Moran Plant redevelopment moves forward

Project planners from New Moran Inc. this month reached another milestone toward redeveloping Burlington's derelict coal plant.

"We've gotten the designs, and the fundraising is past the point where the project is going to happen," said New Moran co-founder Tad Cooke.

Cooke and his team have delivered a project update to city councilors and the Community and Economic Development Office.

Cooke said New Moran hopes to negotiate a term sheet and development agreement with the council by September so the project may move into the design, permitting and funding phase.

The stakes are high — if the New Moran team is unable to raise enough cash from donors. Burlington otherwise is committed to razing the plant, which has been abandoned since 1986.

New Moran planners have developed a comprehensive cost estimate for the project — currently $34 million — and this fall will launch a massive public financing campaign. Much of the tab would be picked up, Cooke hopes, by federal tax credits and voter-approved tax increment financing.

"While this is the last shot to redevelop this building, we think it's the best shot," Cooke said. "This is an opportunity that could transform the city."

The New Moran team is proposing to build a convention hall, public market and business incubator within the plant. Cooke envisions the redeveloped plant as a commercial and tourism hub for the waterfront.

The New Moran team submitted a progress report to CEDO at the end of June, the first significant update since November 2014. Nate Wildfire of CEDO declined to release the report Tuesday because he said premature disclosure of financial details could put the city at a negotiating disadvantage.

Wildfire did say that CEDO continues to work closely with the Moran team on the project.

"We remain supportive of their efforts and are doing all we can to help them succeed," Wildfire said. "The project is complex, and there is still much work to be done."

The plan

New Moran includes three major spaces within the five-floor former plant. A ground-level public market would showcase vendors such as restaurants and retail outlets.

Above, planners intend to build The Turbine Hall, a 1,500-capacity event space for concerts, conferences, private parties and a winter farmers market.

The third, fourth and fifth floors would house a collaborative workspace for startups and other growing businesses. An observation deck on the roof would offer visitors views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack mountains.

New Moran plans to break ground in summer 2016 and complete the project in about 12 months. Because the project makes use of much of the plant's existing superstructure, much of the work is interior, where crews can work through the winter.

Over coming months, the New Moran team will solicit public response on the project. Cooke and and co-founder Erick Crockenberg presented the updated plans to the City Council's Parks Arts and Culture Committee Tuesday afternoon.

Cooke said he wants to address the concerns of city residents who have watched entrepreneurs pitch ideas for redeveloping Moran since the plant was decommissioned in the 1980s. None of the plans came to fruition.

Cooke said he understands residents' skepticism and vowed to convince the public this project is different.

"We want to show this is a viable plan and that we're going to complete this project," Cooke said.

The price tag

New Moran hired an architectural firm to develop a comprehensive cost estimate for the project, which came in at $33.7 million.

Cooke said the team will rely on five sources of funding: 43 percent from federal tax credits, 33 percent from charitable donations, 19 percent from tax increment financing, 3 percent from low-interest loans and 2 percent from tenant fit-up capital.

The federal incentives would include historic and new markets tax credits. Cooke said competition for new markets credits, which Congress created to stimulate growth in depressed urban areas, is fierce. But he is confident New Moran will secure them.

"It's going to be a challenge, but we have a unique story," Cooke said.

To date, New Moran has raised $650,000 in cash and $1.2 million in pledges from private donors. Cooke said his team this fall will launch a financing campaign to raise a total of $11 million from donors.

Burlington will continue to own the Moran Plant and lease the facility to New Moran, a nonprofit.

The project coincides with Waterfront Access North, a major redevelopment project of the northern portion of Burlington's waterfront. That initiative includes a new sailing center to be built just north of Moran, a skate park, new parking lots and infrastructure repairs along Lake Street.

EARLIER:

• New Moran plant details released
• Moran Plant developers confident in progress
• Burlington sets new Moran Plant deadlines

Pushed deadlines

In addition to securing funding, New Moran must agree to a term sheet and development agreement with the City Council. Those documents would outline the legal and business arrangement between the city and New Moran.

An August 2014 memorandum of understanding between New Moran and the council specified a January deadline for a term sheet and March deadline for the development agreement. Both due dates passed months ago.

Councilor Karen Paul, D-Ward 6, said she does not believe the delay is cause for concern. She said the New Moran team has been responsive to questions from councilors, and the development process has taken longer than either party has estimated.

"It's an iterative process," Paul said. "We all start with resolutions that have great timelines and then reality comes and we can't get it done as quickly as we'd like."

After the council has signed off on the term sheet and development agreement, New Moran will make the project design final, secure building permits and put the project out to bid.

Contact Zach Despart at 651-4826 or zdespart@burlingtonfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ZachDespart.