Champlain Street Park Improvements

Champlain St Park Construction Update – 6/12/24

We’re almost there! We were very close to wrapping up construction at Champlain St. Park in the first week of June. Unfortunately, the playground subcontractor has made a few mistakes on the installation, which prevent the equipment from being safely used by the public.

We are waiting on a schedule from the vendor, but expect to finish the rest of the landscaping and to re-open the park shortly after the issues get corrected, hopefully within the month. We’ll follow up with a schedule update as soon as it becomes available.

In the meantime, below are a few more progress photos:

The concrete walkway has been completed!

New topsoil has laid across the middle of the park will be seeded and mulched as soon as the playground work finishes. New bike racks have been installed and picnic tables will be brought in when the park re-opens.

Two park benches have been installed on either side of the park.

Coming along quickly! – Construction Update 4/22/2024

Renovations at Champlain St. Park have been progressing quickly and smoothly over the past few weeks. The contractor installed new conduit under the sidewalk, which will allow for a new electrical service that will power a light at the back of the park. They then quickly transitioned to excavating and placing all the necessary gravel for the concrete walk, seating area, and furnishing pads and also excavated out the future playground area at the west end of the park.

All of the concrete has now been poured and finished, except for a small stretch of walkway so that they can continue to get equipment in and out of the park. Things have moved so smoothly, that the project is two-weeks ahead of schedule! Things will slow down now, while we wait for the new playground equipment to be shipped for installation in early May.

The contractor places and compacts gravel subbase for the new concrete pad and walk. A laser level ensures the finished concrete will drain properly.

Wooden forms shape the concrete pad, walkway, and pads for site furnishings. Wire mesh provides reinforcement for the concrete ensuring its long-term durability.

The (almost) finished product! They will sawcut in control joints to ensure uniform and controlled cracking as the concrete shrinks and expands due to changes in temperature.

The west end of the park has been excavated and prepared for the new playground. A concrete footing for the future light pole can be seen on the right side of the image.

Construction Begins 3/29/2024:

Exciting news! Renovations will soon begin at Champlain St Park! Last week, our grounds team removed the existing playground in advance of the rest of the Park renovations. The contractor began mobilizing equipment to the site on Wednesday, March 27, and construction will be ongoing over the next two months.

Because it’s so small, the Park will be closed during construction for safety. Please be mindful of construction vehicles and equipment moving in and out of the Park.

We’re looking forward to our new playground with poured-in-place surfacing, accessible concrete seating area and walkway, and new electrical service and lighting to be installed by summer!

Equipment has been staged, the playground removed, and the site prepared for the upcoming renovations at Champlain St. Park!

Project History

Winter 2024 Update

After hearing your feedback at NPAs, virtual meetings, and our online survey, we finalized the project design and set about applying for grants and other funding opportunities to renovate the Park. Thanks to the TMobile Hometown Grant program, grants and donations from the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO), and other private donations, we have adequate funding for all parts of the Park renovation.

In the Summer of 2023, we posted an RFP for construction and the design/build of a new playground and hired a contractor to help us fully renovate Champlain St Park! We had hoped they’d get started in the fall, but with the historic flooding in other parts of the state this past season, they were tied up on other projects. We now expect the construction to begin in the Spring of 2024 as weather permits and to wrap up by June of 2024.

The project is planned to include a new playground with poured-in-place surfacing, construction of an accessible concrete seating area and walkway, and installation of a new electrical service and lighting. There will be new park benches, picnic tables, and bike racks and CVOEO will be helping with the design and planting of new landscaping. We’re currently finalizing the details of the playground design, incorporating feedback from members of Burlington’s Advisory Committee on Accessibility, and placing our order so that the subcontractor can begin fabricating the new equipment.

Looking forward to seeing you at a grand opening event in the summer!

Champlain St. Park – Design Review

Thanks for your feedback! The design survey has closed.

Thanks to everyone that attended the Virtual Meeting on May 3rd or that we spoke to at a local NPA meeting! We received some great initial input on our two design concepts. For everyone that couldn’t join us, we’d like to unveil our two conceptual designs for Champlain St. Park.

For more detailed information on each concept, please look over the presentation slides OR watch the full presentation at the following links:

Click HERE to watch the presentation

Fence Replacement Fall 2022:

A new ornamental fence was installed to replace the damaged chain link fence surrounding the park. The fence at the west end of the park was kept at 3’H to preserve open sight lines through the park and to the available view of Lake Champlain.

Implementing low hanging fruit in June of 2022:

Ash Trees were removed from the West Side of the Park due to the anticipated impact of Emerald Ash Borer.
Removing brush and vines around the Park:
- May 7th, 2022, Community members organized a Green-Up day work event to remove brush from the surrounding fences and clean up and replant the garden beds.

NPA Tour and Parks Commission Presentations

Following the May Design Review, a shorter design presentation was given to adjacent NPAs and our City Parks commission to get additional feedback:

- - 5/5/22 @ 6:40 PM; Ward 6 NPA
  - 5/10/22; Parks Commission Meeting
  - 5/12/22; Wards 2/3 NPA
  - 5/19/22 @ 7:40 PM; Ward 5 NPA

May Design Review

After expanding our outreach in collaboration with AALV, BPRW’s planning staff has worked on refining design concepts for Champlain St. Park’s redesign based on a wide-ranging collection of feedback. The concepts will be available for review through a presentation at a virtual public meeting on May 3, 2022. In the meantime, staff will begin taking proactive steps towards the removal of overgrown or dying vegetation, fixing broken fencing, and generally sprucing up the park while the final design comes together.

We look forward to sharing the next phase with the public. Please join us virtually via Zoom on May 3rd for a presentation of the concepts and to help shape the design and prioritize improvements to the Park.

When: May 3, 2022 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada

Sept 2021 Update

After more than a year-long hiatus, the visioning and design process for Champlain St. Park is officially restarting!

Due to the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic in March of 2020, the outreach and design development for Champlain Street Park were placed on hold due to City-wide budget and staffing reprioritization. We are looking forward to getting this project back underway, starting with a return to Outreach and Community Engagement this fall and reopening our online survey.

BPRW Staff will also be attending relevant NPA meetings for nearby Wards. See below for the anticipated timeline for this project.

Revised Project Schedule

1/29/2020 – Visioning Meeting – King St. Youth Center
2/28/2020 – Public meeting IN the park
3/4/2020 – Online survey opens
March of 2020 – Outreach and Design paused
9/28/2021 – Re-Initiating Outreach
Planned Presentation to NPAs (get meeting details online):
- Ward 2/3 –10/14 at 7:40 PM
- Ward 5 – 10/21/2021 @ 6:45 PM; 645 Pine St Meeting Room and Virtual
- Ward 6 – 10/7 @ from 8:05 PM
9/28 Presentation and Outreach to CEDO Trusted Community Voices Program
9/28/2021 – Online Survey reopened
October 2021 – Phone, digital, and In-person Outreach to Park Neighbors and adjacent property owners
Winter 2021/22 – Project Design and Planning. Will include additional public input on any design options or alternatives.
Spring/Summer 2022 – Project Implementation

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