City Lights Developers Offer FREE Commercial Space for 1 Year!

BURLINGTON FREEPRESS

Developers of the new City Lights building in downtown Winooski are looking for just the right business to occupy its ground floor next year — and are willing to pay the tenant’s first year rent.

“It’s definitely a unique offer,” agreed Williston-based developer Nathan Dagesse, “but then, it’s a unique and exciting building. We’d like to support a business that would be a good fit in the long term.”

The 463-square foot commercial/retail space will sit at street level of a four-story residential building currently under construction at 106 East Allen Street, at Abenaki Way.

Earlier this month Dagesse tossed out a few ideas of what might work at the location, which has “expansive windows,” a bathroom and ample parking: a deli, coffee shop, a juice bar, sandwich or bagel shop — or a wine-tasting or tap room.

“It could be a start-up or an established business,” he told the Free Press on Friday. “We’re looking for the coolest kind of commercial space we can get in there.”

A restricting factor: The space can’t accommodate a large-scale venting or range hood.

The quest for would-be tenants is competitive. Candidates must submit a five-year business plan to the developers, as well as details of how the business would mesh with the building’s aesthetics, and with the broader community’s cultural landscape.

As part of refining their schemes — and in advance of submitting them for consideration — Dagesse urges prospective tenants to run their ideas past Winooski’s planning and zoning office.

“Our number-one goal is for the tenant to be successful because that will help the rest of the building be successful,” Dagesse said.

The new, 27-unit apartment building will occupy the former site of the Cameron House, a historic residence that was moved last month to a new location in Burlington.

The idea for a first-year’s rent-free strategy for the ground floor arose during
a staff marketing session.

No one on the team had heard of the strategy being used before, Dagesse said, “although I imagine somebody, somewhere, has done it.”

Subsequent years’ rents would be negotiated with the tenant, and could be expected to be approximately $500 – $1,500 per month, he added.

The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m., Dec. 1, 2016.

Dagesse urged folks to get started early.
He can be reached at [email protected]

Download the City Lights Commercial Space RFP

Historic House Rides Through Vermont Streets

necn.com, New England News |  Aug. 6 2016
By Jack Thurston

The 1840s home continued its journey from Winooski to Burlington (Saturday morning, Aug 6)
Police stopped traffic in two Vermont cities Saturday morning to accommodate
the moving of a historic house.

The 1840s home had to leave its address in Winooski because developers are putting
in a new apartment and office building called City Lights.

The builders offered the structure free to whomever would pay for its removal.
That cost has been estimated at around $100,000.

Early Saturday morning, a team from New England Building Movers carefully guided
the house through the Winooski rotary and over the bridge to neighboring Burlington.

Eventually, the house will sit on Manhattan Drive, in Burlington’s Old North End.

Read More >

Winooski House Moving to Burlington!

Winooski (via Burlington Free Press ) – The soon-to-be vacated lot at East Allen Street and Abenaki Way is likely to become much more animated after this weekend: Construction will get underway on a 27-unit apartment building, developed by Williston-based Dagesse Company.

Read more here

Free to a good home: 2-story Winooski house

WINOOSKI, Vt. (NECN) —An 1840s home in Winooski, Vermont, is being given away free to make way for redevelopment on the property. Whoever takes the house would have to pay the costs of removing it and relocating it.

"It's a beautiful house," observed Linda Lawrence, who was walking by the home Wednesday. "I love the front. The front is gorgeous."

Watch this story

The two-story East Allen Street house has a slate roof and gothic revival-style features. Construction engineer Nate Dagesse, of EIV Technical Services in Williston, is pledging to give away the 1,200-square-foot dwelling with a recently renovated interior.

"It's a very structurally sound house," Dagesse said. "It's going to be tough to find the right (recipient), but if we do, it'll be really exciting to see this happen."

Dagesse said he plans to build a new 27-unit apartment building on the corner currently occupied by the house. The City Lights project, as it is known, will also have ground-level commercial space for an office or a small restaurant, he said.

The home has to go by mid-June to get ready for construction, Dagesse explained. He said the home removal could take place between June 1 and June 15.

Moving old buildings is complicated and delicate work. The recipient of the house will need to comply with all applicable federal environmental standards regarding hazardous material removal, according to a posting about the free house on the city of Winooski's homepage.

"I appreciate the historic value of it, but to move it, I imagine would be quite an expense," guessed neighbor Matthew Warnecke, who expressed appreciation that an effort is being made to preserve the property.

Dagesse noted he is not an expert in moving buildings, but estimated the cost another firm may charge for the job would be around $50,000-60,000. He said the actual price could be more or less than that, and would depend a lot on where the house goes. He pointed out, because of the home's design and the fact it is 170 years old, it would be best if it were moved a short distance.

Dagesse said he will pay $5,000 toward the effort of moving the home. "We're giving that incentive as our way of helping that process move forward," he explained.

Laura Treischmann, a state historic preservation officer with the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation, said it is not common to have a home offered up free for preservation. She said her office occasionally recommends the concept as part of the permitting process for new construction projects like this one that would otherwise call for demolition.

Treischmann said her office sees the notion as appropriate when a property is 50 years old or older, has architectural or historic significance and is deemed sturdy enough to both survive a move and have value and life left in it afterward. Treischmann added that the state will follow up on the offer as the would-be moving date approaches.

Dagesse said if he can't find a taker, the building will be dismantled. He said as many of the building materials as possible would be salvaged or recycled, such as the slate on the roof and the boards on the floors.

For more information about the home, click here.