Brookfield Properties, the giant New York real estate firm that owns a majority interest in CityPlace Burlington, has stepped out of the shadows to strongly assure the city it is fully committed to the project, which has been stalled since August.

Chase Martin, Brookfield senior vice president, told the City Council Tuesday night that construction on the $225 million mixed-use development will begin in spring. The presentation marked the first time Brookfield has made a direct public statement regarding CityPlace.

"We want to assure the community that the plans for CityPlace Burlington are moving forward," Martin said. "Brookfield Properties remains committed to this important project. We are invested in this community."

Don Sinex of Devonwood Investors, also based in New York, had been the face of the project to date, explaining repeatedly why no progress has been made since demolition of the old mall was completed last August. Sinex is the minority partner in the project, holding a 49 percent interest to Brookfield's 51 percent ownership.

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Martin said Devonwood remains a "valued partner" in the project, but that Brookfield's role has evolved, and that the company is now "fully engaged" in "day to day operations."

When asked by Council President Kurt Wright whether the council would be hearing more from Martin than Sinex in the future, Martin repeated that Devonwood and Brookfield remain partners in the project.

Sinex did not attend the meeting.

"We're leveraging our experience and resources across the country to make sure this project is a success," Martin said.

Councilor Karen Paul pressed Martin on whether Brookfield was taking over management responsibilities for the project from Devonwood. Martin hesitated to answer, and after consulting with City Attorney Eileen Blackwood, the council deferred the question to executive session, which was to immediately follow the public portion of Martin's presentation.

Martin also made a point of saying that the University of Vermont Medical Center remains committed to being an "anchor" of CityPlace Burlington. The hospital plans to lease around 100,000 square feet of office space in CityPlace, a major portion of the available space.

Martin said the original vision of the mixed-used project, combining retail, office space and residential units, remains intact.

"We think the plan is the perfect project for this market," Martin said. "We liked it when we initially made the investment."

"We're still excited about it," Martin added.

Responding to a question from Councilor Max Tracy, who said city residents were frustrated by the lack of communication surrounding the project, Martin said he hopes to deliver "regular updates."

"All we can do is start with today," Martin said.

Time to act

The City Council gave Sinex the go-ahead in August to begin work on the foundation for CityPlace, despite the fact that he had not lined up full financing — one of the conditions the city set for the project.

When October rolled around, and work still had not begun on the foundation, Mayor Miro Weinberger expressed his frustration for the first time, saying the city was "concerned about the lack of progress on the site," and had "made good on all its commitments to the project."

"It's time for the developers to act and begin site construction, and to communicate their progress to the public regularly," Weinberger concluded.

Three weeks later, Sinex told the Burlington Free Press that Brookfield was holding the project up, preventing him from getting the foundation permit, despite the fact that he had all the necessary documents and agreements required by the city.

Sinex further claimed he had no idea why Brookfield was holding him up.

That was too much for Councilor Dave Hartnett, who told the Free Press Sinex had "blatantly" lied to the council, and disrespected council members.

"From the beginning he should have made it clear there are situations between him and Brookfield that would lead to delays and complications instead of blaming [general contractor] PC Construction, blaming the mayor," Hartnett said.

Sinex, in turn, took offense to Hartnett's comments, asserting that when city councilors speak "in haste and without much thought about how stinging, offensive and damaging their remarks will be, it disturbs me and it should disturb everyone in the city."

'Cautious, diligent people'

Since then, Sinex explained in December that Brookfield was just being "careful" when it prevented him from moving forward with the foundation.

"I think it was a combination of more money in the deal than we expected, due to a lender wanting to be paid off," Sinex said. "As cautious, diligent people [Brookfield] said, 'Let's hold up, let's get our financing.'"

Sinex told the Free Press in December that the financing, comprised of about $180 million in borrowed funds, plus the equity Devonwood and Brookfield have in the project, should be in place by the end of January.

Sinex pushed that timing back on Tuesday, saying in an email that by the end of February "I expect to be very close to final on the construction financing."

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT.