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Moran Plant Project Moves Ahead

Burlington, Vermont - October 3, 2009

The City of Burlington's proposal to renovate the old Moran power plant on the waterfront is moving ahead. And city officials were eager to show it off at an open house.

It drew dozens of people who took a guided tour through the old plant on Saturday. The plan is to turn it into a climbing wall to be run by the Scottish firm Ice Factor, and renovate other space for a children's museum, as well as continue as home to the Lake Champlain Sailing Center.

Skeptics have doubted that what was once a coal-burning power plant that was decommissioned in 1986 would ever amount to anything but an environmental hazard.

Kirsten Shapiro of the Burlington Community & Economic Development Office has coordinated the planning. She explained how the long-vacant building has undergone feasibility studies and environmental cleanup, with the help of a recent one-million dollar EPA Brownfields development grant, more grant money from the regional planning commission and $2 million in low-interest loans through the government's Section 108 program, for a total of $4 million committed to the project.

She answered a question about why this dilapidated building is worth anything, saying, "One of the other values that it's hard to put a price on is, you couldn't build a building this large on the waterfront with zoning now as well. And if you could building something that had these heights, Ice Factor wouldn't be here saying, We want to do this amazing climbing wall that's gong to take you up sixty feet, you know."

Mayor Bob Kiss acknowledges that the city still needs to find up to $3 million more, possibly using a process known as tax increment financing. And the other partners will have to put up more millions. The project was estimated at $21 million total. Kiss said, "The goal here has been not to have any increase in taxes on Burlington tax payers as a result of developing the project, so that's sort of the spirit that we're putting this together in." He said the city may find a way to spend less than the original estimate of $3 million more. 

Many people may be surprised at just how far this project has come, the city having secured about $4 million dollars toward its share of the project. The mayor's optimistic. He thinks renovations could be underway on the Moran project in two years.

Andy Potter - WCAX News