The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[YYCguys]

Right, they serve Starbucks coffee but I don't think there's a full complement of Starbucks drinks such as macchiatos and lattes, etc. I'll have to check when I'm at the Delta in November.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Yes, they proudly brew and serve Starbucks coffee at that kiosk at the Delta, but I'm pretty sure you can't get a grande no-whip decaf double shot caramel machiatto latte there..... :haha:

And in other news, the new Swiss Chalet at Mountain/Gorge will open on November 1st. I'm willing to bet that it will be as insanely busy as the new Second Cup is. I'm certainly looking forward to not having to drive across town to Dieppe to get my chicken fix! :tup:

[mylesmalley]

:previous:

Yes, they proudly brew and serve Starbucks coffee at that kiosk at the Delta, but I'm pretty sure you can't get a grande no-whip decaf double shot caramel machiatto latte there..... :haha:

And in other news, the new Swiss Chalet at Mountain/Gorge will open on November 1st. I'm willing to bet that it will be as insanely busy as the new Second Cup is. I'm certainly looking forward to not having to drive across town to Dieppe to get my chicken fix! :tup:

They have delivery. In fact, you can order online.

[mcmcclassic]

Hey I have been wondering this for awhile and I was wondering if any of you Moncton forumers could be able to provide an answer to my question:

How come there haven't been many highrise (like 8+ stories) buildings being build in the downtown area of Moncton? Is there a zoning law against it, or a viewplane restriction(s) holding back development?

It just seems that Assomption place could look less out of place with some towers of a similar height in the near vicinity. Moncton has been growing quite rapidly in recent years and continually ranks high in economic surveys-- with that said it seems that there should be more going on in the downtown.

[JHikka]

How come there haven't been many highrise (like 8+ stories) buildings being build in the downtown area of Moncton? Is there a zoning law against it, or a viewplane restriction(s) holding back development?

Nothing in terms of restrictions as far as I know. My only assumption is that there's no need for high-rises when there's still so much sprawling to do. Generally the horizontal development takes place before the vertical can kick in. ;)

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

In a nutshell, Moncton does not have any geographic limitations to growth like Halifax has.

Moncton is blessed (? cursed) with a flat topography and land is cheap. The only body of water is the Petitcodiac River. In Halifax on the other hand, the downtown is easily defined and limited by the peninsula.

The tendency in Moncton is therefore low-rise sprawl, while in Halifax there is pressure to build upwards.

Things will change in Moncton at some point, but not until sprawl has reached the breaking point.

[mylesmalley]

Worth noting that there are two projects approved by council for towers in the 7-8 story range in the downtown area.

[mmmatt]

Yes it is good to note that while we have been slow on the development of true "highrises" as of late, the downtown area has seen a significant amount of infill in the last 10 years in the form of mid-rise 4-6 floor residential, office and hotel developments. This continues today with 2 projects in that range U/C.

And as Myles stated we have 3 mid/highrises which are poised for construction in the next few years. These include a 7 floor apartment building which has gotten recent approval. An 8~ fl condo development which has seen some play recently and will most likely start in the next 2 years. And finally there is a proposal for a 6-7 floor office which may come to light soon as our downtown office space is becoming ever more tough to find.

All things considered, mainly for the reasons MonctonRad stated, I am surprised that Moncton even has the highrises it does at this point. I am hopeful for the future as we seem to be picking up steam in that regard.

[mmmatt]

A CBC news article that just broke had me thinking again of the recent news of a meat plant closure here. The news is that the sawmill in Doaktown will be closing.

I have heard some people compare the meat plant news in Moncton to the CNR closures of the 80's and It almost makes me laugh. Comments such as "we overcame it when CN left in the 80's and we will overcome this". I have also heard people say things such as "devastating" and "signifigant impact on the economy". C'mon people...really?

Lets for a second compare the Moncton situation to that of Doaktown. To do so I will even forget about the fact that we have already created more jobs this year than what the meat plant will lose. There Irving is closing down a Sawmill for a year (possibly forever, who knows). It employs 115, the Moncton plant employed around 400. Now at first glance you say "WOW 400 that's a lot" etc. But look at it this way:

Moncton has 70,800 employed people in its workforce as of Sept. and Doaktown had 285 in 2006.

For Moncton the meat plant represents .56% (yes about 1/2 of 1%) of the employed people in the city. For Doaktown however this closure represents 59.6% of the working people in the village. THAT people is a situation that warrants words such as "devastating" etc.

