Saturday September 18, 2004
Downtown plan: Not if, but when
By LEE J. KAHRS Messenger Staff Writer ST. ALBANS
CITY–– It is not a matter of "if" the city's
municipal parking lot will be developed, it's a matter of
"when."
City officials said this week that if Wal-Mart does not agree to
locate a store in downtown St. Albans, the parking lot between
Lake and Kingman Streets will be developed.
"It's not an "if" issue," said City Manager
Brian Searles. "We will pursue the development of that
parking lot."
Searles said the city's plans for the property are just one
component of a multi-phase downtown development project that would
include extensive traffic and multi-modal transportation
improvements.
Earlier this week, Paul Bruhn, executive director of the
Preservation Trust of Vermont, unveiled a proposal for a
multi-level building incorporating a 75,000-square-foot retail
space and 30,000-square-feet of office space with three levels of
parking to be built on the municipal parking lot property
The Trust is proposing the downtown plan to Wal-Mart as an
alternative to the retail giant's plan to build a
147,000-square-foot store in the northern growth center of St.
Albans Town.
Wal-Mart has repeatedly stated that it has no interest in locating
a store in downtown St. Albans.
Mayor Peter DesLauriers, however, said he believes the property
will be developed.
"I'm very excited," he said of the Trust concept for
downtown. "I think this is the best news the city has gotten
in a long time in developing it's potential."
DesLauriers said if Wal-Mart does not locate a store in the
downtown, another store will, and that is the city's goal.
"We're not looking for someone to fill a space,"
DeLauriers said. "We're looking at Paul Bruhn saying there is
potential here and we're more than happy to help them fulfill
it."
Bruhn acknowledged the traffic and parking concerns around the
downtown proposal, saying the success of the venture depends on
the completion of the Federal Street extension project, which
would alleviate traffic on Main Street.
That project is now called the St. Albans Inter-modal Connector,
according to Searles, and there are big plans for it's completion.
Together with a multi-modal transportation center planned for
Federal Street, Searles said the city plans to improve
transportation and traffic issues in a major way.
"Transportation improvements must be made for this to work
and we have always known that," Searles said.
The city manager said the city is looking into possible railway
improvements, building rail connections to businesses along the
rail corridor and a spur to the St. Albans Town Industrial Park.
The hope is that such a project would attract new businesses to
the area.
Searles said the transportation center would be located between
the Amtrak station and the New England Central Railway building on
Federal Street. The project would offer one central location from
which buses, trains and taxis would operate. Searles said the
location would marry nicely with the development plans for the
municipal parking lot.
"If we have three decks of parking there, and train and bus
connections across the street, that is the kind of inter-modal
we're looking at," Searles said.
Bill Rose, Transportation and Land Use Planner for the Northwest
Regional Planning Commission (NRPC) said Searles already has
secured a $50,000 from the state to fund an update of the Federal
Street extension project. The money will cover updating the
study's figures and hiring a consultant to perform preliminary
engineering work on right-of way issues and problem intersections.
Rose said at the top of the list is the intersection of Lake,
Federal and Catherine Streets.
Rose said NRPC staffers will act as project managers for the
city's downtown development plans. He said the update will begin
in November and should be completed in June 2005.
Rose said that once the update is complete, the NRPC will start
looking into funding.
"There is a lot of good stuff going on," Rose said.
"A lot of good ideas."
Time and Money
Searles was asked for a timeline on the city's plans.
"It all depends on money," Searles said, estimating
"a couple of years."
The cost is substantial. Searles said very preliminary numbers
point to an overall cost of $15 million, with the transportation
center alone costing roughly $3.8 million.
Searles said that cost estimate would cover improvements on the
entire corridor, including inter-modal connector work from the
Exit 19 access road to Nason Street, the railway improvements, the
transportation center, and development of the municipal parking
lot. He again stressed that the numbers were "extremely
preliminary."
Where that money comes from, Searles said, is a complicated
question. He said funds would most likely come from a combination
of federal, state and local money. Typically there is an 80
percent federal/20 percent local funding formula for downtown
development projects, as well as a 90 percent federal funding for
multi-modal transportation projects, said Searles.
Searles said the cost estimate also includes $1.2 million in
federal transportation funds appropriated through U.S.
Representative Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, for a connector road
between Exit 19 and Federal Street.
Searles stressed again that the municipal parking lot will be
developed, one way or another.
"It's important that people understand that we will pursue
development of that property," he said. "It's good to be
part of any discussion that will benefit the future economy of the
downtown."
City/Town Relations
Town and city officials do not see the Trust's proposal for a
Wal-Mart downtown as a decisive issue. Both sides say they will
continue to improve relations between municipalities.
"It's a symbiotic relationship," said Selectman Bill
Nihan. "I don't think Wal-Mart is an issue between the town
and the city. We know we have to work together to minimize
negative impact."
Mayor DesLauriers agreed. "The fear was that this would be a
wedge and the town would see the proposal as competition. That's
not the case."
At a city council meeting Monday, DesLauriers said that aldermen
and town selectmen might hold a joint meeting at city hall within
the next two weeks.
Town Selectman Bob Johnson said he supports the city's plan to
develop the parking lot area, but not for a Wal-Mart or any other
discount retailer. Johnson said he envisions another type of venue
there.
"I would like to see the top two floors of the building there
be a hotel/convention center," he said. "That would be a
more sensible solution."
Searles said the bottom line for both the city and town is
developing economic opportunity.
"The town understands that we want to continue to take
advantage of economic opportunities downtown and we understand
they want to take advantage of those opportunities in the growth
center," Searles said. "Both the town and the city can
grow and compliment each other's development without a
competition."
Back to Plans for a downtown St. Albans
Wal-Mart
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