The Church Street Marketplace is an uncovered outdoor pedestrian shopping and dining mall in Burlington, Vermont consisting of the four blocks of Church Street between Main and Pearl Streets. Photo about Church Street Marketplace, located in the historic district of Burlington, Vermont, USA. By late 1971, Patrick Robins, president of the Downtown Burlington Development Association and local architect Bill Truex (then chairman of the City's Planning Commission) recognized the potential of the mall.
Traffic was rerouted from four blocks of Church Street to the parallel streets, extra transit was added for the week and short-term physical modifications (such as adding trees, benches, and booths) were made on the street.
The Church Street Marketplace, which opened on September 15, 1981, has been described as the "gem in the crown" of the Queen City of Burlington. In September 2010, it had 91.7% occupancy, 7 ground-floor vacancies. In March 1979, the City sponsored round table discussions and both local citizens and merchants responded negatively to the idea of a two-level mall. Through the work of Leahy’s staff — most notably Paul Bruhn and Margaret Gross — the project was an early example of a coordinated multi-agency effort.With support from Mayor Gordon Paquette, voters passed a $1.5 million bond for the city’s share of construction costs.Church Street’s two middle blocks (between College and Cherry) were officially closed to traffic on July 7, 1980. A design for Church Street was unveiled in March 1978, which encompassed a two-level scheme, with a lower level below the street level, connecting to adjacent buildings through their basements. The Church Street Marketplace webcam gives you a wonderful view of the main strip of the open air mall and shops. The Steering Committee decided to drop the two-level scheme, and a new plan was devised. It would take another decade of dialogue and collaboration among the business community, city government, local residents, and state and federal leaders to bring to life the vibrant vision nurtured during those balmy summer days of 1971 and 1972.In 1979, recently-elected Sen. Patrick Leahy (who had purchased his wedding ring on Church Street) worked with President Jimmy Carter on securing a $5.4 million federal grant for improvements to Church Street and creation of a downtown bus loop. Church Street Market is "New Mexico's Most Unique Shopping Experience". That firm assumed all engineering tasks and contracted Carr & Lynch Associates of New York CityDuring the sixteen months of construction, none of the businesses along Church Street changed locations or terminated business and retail sales in the area showed no decline. Merchants were allowed full use of the area for display of retail goods and special events were planned. In 1994, the Church Street’s top block (between Cherry and Pearl Streets) was closed to vehicular traffic and resurfaced with brick. During the summer of 1971, a one-day, experimental street fair was held on four blocks of Church Street, and approximately 15,000 persons attended. The new plan included bringing the street level up to the sidewalk level, resurfacing the street with brick, adding canopies and shelters, closing the street to cars on the two central blocks, and implementing the downtown bus loop which would enable buses to cross Church Street at two intersections. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Business Filings Incorporated and is located at 155 Federal Street… 90% is more typical. The impressive turnout was a catalyst that sparked more extensive, community-wide deliberations aimed at establishing a permanent Church Street Marketplace. The Steering Committee decided to drop the two-level scheme, and a new plan was devised. The vacancy rate peaked at 11% December 2009. That firm assumed all engineering tasks and contracted Carr & Lynch Associates of New York CityDuring the sixteen months of construction, none of the businesses along Church Street changed locations or terminated business and retail sales in the area showed no decline. In September 2010, it had 91.7% occupancy, 7 ground-floor vacancies. It encompasses about 86 storefronts and is managed by the Church Street Marketplace Commission. With their guidance, a second, week-long street fair was held along Church Street in the summer of 1972. You can find a few chains (Eddie Bauer, LuluLemon, Athleta, Starbucks, etc) but the real charm is in the local shops! Five years were spent debating the merits of a variety of mall designs.
Since completion of the Marketplace, retail occupancy has remained above 90% and has held steady even in the midst of the recent recession. On July 7, 1980, two middle blocks were closed to traffic. Merchants were allowed full use of the area for display of retail goods and special events were planned. Since completion of the Marketplace, retail occupancy has remained above 90% and has held steady even in the midst of the recent recession. Seven years later, as chair of the Burlington Planning Commissioner, Truex enlisted the support of Pat Robins, chair of the Street Commission, to promote the idea of turning Church Street into an inviting pedestrian district.
In 2005, City Hall Block (between Main and College) was the final block to be closed to vehicles and resurfaced with brick. During the holiday season, more than 200,000 white lights illuminate the four-block-long, bricked mall.In 2013, the city adopted an update of its municipal plan for the downtown and waterfront. The one-level plan was approved by city voters later that year. By late 1971, Patrick Robins, president of the Downtown Burlington Development Association and local architect Bill Truex (then chairman of the City's Planning Commission) recognized the potential of the mall.