End of rant

[mcmcclassic]

:previous:

In a nutshell, Moncton does not have any geographic limitations to growth like Halifax has.

Moncton is blessed (? cursed) with a flat topography and land is cheap. The only body of water is the Petitcodiac River. In Halifax on the other hand, the downtown is easily defined and limited by the peninsula.

The tendency in Moncton is therefore low-rise sprawl, while in Halifax there is pressure to build upwards.

Things will change in Moncton at some point, but not until sprawl has reached the breaking point.

That makes sense actually--- it's kind of sad but a reality. I hope to see Moncton become a mid-large city in the long term, and see the atlantic region be a more significant player on the national stage (just like we used to be) :)

[pierremoncton]

A head's up to everyone that the city is now gathering opinions through its Citizen Advisory Panel. I received a link to a survey regarding traffic today.

I should probably keep this to myself to lend my opinions more weight, but in the interest of democracy... you can sign up at www.forummoncton.ca.

[mike4190]

one point to remember is that before Maple Leaf bought the plant there were over 1100 people working there, so there has already been over 700 jobs adsorbed

[MonctonRad]

A head's up to everyone that the city is now gathering opinions through its Citizen Advisory Panel. I received a link to a survey regarding traffic today.

I should probably keep this to myself to lend my opinions more weight, but in the interest of democracy... you can sign up at www.forummoncton.ca.

Done, thanks for the tip pierre. I think all Monctonians who participate in our forum should get involved. :tup:

Moncton has 70,800 employed people in its workforce as of Sept. and Doaktown had 285 in 2006.

For Moncton the meat plant represents .56% (yes about 1/2 of 1%) of the employed people in the city. For Doaktown however this closure represents 59.6% of the working people in the village. THAT people is a situation that warrants words such as "devastating" etc.

Indeed. While the closure of Maple Leaf Foods in three years time will certainly be a blow to the local economy, it will by no means be a knockout punch.

A loss of 0.5% of the labour force will only be the equivalent of a small surface disturbance to the local economy, not the tidal wave of the combined loss of thousands of jobs in the late 80's when CNR, Eaton's and CFB Moncton all decamped.

The Moncton economy has also matured and diversified in the meantime, probably more so than a lot of non-Monctonians realize. Job growth has occurred in all sectors. There are many major employers in the Moncton region.

This list is not comprehensive, but serves as an example of the strength and diversity of the economy:

PUBLIC SECTOR - Atlantic Lotto, ACOA, DFO, CBC, Transport Canada, Corrections Canada
HEALTH CARE - The Moncton Hospital, Georges-L Dumont Hospital, Ambulance NB, Provincial Telecare
EDUCATION - District 1, District 2, Universite de Moncton, Crandall University, NBCC Moncton, CCNB Dieppe, Moncton Flight College
BANKING - RBC (NB/PEI HQ & national call centre), National Bank (Atlantic region HQ), ING Direct (national customer contact centre)
INSURANCE - Medavie Blue Cross, Assumption Life, Wawanesa
MANUFACTURING - APEX, Malley Industries, Industrial Rail Services, Action Car & Truck Accessories, Molson Coors
TRANSPORTATION - Nav Canada, GMIA, CNR (still)
DISTRIBUTION - Armour, Matrix, Loblaws
CUSTOMER CONTACT - Assurion, Exxon Mobile, Minacs, BBM Canada, Fairmont Hotels, Rogers Communication, Sitel
HIGH TECH - International Gaming Technology, Nanoptix, GTech
IRVING GROUP - Cavendish Farms, Majesta/Royale, Master Packaging, Irving Personal Care, Brunswick News, Midland Transport
RETAILING - Champlain Place, Wheeler Park etc.
HOSPITALITY & TOURISM - Casino NB, Magnetic Hill Attractions, many hotels including Delta Beausejour, Marriott and Crowne Plaza

I could go on, but you get the idea. Moncton is much more than Maple Leaf Foods.....

[mylesmalley]

I have to be careful about surveys like that, now that I'm a resident of Dieppe :tup:

[MonctonRad]

from the CBC

Mount Allison ranked best undergrad by Maclean's
CBC News Posted:
Oct 26, 2011 2:05 PM AT Last Updated: Oct 26, 2011 2:14 PM AT

Mount Allison has been named the best undergraduate university in Canada by Maclean's magazine for a record 15th time.

The university, located in Sackville, has placed first in the primarily undergraduate category for the past five years in a row and has never placed lower than second in the 21 years Maclean's has published an annual rankings issue.

