bricks. Thanks to our colleagues at Department of Public Works we have secured planning funds from the Federal Highway Administration through the Chittenden County Regional Planning Organization, to develop a 10-year capital plan for Church Street. We're working with DuBois & King and hope to have a draft to you by late winter.
How many people are REALLY on Church Street Today? Many of you have noticed that we are no longer providing pedestrian counts via our Wi-Fi system.. Updates to Apple's IOS 9 are defeating our ability to count iPhones through our Meraki Wi-Fi system. We anticipate that Android will be close behind Apple. We will need to rethink our goals for our public Wifi system since it is no longer a reliable measure for pedestrian counts. In FY 18, we'll test technology from Motion Loft, a California-based company that sells motion sensors to count pedestrians.
What Can College Towns Learn When They All Get Together? CSM staff are working with business improvement district directors from Boulder, Flagstaff, Tempe, Berkeley and Raleigh, planning the International Downtown Association's first annual College Town Summit in Tempe, AZ March 28-29, 2017. Let us know if you would like to attend!
What's coming up that should be in my calendar?
Friday, Nov. 18: CSM's Christmas tree arrives.
Monday, Nov. 21 @ 12 noon: Small Business Saturday press conference featuring Mayor Weinberger and downtown business owners
Friday November 25: Santa Parade and Tree Lighting Ceremony
Saturday. Nov. 26: Small Business Saturday
Wednesday Dec. 16: Coolest Lunch to benefit Committee on Temporary Shelter.
Questions, comments. Contact Ron Redmond, rredmond@burlingtonvt.gov or 802-238-5598.
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