Judge Rules Parish Can Demolish Burlington Cathedral

The former Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Pine Street in Burlington Credit: Luke Awtry

Burlington’s former Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception can be torn down.

So ruled a Vermont Superior Court judge on Tuesday, dashing the hopes of preservationists who have been trying for more than a year to save the building from ruin.

Judge Thomas Durkin’s opinion upheld the city’s decision last year to issue the project a demolition permit. The judge pointed to state law that says city zoning can’t interfere with the use of religious buildings. The statute, Durkin wrote, “is clear and unambiguous.”

Burlington attorney John Franco, representing the parish, hailed the ruling as a victory for his clients, who are seeking to demolish the building as a means of deconsecrating it. The property, in downtown Burlington, is listed for sale for $8.5 million.

“We’re really glad to get the decision,” Franco said. “We’re really glad the court recognized this is a core religious function and is protected.”

Reached on Tuesday evening, Preservation Burlington member Bob Devino had yet to read the ruling but said the group would discuss next steps with its attorney, including whether to appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court.

“We had anticipated this might be something that was going to happen,” Devino said. “It’s very disappointing.”

Built in the 1970s, the cathedral at 20 Pine Street was designed by well-known modernist architect Edward Larrabee Barnes. Its grounds, adorned with a grid of locust trees, were planned by Daniel Kiley, a prominent landscape architect.

The cathedral closed in 2018 due to dwindling attendance, and parishioners now worship at a cathedral in the Old North End. The city’s Development Review Board granted the parish a demolition permit in January 2023 under a state law that exempts religious buildings from local zoning.

Members of Preservation Burlington sued in both state and federal court, though the latter suit was dismissed last August. In the state filing, the group alleged the zoning law is unconstitutional because it affords special treatment to religious buildings over secular ones.

Judge Durkin disagreed. He further noted that the parish has gotten permission from the Roman Catholic Church to tear down the building.

“The Court is without authority to question this ecclesiastical process,” Durkin wrote. “The Court can conclude that this decision is inherently connected to the Property’s functioning as a church in the Roman Catholic faith.”