"We are pleased with the Maclean’s results," president and vice-chancellor Robert Campbell stated in a news release.

"Each year the rankings serve as validation for our single-minded pursuit of excellence in academics and extracurricular activities and the unique way in which they are integrated," he said.

In the survey, which asks CEOs, experts, educators, and community leaders from across the nation for their views on quality, innovation, and leadership at Canadian universities, Mount Allison jumped eight spots nationally into the top 10.

It ranked first in its class in the highest quality category and placed second for best overall.

"We are extremely gratified to see our reputation with leaders growing across Canada," said Campbell.

"And they are evidently sharing the good news. With the highest percentage of first-year students from other provinces, the quality of our experience is clearly getting through to those seeking an immersive learning experience."

The University of New Brunswick placed sixth in the comprehensive category for universities that have a significant degree of research activity and a wide range of programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including professional degrees.

St. Thomas University placed 14th in the primarily undergraduate category, while the University of Moncton tied for 15th with Brandon.

[MonctonRad]

Champlain Place News:

- Jack & Jones is now open next to Bath & Body Works.

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z411/MonctonRad/Snapbucket/Moncton%20Construction%202011/0e8a0151.jpg

Judging from the potency of the aroma of cologne wafting from the entrance of the store, I would say that they have definitely stolen a page from the playbook of A&F or Hollisters! :haha:

- Also, they are starting renovations in the old Carleton Cards location. I have no idea yet what is going in there. This will leave the old Roots location as the only empty storefront in the mall. It will be a temporary Hickory Farms location for the holiday season.

[MonctonRad]

from today's T&T

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=713138&size=800x0

A new Sun Life Financial office will be officially opened in a new professional office building on Mountain Road this Friday.

The new Sun Life building on Mountain Road near Gorge Road sports a nice new clock. The building will have its official opening this Friday.
The new office building at 1888 Mountain Road has been attracting quite a bit of attention with its unique design and clock towers. The building is a project of business partners Kevin Williams of Sun Life Financial and Dr. Richard Cole, who will have his dentist office in the building. Other tenants are MacPhee's Accounting and Diversity Hair Salon. Williams says there are three spaces still available to be leased and he's hoping to attract professional offices.

Both Williams and Cole are from Moncton and played football for Harrison Trimble High School before they became business partners. He says the design of the building allows for easy access and parking, with an extended roof that allows customers to walk from one business to the other without being exposed to the elements.

Personal note - this new building is called the Indent Building, which I think is a rather clever play on words. One of the owners is a dentist, and the building is somewhat "indented" with relation to Mountain Road. Personally, I find the building attractive and it complements Wheaton's next door very well..... :tup:

[mmmatt]

Couple notes

- Exterior cladding is going up on Empire theaters but only the "back" of the new section...not much to speak of...just tilt-up grey concrete.

- The large apt on Gauvin is on its 4th floor now, lookin good so far

- Sobeys/Lawtons on Elmwood is putting the finishing touches on exteriors...they don't look too bad for what they are...the Sobeys has more glass on it than the new one on Vaughn Harvey.

- Site prep work is started at the new condo project on Harrisville Blvd.

- Most of the exterior is up on the Irving HQ on Dieppe Blvd...

- Seems as though the new Valmond building and phase II of Bella Casa are in a race to the top haha...they are progressing at about the same speed...both working on the underground parking so far but it looks like they will be moving up soon!

[mylesmalley]

The walls have started going up on a surprisingly huge looking apartment building at the end of Gauvin Rd. If it tops out at four floors (which I assume it will as everything else built in the last few years along that road has been), it'll probably hold 64 units. There have probably been close to 175 units built just on Gauvin since Summer.

[mmmatt]

Also forgot to mention

- The old Smitties/St Hubert is being renovated...possibly to look like the render they have posted. Not sure if that means they have a tenant lined up or they are just being proactive.

- Near that there is a lot with something going on as I mentioned a while back "Flatiron Moncton". I went by today and it seems as though they are making an attempt at digging to china haha.

[porchmouse]

Harry's Pizza opened yesterday at 1905 West Main Street, attached to the Econolodge. According to his twitter, he was quite busy yesterday so let's wish him all the best. I'm going to check it out later on today.


