Brownfields
Success Story
City Market - South End
(Onion River Co-op)
Burlington, Vermont
A former industrial site in Burlington, Vermont has been redeveloped into
a state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable supermarket in
Burlington's South End.
Onion River Co-op (Co-op), a consumer cooperative with over 13,500
members, had a vision of supplying wholesome local, organic and
conventional foods to the community while also operating in an
environmentally and socially responsible way. Located on the corner of
Flynn Avenue and Briggs Street, the vacant Vermont Rail Systems
property was ideally located for the market, but the industrial legacy of
the site meant that brownfields issues would first need to be addressed.
Priming the Property for Redevelopment
Due to environmental contamination that included asbestos, lead,
petroleum, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), this property
required significant cleanup and environmental monitoring activities.
The Co-op project team was able to gain the needed expertise, funding,
and support by partnering with several state and regional agencies,
including the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC),
Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD), and
the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC). DEC
helped the Co-op develop a cleanup plan and enroll the site in the state's
Brownfields program. CCRPC contributed $20,000 toward site
assessment and clean-up planning, and ACCD contributed $200,000 from
its Brownfields revolving loan fund program to help cover actual cleanup
costs. The cleanup was completed under the oversight of DEC.
Today
City Market - South End opened for business in November 2017. In
addition to the market, the $13 million, 29,000 square foot facility
includes a large indoor/outdoor cafe space, teaching kitchen, community
meeting space, and Co-op offices. The market provides a large selection
of local, organic, and conventional food, as well as Vermont-made
products. While supplying much-needed healthy food to the community
and cleaning up a contaminated vacant property, the facility boasts other
innovative features, many of which help protect the environment.
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Figure 1 City Market storefront on opening day.
Credits: City Market - Onion River Co-op
EPA Grant Recipient:
Chittenden County RPC
Vermont ACCD
Grant Types:
Assessment
Revolving Loan Fund
Former Uses:
Railroad maintenance, Trucking,
Contracting, Salt storage, Wood
reclamation
Current Use:
City Market Facility
Figure 2 Bicycle parking and maintenance area

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Figure 3 City Market's General Manager John Tashiro
receiving the EPA's2018 Environmental Merit Award on
behalf of the Onion River Co-op
•	The market is pedestrian-friendly and offers a covered bicycle
parking and maintenance area to serve cyclists. On-bicycle customers
also receive a 5 percent discount on purchases through the Bicycle
Benefits program.
•	The store's state-of-the-art refrigeration system - the first such
system in Vermont - uses transcritical carbon dioxide cooling
technology, consuming a fraction of the energy used in typical
grocery store refrigeration.
•	Solar tubes, smart LED lighting, and high-efficiency blowers and fans
further minimize electricity usage.
•	Surplus food is taken daily to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf
to help lower-income community members and minimize food
waste.
•	Customers are asked to support Vermont non-profits by rounding up
their grocery bills to the nearest dollar. Through this "Rally for
Change" program, Co-op customers have donated over $670,000 in
change in less than four years.
•	The Co-op offers plow cost classes on food education and wellness in
their new Community Teaching Kitchen.
•	The Co-op has also signed a purchase and sales agreement with the
well-respected Petra Cliffs Climbing Center and Mountaineering
School for the south parcel of this property. This will allow both
organizations to reach the greater community with broader wellness
initiatives.
•	The cafe space in the store includes two areas for Co-op Members to
display artwork, one of the many benefits of Co-op Membership.
•	The Co-op worked with local muralist, Tara Goreau, to decorate the
inside of the store with three beautiful murals which tell the story of
Vermont's culture, local agriculture and an appreciation for the
diversity of our community.
General Manager John Tashiro, Project Manager Pat Burns and the entire
team at Onion River Co-op were presented with an Environmental Merit
Award by EPA Region 1 in September 2018 for transforming this former
Brownfields site into an innovative, sustainable, community-owned and
environmentally-friendly supermarket. The opening of City Market -
South End was a major milestone the neighborhood, as the market now
employs over 100 people and serves over 1,500 customers daily. The Co-
op has proven that environmental protection, economic development,
and healthy communities can go hand-in-hand.
City Market is an EPA 2018 Environmental Merit Award Recipient for the
leadership and commitment to environmental protection and healthy
foods.
"The Co-op's intent was to create a
successful and vibrant market in
Burlington's South End and create more
opportunities for community support
and engagement as well as employment
with above market wages and benefits.
We think the South End project has
been successful in these areas and we're
excited to share it with our greater
community! We appreciate the support
of the many partners who worked with
us along the way, including our team of
contractors and architects with
remediation funding from the EPA,
Vermont DEC, Vermont ACCD, and the
Chittenden County Regional Planning
Commission, It has taken quite an
amazing team to bring this dream to
fruition and it's one that will serve our
Members and our community well for
decades to come".
John Tashiro
City Market General Manager
For more information:
Visit the EPA Brownfields website at
www.epa.gov/brownfields or contact
Frank Gardner, 617-918-1278,
gardner.frank@epa.gov
EPA 901-A-18-001

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