LOCAL

UVM Medical Center to lease space at BTV mall

Free Press Staff
One of the renderings of the latest Burlington Town Center mall redevelopment plan includes an observation deck, that will be opened to the public, built on top of the proposed office space constructed over the mall itself.

The University of Vermont Medical Center plans to lease office space in the redeveloped Burlington Town Center.

Mall owner Devonwood Investors LLC said Monday the hospital signed a preliminary agreement to lease space for 300-400 administrative staff at the new mall, which has yet to be redeveloped.

"UVM Medical Center's decision to locate its services in our new site and grow jobs for the city represents an important milestone for this project," said Don Sinex, a principal at Devonwood.

Hostpital CEO Dr. John Brumsted said the deal helps UVM Medical Center secure cost-effective office space in downtown Burlington. The employees presently work at sites in and around the city.

The hospital is the first tenant Devonwood has announced for the new mall. The agreement proposes a 10-year lease between the mall and hospital to begin in January 2019.

But before UVM Medical Center, or any tenant, can move in, Devonwood must secure approval for the project from the City Council and the Development Review Board.

Owner Don Sinex of Devonwood Investors, LLC in New York City begins a presentation outlining the latest redevelopment plan for the Burlington Town Center mall on Tuesday night to a standing-room-only crowd that packed into a vacant store space.

Sinex said he has grown frustrated with the pace of the approval process since Devonwood purchased the mall in 2013. Sinex told the Burlington Free Press in January he hopes to break ground on the $200 million to $250 million project by Janaury. The project would be a mix of housing, retail and office space.

UVM Medical Center and the mall in the coming months plan to negotiate a full lease, which would be valid only if the project is completed.

Devonwood also released an economic impact study by UVM Professor Kevin Chiang, which concludes the redeveloped mall would generate 941 construction jobs and more than 1,200 direct and indirect permanent jobs.

The study states the new mall would generate increased taxed receipts of $46 million for Burlington and $186 million for Vermont over 30 years.

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