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6042/6291119147_a9b45f13d3.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6237/6291637678_1ba6a4720c.jpg

[porchmouse]

Great news for Moncton North. I was at Quizno's in Dieppe this week and I was grumbling about how far we had to drive to get there. They happily told me that their franchisee is opening a new Quizno's in Moncton North in the old BMO location next to Lounsbury's. It is estimated to open sometime in December. Very exciting. It's a great location with an already established (but busy) parking lot and a set of traffic lights. :)


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6039/6291121393_212f8f22e3.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6119/6291640170_73e5d52787.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6239/6291123207_66b59b3fe8.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6215/6291644266_5111baf4b8.jpg

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Good news about Quizno's. I knew that this empty storefront wouldn't stay empty too long, it's just too good a location. The whole Lounsbury's strip mall is looking good. The Bank of Montreal did a good job on their new location in the center of the strip. If I'm not mistaken, with the new Quizno's, the whole plaza will be filled. :tup:

And in other news, I don't think there has been any mention of this substantial and fairly nice apartment building being constructed behind Pizza Delight/Dooley's on Mountain Road across from NBCC and the Northwest Centre.

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z411/MonctonRad/Snapbucket/Moncton%20Construction%202011/4713cc4c.jpg

This just adds to the rather impressive list of new apartment building and condo complexes being built throughout the metro area. It's no wonder that our building permits in the Moncton area exceed $282M YTD.

[mylesmalley]

I've heard that the condos going up on Gauvin is only the first of three buildings.

[MonctonRad]

A photo from today showing the Petitcodiac behind the condos on Assomption Blvd. The rip-rap work has been finished and you can see the final result.

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z411/MonctonRad/Snapbucket/Moncton%20Construction%202011/b9e59874.jpg

All due respects to Daniel LeBlanc, but I think this work was quite necessary in order to stabilize the river bank. There was an unusually high tide today, and the water level was at the top of the rip-rap. The current was strong and a lot of erosion could occur on a day like today. Just imagine if there were a storm surge on top of this.

[NBNYer]

A photo from today showing the Petitcodiac behind the condos on Assomption Blvd. The rip-rap work has been finished and you can see the final result.


:previous:
This area has so much potential. A boardwalk the length of downtown would go a long way (no pun intended) in beautifying the riverfront park. Something like this:

http://gallery.roadbikereview.com/data/roadbike/500/WanganuiBoardwalk.jpg

I've heard that the condos going up on Gauvin is only the first of three buildings.

You mean Gauvin Estates? This could end up being a pretty significant residential development... Why isn't this DT!? :yuck:

[JHikka]

You mean Gauvin Estates? This could end up being a pretty significant residential development... Why isn't this DT!? :yuck:

DT? As in Downtown Moncton? Please, we're talking about Downtown Dieppe here. :haha:

[mylesmalley]

Not far off... at the rate they're going, Gauvin Road is going to be giving St George Street a run for its money.

[josh_cat_eyes]

:previous:
This area has so much potential. A boardwalk the length of downtown would go a long way (no pun intended) in beautifying the riverfront park. Something like this:

http://gallery.roadbikereview.com/data/roadbike/500/WanganuiBoardwalk.jpg



You mean Gauvin Estates? This could end up being a pretty significant residential development... Why isn't this DT!? :yuck:

The boardwalk in Summerside is one of the best investments the city has ever made. It is beautiful.

[mctnguy]

Hey everyone. It looks like a "Toys R Us Express" is going into the old Blockbuster location on Mountain Road.

http://i.imgur.com/QoCN1l.jpg

[mylesmalley]

Geez, I thought Toys R Us was going out of business.

[MonctonRad]

Hey everyone. It looks like a "Toys R Us Express" is going into the old Blockbuster location on Mountain Road.

Wow!

I certainly didn't see that coming!!

That will give two Toys R Us locations in the city (although this will be a small one).

I must admit that I've never heard of Toys R Us Express.

[q12]

Wow!

I certainly didn't see that coming!!

That will give two Toys R Us locations in the city (although this will be a small one).

I must admit that I've never heard of Toys R Us Express.

A Toys R Us Express opened in the Halifax Shopping Centre a little while ago.

Apparently they may be only temporary "pop-up" locations for Christmas.

http://www.sherwoodparknews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3341289

Since a new large scale Toys R Us/Babies R Us just opened in Dartmouth Crossing, the Mic Mac Mall location will be closing after Christmas I believe.

I've heard a rumor they are looking to open a location similar to the DC style in Bayers Lake. Sorry didn't mean to hijack the thread but was wondering about the express locations myself.

