City to rezone DPW site for auto parts store

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Staff writer

It appears the saga of the former Department of Public Works building for the City of Burlington – or rather, the property it used to sit on – is finally winding down.

The City of Burlington Plan Commission gave its nod of approval May 8 to rezone 824 Milwaukee Avenue – the former site of the DPW – from M-1 Light Manufacturing to B-1 Neighborhood Business District.

It is the next step in getting O’Reilly Automotive Parts into a new building that is planned to be built on the site, and one more step away from the 2011 saga that saw the City Council rebuff two different local buyers before finally accepting the offer from O’Reilly.

The vote Tuesday night was unanimous, and the only real discussion was whether or not traffic lights or a crosswalk was needed at the Milwaukee Avenue/Maryland Avenue intersection because of both foot and car traffic.

Mark Wold, who was on hand representing O’Reilly, said the sale will be final in June, and there are hopes of having the business open by late fall.

“I think we’re happy with the property,” said Wold. “I think it worked out well for us.”

Wold said the site plan for the building was “basically done,” with some tweaks waiting to be finalized.

“I think everything is just about ready to go,” Wold said.

The final sale of the property would end the battle that has been fueled since the decision was made by the council in 2010 to build the new combined DPW/utilities building on Highway 83/South Pine Street. After making the decision to go forward with that building, the city struggled to find a buyer for the old building, which was in a state of disrepair and basically useless.

In late 2010 and early 2011, local businessman Craig Faust came forward with a plan to eventually develop the Milwaukee Avenue parcel of the land, and donate two other lots that are vital to the ChocolateFest grounds. After concerns were raised by some members of the council – and the critical vote was delayed by two days because of the epic snowstorm on Feb. 2, 2011 – Faust eventually withdrew the offer.

A competing offer by local real estate agent Paul Mueller also was rebuffed after concerns were raised about the portion of the property used by ChocolateFest.

The building was torn down finally last fall after the O’Reilly offer was accepted.