by Hilary Niles July 25, 2013 vtdigger.org Jay Peak owners Bill Stenger and Ariel Quiros signed a purchase and sale agreement Friday with the owners of a city block in downtown Newport. The pair intends to demolish the existing structures on Main Street to make way for a block-long, four-story, mixed-use structure with retail, office and hotel units.
Details of the sale to Doug and Vivian Spates, owners of Memphremagog Rentals, are not public at this time. Developers estimate the deal will close on or before Sept. 30, with demolition to occur in March 2014 and the so-called Renaissance Block to open for business the following summer.
Plans for the block include first-floor commercial space ‘’likely a restaurant, potentially a brew pub, and other retail space,’project manager Alexandra MacLean said. Offices may be incorporated in the second floor, she said, followed by hotel space on the third and fourth stories. MacLean said long-term hotel rentals will accommodate AnC Bio Vermont, the American wing of a Korean biotech company planning to move to Jay as part of a related project.
Although the development ultimately will merge all the properties on the Main Street block into one distinct parcel for construction of a block-sized building, Patricia Sears, executive director of Newport City Renaissance Corp., said it won’t be a ‘monolith.’
Her organization helped Newport establish the state’s only form-based zoning laws. The zoning requires that the structure offer mixed uses and be designed to fit aesthetically with the historic character of the town.
Stenger said in a news release that he’s excited about the progress. ‘The redevelopment of this block will further energize Main Street’s revitalization with a combination of commercial and residential facilities that will complement the existing downtown businesses.’
City Manager John Ward said most of the buildings on the site have been vacant for several months in anticipation of the development. One business relocated to another part of downtown, and one restaurant is still in operation, he said.
The project is just one cornerstone in Stenger and Quiros’Northeast Kingdom Redevelopment Initiative. The interrelated set of five developments is expected to cost $600 million, funded through the Immigrant Investor Program. In exchange for investment of $1 million in an American business (or $500,000 in less developed areas like Vermont) that generates 10 jobs within two years, foreign investors receive an EB-5 visa to live in the U.S.
The redevelopment initiative includes a nearby marina hotel and conference center in Newport, a biomedical research park at Jay Peak and expansions already underway at Burke Mountain ski resort.
Architect’s drawing shows plans for the Main Street Renaissance Block project in Newport. Courtesy photo