Higher Ground is setting its sights on another location to possibly lease.

The city of Burlington says it received a bid from Higher Ground to take over Memorial Auditorium, which has been vacant since 2016 when it closed due to safety concerns. According to a memo from the Community Economic and Development Office, Higher Ground is the only qualified candidate.

The memo states Higher Ground is interested in leasing the entire building with a proposed term of 10 years plus four extension terms of five years each. The memo says Higher Ground is proposing to operate Memorial “as a multi-purpose events space that focuses on community gatherings” including music performances, culinary events, civic debates and town meetings.

This comes after eight months of controversy about Higher Ground’s potential relocation to the Burton warehouse, which sits on the Burlington-South Burlington city line.

In June, the city of Burlington approved a zoning request that cleared the way for any performing arts venue to move into the Burton warehouse. People living in South Burlington’s Queen City Park neighborhood, which is directly across the street, have expressed concerns about the plan. They’re worried about noise, traffic and late-night mischief from partygoers.

Residents told WCAX News they were pleased to hear the live music venue is considering a second option. They think Memorial Auditorium, which is in downtown Burlington, would be a great fit for the concert venue.

"I think that it's much more walkable, so there would be a lot less traffic and more people could walk there. It seems like a good use of the space instead of letting continue to deteriorate,” said Joy Dubin-Grossman.

If Higher Ground moves to Memorial instead of Burton, Queen City Park residents say they hope whatever ends up there will benefit Burton and the neighborhood.

“I would love to see some appropriate-size venues happening at this end of town. I think would be a blast,” said Laurie Smith. “To be able to have our community walk and the rest of the communities in this area be able to walk to good food, good music, good times and maybe a museum, artists.”

The city says it wants Memorial to remain a publicly owned space for the community to gather. City staffers have conducted an interview with Higher Ground to make sure their plans match the city’s vision for the revival of Memorial.

CEDO says it has determined that Higher Ground’s application is worth further consideration. Staff members have scored the proposal and graded the interviews and are analyzing the results.

WCAX News reached out to CEDO for comment but we were told no one was available for comment.