By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
When the City of Burlington redeveloped the Hampton Inn site several years ago, the vision of a new hotel – along with an adjacent parking structure and retail development – hung tantalizingly on the horizon.
Now, in 2014, two of the three elements are done and in place, but a small patch of land – cleared, leveled and covered with gravel – remains undeveloped and in the hands of the city.
As of Tuesday night, it looks like it will stay in the hands of the city, as the Community Development Authority tabled a request from Burlington Core Upgrades II, LLC, to purchase the property for $1.
The $1 deal, which Burlington has employed over the years to offer an incentive to develop the land, had been sought by the group headed by Tom Stelling and Bill Stone. In an April CDA meeting, the two outlined the misfortunes of the land.
A soft market – and planned medical-related tenants who have now balked because of the Affordable Care Act, according to the men – resulted in several different plans for the land being scrapped over the last few years.
As of last month, the two were looking at the possibility of trying to develop a small, multi-family residential unit, and gained an extension of their option until May 30.
“We’ve invested a lot of time, energy and money,” Stelling said at the meeting.
One of the options coming out of that meeting was to sell the land to Core Group II, and allow them to develop the land. At the time, the biggest question was getting the land developed.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, however, a group of concerned citizens – as well as City of Burlington Common Council members – spoke up against another apartment complex.
“Please do the right thing and don’t continue with this dollar sale,” said Alderman Ruth Dawidziak, who read from a prepared statement that outlined her objections.
Her father, John Maltby, spoke right after and was considerably more blunt.
“You can’t win a horse race on a lame horse, and this horse went lame a long time ago,” Maltby said. He added that the deal “smelled” of perceived issues with developer Kevin McKillip, who had some projects fall through in the past.
Brad Brewer, also in the audience, felt that Core Group II had had enough time to do something with the land, and that “it might time to give some other people an opportunity with that land.”
Given a chance to speak after public comment, Stelling called it “unfortunate” that those objecting to the plan were not at the April CDA meeting, saying that they had outlined the entire retail situation there. He added that the Core Group wanted nothing but the best for downtown Burlington.
“We’re all invested in the downtown,” Stelling said. Stone added that the issues Burlington faces were no different from other downtown projects across the country during the recent recession.
Dawidziak stressed that she wanted to see the space developed into an alternative use – such as a park or a community garden – until the right offer comes along.
“I think the city should maintain it, and we sit and we wait,” she said. “I don’t see why we can’t start redirecting this.”
CDA Chairman Bil Scherrer made the point that the Core Group had a lot of time and money invested in the site. He also said that, “love or hate” Kevin McKillip, many of his projects have been beneficial for the city.
Mayor Bob Miller, sitting in at the CDA meeting, then suggested tabling the idea to an unspecified future date. When asked if he wanted to add a date, he said no.
CDA member Jack Eckola asked what would change, given that the project was already several years past its intended close, but after a few additional minutes of discussion, Miller asked the question be called, and the decision was unanimous.
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