As the weather warms, Church Street has come alive. There are new businesses, coming events and projects abound. Here is a brief update on some the happenings on our mall.
This spring, the Marketplace saw the opening of 3 new businesses, reducing the already low vacancy rate on the pedestrian mall. Phoenix Books, The Saratoga Olive Oil Company, and City Sports now all call Burlington home. The old Ann Taylor building also saw some use this month, as the Clothing Exchange set-up in the space for a few days.
On May 14, Matt McMahon, Lake Champlain Regional...
That big empty retail space across from the bus station on Church Street? Filled. City Sports, a retailer of athletic gear that originated in Boston, held their Grand Opening Event May 6.
“This is exciting for Burlington,” said Kelly Devine, Executive Director of the BBA. “When BBA Board Member Jeff Nick broke the news at our Holiday Social in December, there were cheers throughout the room. Over the past two years, vacancy on Church Street has dropped to near 0. When Church Street is vibrant, it helps all of our downtown businesses."
On the evening of Tuesday, March 20, several business and community members attended the Public Safety Committee (PSC) meeting to support proposed changes to the City’s Panhandling Ordinance.
Despite numerous testimonies from those in attendance about increasingly aggressive panhandling tactics on the Church Street Marketplace, the PSC did not agree with the proposed changes. By a two to one vote, with only Norm Blais in support, the proposed changes to the ordinance were voted down. Councilor Bram Kranichfeld and outgoing Councilor Emma Mulvaney-Stanek.
Kelly Devine, Executive Director of the BBA, noted that...
Kelly Devine, Executive Director of the Burlington Business Association, discussed economic development on WCAX on Thursday, March 16. Specifically, Devine discussed the benefits of tourisism brings to the area, in addition to hotel revenue. See the video here.
The City of Burlington is in Phase II of planBTV – Downtown and Waterfront. This comprehensive planning project, which began this past winter, seeks “to identify, understand, and address current barriers to the creation of new infill development.” With that in mind, the organizers of the project have created several ways for the public to interact with the planning process and share their ideas.
In addition to holding an art contest and offering a chance to win $50 by
The Burlington Business Association held its Annual Holiday Social on December 1, 2011 with a bit of a twist. “out of the blue” was marketed as a 'pop-up' event, which is an event that takes a vacant space and converts and repurposes it for a very short period time.
This year's Holiday Social was attended by nearly 150 people who had to walk by old bookcases and construction tape on the way into the party; held in the old Borders space on Church Street. Once guests passed the ‘construction zone,’...
For the past two years, the BBA has focused its attention on working with the city to make improvements to City Hall Park. Recently the BBA partnered with Burlington City Arts and others to procure a $50,000 “Our Town” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Now, the first steps in utilizing those funds are underway. A Facebook page, Imagine City Hall Park, keeps people updated about park happenings and...
