The frigid winter months in Vermont leave little incentive for people to wander outside on foot and explore downtown Burlington.

With this in mind, City Hall Park, located on College St., is planned to be redesigned to provide the Burlington community with a positive retreat in the center of downtown, architect H. Keith Wagner said.

City Council approved the proposal to redesign City Hall Park Feb.10, Wagner said. 

The proposal was made by Jesse Bridges, Burlington parks and recreation director. 

“I don’t go down there a lot. To me it seems dead, except for the weekends. To have something going on would be nice,” sophomore Mukhtar Mohamed said.

Wagner and Jeffrey Hodgson of Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architecture located in Burlington are working in collaboration with Burlington City Arts, led by executive director Doreen Kraft, on a new impression for City Hall Park, Wagner said.  

Community input was a priority when reimagining the space, Wagner said. 

A “broad variety of avenues” were taken to receive public opinion regarding ideas for the site, including surveys, workshops and art programs, he said.  

A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to Burlington City Arts encouraged people to share what they appreciate about the current features of the park and what they envision for the future, according to the architects. 

“Pretty much everything’s changing,” Wagner said. “The trees and monuments will remain.” 

The park will undergo a complete makeover, with the exception of the Civil War memorial, the World War II memorial and the Millennium Sculpture bell, he said.

An open lawn space, a temporary stage for performances and a rain garden-a hole that captures rainwater, preventing runoff from reaching the sewer system-are among the new developments to be made to the layout of the park, Wagner and Hodgson said.

“Free shows, that sounds cool,” first-year Connie Craik said. “I never leave my room in the winter so this is great.” 

“Right now the park is a wagon wheel walkway system,” Hodgson said. “We wanted to skew the circulation.”

No start date is set for construction, as the plan was just recently approved and further funding for the job is required. 

Wagner estimates that the project will take six months to a year to complete.

Students said that they look forward to the progression of City Hall Park.

“That’s really exciting,” first-year Amanda Bertschinger said. “I like the idea of an environmentally friendly rain garden. 

“I definitely think these updates will attract tourists and students to the park and benefit the community.”