Burlington City Council decides not to give CityPlace update - WCAX

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BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - The Burlington City Council decided to not give a public CityPlace update as planned on Monday.

The council was expected to provide the community with new information on the stalled-project after an hour-long executive session.

But after the closed-door discussion, Mayor Miro Weinberger briefly addressed the public saying he understands the public interest in the matter but would not be revealing any new information that night.

“We don’t have a further update at this time on CityPlace,” Weinberger said. “We may not have a further update tonight. If we do not, there will be a public update as soon as later in the week as possible. Within the next couple of days here.”

Councilors and Weinberger met privately with their attorney Jeff Glassberg, who is representing the city of Burlington in the development project.

WCAX News reached out to Don Sinex of Devonwood Investors, who is taking the lead on the CityPlace project now that Brookfield has officially backed out, ahead of Monday’s meeting. Sinex told WCAX no representatives would be present at the meeting because they weren’t invited.

“It is difficult to understand how the City expects to make any progress in the matter by holding a discussion with no Devonwood participation or input from Devonwood,” he wrote in a statement to WCAX.

City leaders recently expressed doubt in Sinex being able to successfully move the project along and they say Devonwood has not provided the city with the necessary information and materials they need to feel confident in an agreement with them.

Sinex also recently announced his partnership with three local contractors who say they hope to start construction by next summer.