[brod3211]

This is what I find interesting... why is it that a city like Charlottetown can build this huge shopping districts and have tenants popping up like there is no tomorrow, but Moncton a booming shopping... I loosely use the word "mecca" can't get shopping centers up and going? Example Monctons new shopping center across from cosco... can't get going and they have been trying for years on that? It just worries me that Moncton may be falling behind in some shopping categories...

[mylesmalley]

The development across from Costco is back up and running under a new construction company and if I recall correctly should be at least partially open by summer.

I'd hardly say Moncton is falling behind. Slowing down to let the market catch up is more accurate. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but the average per person expenditure on retail in Moncton is something like 40 or 60% higher than the national average because so many retailers use Moncton as a destination for customers in the region.

The biggest retail construction boom we've seen in the last couple of years is that which has happened along Mountain Road. At least a half-dozen new strip malls and plazas have gone up in the last year or two. Shediac Road, Elmwood Drive, Champlain St, and Findlay Park in Riverview have all seen tonnes of new construction since the downturn started.

Then there's the renos and expansion at Champlain Place last summer and the addition to Crystal Palace going on as we speak...

Maybe because the growth has been spread out all over the city instead of one new district, but I'd say if anything, retail in the city has never been better.

[icetea93]

Yes Toys R Us Express is usually temporary just to give people more access to their products during the holiday season, however the successful locations have been known to stay open permanently.

[icetea93]

A Toys R Us Express opened in the Halifax Shopping Centre a little while ago.

Apparently they may be only temporary "pop-up" locations for Christmas.

http://www.sherwoodparknews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3341289

Since a new large scale Toys R Us/Babies R Us just opened in Dartmouth Crossing, the Mic Mac Mall location will be closing after Christmas I believe.

I've heard a rumor they are looking to open a location similar to the DC style in Bayers Lake. Sorry didn't mean to hijack the thread but was wondering about the express locations myself.

Yes the Mic Mac store will close in January when their lease is up and the space will be divided up for new, fresh-to-market stores.

[riverviewer]

The development across from Costco is back up and running under a new construction company and if I recall correctly should be at least partially open by summer.

I heard that Cleve's Source for Sports will be opening their new stand alone location across from Costco as soon as January 2012.

Others will be following in the summer.

[MonctonRad]

- regarding Toys R Us Express, I just did a bit of online research and yes, they started out as a holiday experiment in 2009, but proved so successful that a number of the locations have been kept open. There are now over 600 locations in the US with dozens in Canada as well. I could see this store on Mountain Road as just a holiday experiment, but we'll see. If it does well, perhaps it will stay open permanently. I'm a little surprised as to the choice of location however. To my mind, it might have made more sense to open the Express store in the old Blockbusters location in Riverview. In many ways, that location would have been more geographically removed from the existing store in Champlain Place and perhaps there would have been a greater pent up demand over there than in Moncton West. :shrug:

- Regarding any retail "slowdown" in Moncton, I think the issue is not so much about a slowdown but more because of the fact that there is currently no place for new retailers to the city to expand into:

1) - Champlain Place is full and Wheeler Park is full. Northwest Centre is also full.
2) - Findlay Park is more of a neighbourhood mini-big box development for Riverview rather than a regional shopping mecca.
3) - The vultures are circling Highfield Square and, aside from the fact that leases in that mall are only month-to-month, no retailer in their right mind would set up shop there.
4) - The numerous strip malls in the city are more oriented to small neighbourhood shops and services than to medium or big box retailers.

As such, there is currently no place in the city for new national retailers to move into. The Mapleton Power Centre was to be the next step in the retail evolution of the city, but it was delayed by the road construction on Mapleton Road and the widening of the overpass over Wheeler Blvd (which lasted several years) and the development was finally torpedoed by the recession. Now that this is all in the past, Mapleton has been resurrected and there should be considerable action on the retail front in the next couple of years. We already know of a number of retailers prepared to move into Mapleton (Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Golf Town, Cleve's etc.) and the newspaper has alluded to the fact that building permits for Mapleton are starting to "pile up".

I'm confident that 2012 will be a busy year on the retail front! :)

[MonctonRad]

Swiss Chalet on Mountain at Gorge is now open.

The paving at the Mountain/Gorge/Evergreen intersection is now complete. There is now a dedicated left turning lane on Mountain for Evergreen Drive!

The new traffic lights are still in flashing mode, but signalization should be complete by the weekend.....

