The brownfields of Burlington's Barge Canal will soon be rehabbed with the help of state money and turned into a Nordic bathhouse and bowling alley.

The announcement of the brownfields property's transformation came Wednesday in a joint press conference with Gov. Phil Scott, future land owners Jovial King and Alex Crothers and current land owner Rick Davis.

Scott announced that the state's Brownfields Economic Revitalization Alliance will pay $6 million to remediate the 453 Pine St. property that is currently designated as a brownfield by Environmental Protection Agency because of contaminates left in the ground.

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The parcel is one of the only parts of the barge canal site that can be developed after remediation without high concern of disturbing coal tar dumped at the barge canal in the 1900s when it was home to a gasification plant. 

More background from last year:What we know about the future of the polluted Pine Street Barge Canal: It is also murky.

King, an herbalist and entrepreneur, is in the process buying the 453 and 501 Pine St. parcels just south of the Maltex Building with Crothers, co-owner of Higher Ground venue in South Burlington. They plan to build their businesses, Silt Botanica and Backside Bowling, on the 453 property and work with the city to create a gateway to a city-owned greenspace that would sit on top of the Superfund site between King's and Crother's property and the lake.

The state's Brownfields Economic Revitalization Alliance, which draws from state and federal money, funds brownfield remediation for projects that will bring economic growth, job creation or housing to an area.

King will open Nordic bathhouse Silt Botanica which will have indoor and outdoor pools, saunas, cold plunges, steam rooms and botanical gardens. The project was originally proposed to be built in the industrial compound at 180 Flynn Ave. but once it was made clear that state funding was available to remediate the 453 Pine St. site, King changed plans.

She hopes her business will be a center for wellness, slowing down and being together, a counteracting force to today's fast-paced, isolating culture.

Crothers will open Backside Bowl, a two-story bowling alley that will offer traditional and duckpin bowling as well as local food and beverages. The bowling alley's aesthetic will capture the artistic spirit of the South End and include music-themed elements but will not be a live music venue, Crothers said.

In response to complaints that the property won't be used for housing like current land owner Rick Davis had hinted at in the past, King said she sees the need for housing but also a need for gathering space.

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"We support the city's efforts to build more housing but we can't have every location in Burlington be housing and we also need gathering spaces to come together," King said.

The property is not currently zoned residential but brownfields can be redeveloped into residential areas.

Rick Davis, who has owned the land for nearly 40 years, remembers the day almost 30 years ago when his land was designated a brownfield, which led to celebration at the time. But cost of remediation was steep and development attempts over the years failed due to the cost. Davis said he is grateful for the state's assistance in finally advancing development on the land he is selling.

"What the governor has shown, and his team, is that there comes a time where with strategic deployment of state funds, you can reap a very high rate of return and this is one of those cases," Davis said "There's a very high rate of return for the environment, the economy and for Vermonters."

The state's soil remediation of 453 Pine St. will start this year and construction is expected to break ground at the end of 2023 or early 2024.

Several recent projects in the South End have used state brownfield funding for remediation including the South End City Market site, the Petra Cliffs site and the Hula property.

We explain why:Two longtime ferries on Lake Champlain are being dismantled

But some residents are concerned about the development disturbing the coal tar and causing it to ooze into the lake even though the EPA says brownfields can be safely redeveloped after remediation.

"We don't know if it's going to be safe. We're hoping it will be monitored and monitored well but pluming from the weight would be a big issue," said Ruby Perry, a member of the community group Friends of the Barge Canal. "We're hoping there will be a designated body that's going to check on that. And what if it does? What is the backup plan?"

The Friends of the Barge Canal are asking developers to conserve as much land as possible, including trees on the property, as a way of continuing the natural containment of toxins that nature has already started. They also want the owners to completely conserve 501 Pine St., which King confirmed they are planning to do.

"We're speaking for the land but in speaking for the land we're speaking for everyone who drinks the water from the lake, who comes to appreciate the lake," Perry said.

Although nothing is set in stone, Rick Davis is planning to donate his two other parcels of the Barge Canal along the lake so the city's vision for a park along the Barge Canal can come to fruition. There is no timeline set yet for the development of the park.

Contact Urban Change Reporter Lilly St. Angelo at lstangelo@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @lilly_st_ang