[macas539]

Work is progressing nicely on the Empire Theatres at Crystal Palace. I drove by there this afternoon and most of the exterior walls are closed in at this point. It still has a lot more work to be done though. I'm not sure it will be done by Christmas. I just know I can't wait until it opens! From what it looks like now you can tell it's going to be quite a bit more impressive than it was.

Also, that Toys R Us Express idea sounds pretty cool. I hope it sticks around even after the holidays. But my only concern is the parking for that building is small and awkward. Not sure how well that will work when all the busy christmas shoppers try to get in there.

[MonctonRad]

Good news for lovers of Lebanese food. Sal's Shawrama and Pizza will soon be opening in the old Mega Wraps location on Mountain Road next to NBCC.

[BlackYear]

Is the pizza business in Moncton that lucrative? And is this the same Sal's Pizza guy from the Riverview location?

[mylesmalley]

When you consider how big Moncton is, and how many dozens of burger, coffee and sub shops we have, is it really that surprising to see a few pizza joints opening up?

[MonctonRad]

Things are definitely afoot at the Mapleton Power Centre.

They've torn out one of the foundations (backing on Mapleton Road), and have laid down a brand new foundation, perhaps for the Cleves that Riverviewer alluded to.....

[mylesmalley]

Any idea how tall the building on Dominion is going to be?

[MonctonRad]

Any idea how tall the building on Dominion is going to be?

I have not heard, and there have been no renders provided for our perusal. I'm assuming 5-6 floors.

[mmmatt]

The store taking over from Carelton Cards in the mall is Marie-Claire according to the floor plan. They are currently only a few doors down. This will be an increase of 500ft of space for them and obviously a fresh new look. They will continue the recent "move and upgrade" trend in the mall that has taken place since the renovations. Id say at least 1/2 of the stores in the mall have either moved or renovated since then.

I'm surprised about the rumour of Cleves moving to Mapleton by Jan...seems a little rushed to me. I suppose its possible, but to go from foundation to an open store in 2 or 3 months would be a feat! As we already know Bouclair is waiting in the wings for them to vacate so who knows we could have at least one new store there before spring!

[riverviewer]

I'm surprised about the rumour of Cleves moving to Mapleton by Jan...seems a little rushed to me. I suppose its possible, but to go from foundation to an open store in 2 or 3 months would be a feat! As we already know Bouclair is waiting in the wings for them to vacate so who knows we could have at least one new store there before spring!

Actually I heard that their preferred date was December 2011, but construction was delayed. There is disappointment that they won't be in the new store by Christmas, and are currently over-stocked in their current location as they had pre-ordered on the December assumption.

A really neat fact of the new Cleve's store is that they are going to have an outdoor enclosure. I'm hearing "rock wall"?

[Jstaleness]

Actually I heard that their preferred date was December 2011, but construction was delayed. There is disappointment that they won't be in the new store by Christmas, and are currently over-stocked in their current location as they had pre-ordered on the December assumption.

A really neat fact of the new Cleve's store is that they are going to have an outdoor enclosure. I'm hearing "rock wall"?

Over-stocked you say. You guys might get lucky and have larger Christmas sales at that location. The rock wall thing sounds awesome.

[MonctonRad]

I tried out the take-out at the new Swiss Chalet at Mountain and Gorge this evening. It was as much of a zoo as I've ever seen across town at tbeir other location in Dieppe. I'm confident that they will do well.

Anyway, I was talking to the counter person at the take-out as well as the person she was serving, and they were both convinced that Sobeys is shortly going to begin construction on a new location on Mountain Road at Magnetic Hill, next to the Home Hardware/Home Furnishings store. One of them was saying that her boyfriend was working as a drywaller at the new Sobeys under construction on Elmwood, and he was telling her about the new project.

This certainly falls under the category of "unsubstantiated rumour", but it makes interesting speculation. It's not the first time that i've heard this rumour. If it gets built, it would be the seventh Sobeys in greater Moncton (8th if you include Shediac).

[NBNYer]

:previous:

There is also a rumored new Sobeys location on Harrisville. Any news on that one?

If these rumors are true, they reaffirm Sobeys' continuous and aggressive push in the area. I think Loblaws may be missing the boat here.

[riverviewer]

Well it's official. Ganong Chocolatier is pulling out of the Chocolate River Station.

I'm sad for the town but I don't blame Ganong as their product was too high-end to support local shoppers and the visitors just didn't come.

Anyone got a good idea for the spot?

[theshark]

a sobey's express! :haha:

Na but really ,was it advertised at all??

They way I am looking at the location, I'm asking myself a few questions, are they looking at running it year long ( keep in mind I have no idea what is in there already)

If yes, you divide your bottom to be able to accomodate a few specialty shops (meats, library, exotic foods, bakery, cheese shop....) you try to find a mix to:
1 create an experience
2 to have establishements that can build themselves a strong reputation through the city (IE best smoke meat in town or if you want a cake, this is the place to go, biggest variety of cheese in town)
3 make it a stop where people can find stuff to fix dinner or lunch in a quick way (both affordable and good)

And if it works, there is room for REASONNABLE expansion.

2nd story, an interpretation center for the petitcodiac with an observation area with a multifunctional room that easily be converted and available to be rented for different events (book lauching, small meetings, information sessions...)

If you use this formula, you want to make sure you leave reserved parking for the custommers of the stores only. I will take the example of Bathurst, trying to get as many people downtown as they can every night, they created this place they call promenade waterfront where there are specialty shops, restaurant and an outdoor venue in the middle to which during the summer months, there is a free concert every night of the week!!! so the parking is packed and there is not that much available around. Now the issue arrising is that the people attending the concert, are not the clientelle usually going to the stores. So you have the clientelle that can't park nearby, skipping the stop. Up to the point where the stores are more busy on a weekly afternoon than during the concerts. So as a result and seeing that the city is more focussed at just brigning people downtown than keeping businesses downtown ans will not give them a few nearby parkings, some are pulling out of the area.

So if you want it to work, make sure that during a book launching, there is available parking for the other custommers.

my 2 cents.

[brod3211]

It should become a bar/restaurant... It's in a great place, lots of people passing by there everyday, it would do great as a bar, I know people would go, it has an upstairs for say dancing an a downstairs for te bar or vice versa, plus it has a group of other smaller places in the building they could set aside for private birthdays or gathers etc.. But so much potential!

[macas539]

I would even say a nice cafe would fit in nicely at the station. It would be a nice spot to sit with a cup of coffee or tea and take in the scenery and chat with friends. They could even have a nice patio outdoors in the summer months. It would be quite quaint in my opinion. I would stop in for sure.

[mylesmalley]

I'm surprised just how aggressively Sobeys has gone after the Moncton market. They've replaced two old stores and added one new one in just the last three years. Considering the growth in the area, it wouldn't surprise me if they tried for another one out in the Magnetic Hill area. The area is already booming, and with the new English school and pending French school along Ryan, it's pretty safe to assume we're going to see an even bigger influx of young families.

As for Harrisville... the construction in that end of Moncton and Dieppe is nothing short of amazing. But I can't see them keeping three locations in Dieppe. I think it's safe to say that if they opened a new one out there, we'd see the closure of the small store on Paul Street. I'm still a little baffled why they have two locations within half a km of each other as it is. Toss in the Superstore across the creek and you've got a pretty damn high grocery store density per sq km downtown!

[MonctonRad]

Well it's official. Ganong Chocolatier is pulling out of the Chocolate River Station.

I'm sad for the town but I don't blame Ganong as their product was too high-end to support local shoppers and the visitors just didn't come.

Anyone got a good idea for the spot?

The Chocolate River Station - a noble but fatally flawed and ultimately doomed experiment.

- it was in the wrong location for a tourist attraction.
- the tourist season is only two months long (what happens the rest of the year).
- there is no longer the tour bus traffic heading down the Petitcodiac to the Rocks and Fundy Park to support such an attraction as this.

The future of the Chocolate River Station really should lie as a community centre for the town of Riverview. Specifically, the building should be used as the towns farmers market. This would not preclude a part of the building being used as a restaurant. The Riverview Arts Centre could also use the building. The boardwalk in back of the building could be used for vendors stalls in the summertime. The building could also be leased at times for receptions and community events.

This is the sort of future I see for this building, and that isn't such a bad thing after all......

[josh_cat_eyes]

I didn't realize Sobeys was planning a new store in Magnetic Hill! They are on a roll.

Also RioCan already lists Bouclair rather than Cleves on their property profile.

[bobcage]

A photo from today showing the Petitcodiac behind the condos on Assomption Blvd. The rip-rap work has been finished and you can see the final result.

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z411/MonctonRad/Snapbucket/Moncton%20Construction%202011/b9e59874.jpg

All due respects to Daniel LeBlanc, but I think this work was quite necessary in order to stabilize the river bank. There was an unusually high tide today, and the water level was at the top of the rip-rap. The current was strong and a lot of erosion could occur on a day like today. Just imagine if there were a storm surge on top of this.

Rip/rap was good to be installed in that location.
Daniel's concern was the rip rap they installed near the wharf - which was unnecessary! -- I haven't seen the job they've done but I hope they did not install anything in front of bore park because the shore needs to erode further in front of bore park --tourist needs to see the tidal bore better.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Never fear my friend, if you look carefully at the photo, you can see that the marsh grass in front of the viewing area at Bore View Park is still there. :)

[MonctonRad]

This is not a development related post, but I think some aknowledgement should be made of the passing of Ian Fowler. This career civic employee has done more than any other individual in the creation of the modern 21st century city of Moncton.

Pretty much the entire first section of the T&T today was given over to articles about and tributes to Mr. Fowler. These tributes have been flowing in from around the continent and around the world, truly indicating the calibre of this powerful and influential individual.

I was particularly taken by this reflection by John Wishart. I think this captures the essence of the man.....

Ian (Fowler) showed nothing was beyond our reach
Published Monday November 7th, 2011
BY JOHN WISHART
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

I was sitting in the Moncton Farmers' Market when I heard Ian Fowler died. My wife and I were having breakfast - our usual Saturday morning date - when my pocket buzzed.

It was an e-mail from a friend, who told me Ian had passed away only a few minutes ago.

The market is one of those Moncton landmarks that bears Ian's imprint. It had been a tough file for him to handle, a sometimes rocky relationship with the vendors who sell their wares each weekend. But all these years later, it has settled into a beautiful rhythm, a community beat that draws hundreds of residents each Saturday morning.

Ian's career with the city and my own with the Times & Transcript moved to a similar beat these past three decades. Ian started with the Community Services Department in 1980 as director of outdoor recreation; I started with the newspaper in 1982 and almost immediately became city hall reporter, covering Ian and his mates in CSD.

I remember meeting Ian in the rather dingy offices that housed Community Services on Westmorland Street, where the parking lot for the Farmers' Market now sits. I am sure it was there that Ian first learned the art of the deal under the wing of one of the city's foremost negotiators of the day, CSD director Art Buck.

I remember standing on freshly-laid sod at Magic Mountain on a cool June day in 1987, the steam from the hot asphalt still rising into the morning air as Buck announced the opening of a bold new initiative - the Magnetic Hill Tourism Park.

No doubt Ian was somewhere in the background, making sure things - from the asphalt that had been paved just hours before to the sod that was still squishy underfoot - was just right.

Twenty-five years later, Ian leaves Moncton a changed place.

It is a city that routinely punches well above its weight-class. Around the world, music fans wear tour T-shirts that list the names of concert sites that go something like this: "Madrid, Barcelona, Munich, San Francisco, New York, Moncton . . ."

It is a city that has hosted a world-class athletics competition in a stadium that has held sold-out Canadian Football League games and will likely host World Cup Women's Soccer in 2015.

It is a city that has hosted so many world and national events that I've forgotten more than I can remember.

And most importantly, it is a city that thinks it can accomplish just about anything, that no event, competition, venue or act is beyond our reach.

For that, I think we all owe a debt of gratitude to Ian Fowler. Sure, we have been lucky in Moncton to have had the political leadership to make things happen. But if city council supplied the fuel to our success, Ian was usually the spark.

It is fair to say not everyone appreciated Ian's way of getting things done. He was a tough negotiator who sometimes begged forgiveness instead of seeking permission. But it is equally fair to say those things would not have got done without Ian's way.

How could Moncton have ever lured the Rolling Stones to a field without Ian's genius? How could we have secured funding for the Stade Moncton Stadium on the Université de Moncton campus without some shrewd dealing on Ian's part? How could we be on the verge of a new downtown metro centre without Ian's push?

It is because of Ian's vision that the Magnetic Hill Concert Site has millions in infrastructure investment to lure even more world-class entertainers. It would have been easy - as some other municipalities did - to throw money at promoters to bring in the big names. But Ian knew better; he knew the difference between investment and profit.

One of the biggest measures of a man is the loyalty of his friends and co-workers. Ian's extended family was fiercely loyal. And they would be the first to admit there is no Ian Fowler succession plan. As good as many are on his team, it will take that entire team to continue the decade of momentum he built.

The last time I saw Ian was on my way out of the U2 concert this summer. My wife and I were navigating the muddy path on our way to a bus when the formidable figure that was Ian appeared in the distance.

Instead of sitting in a back-stage trailer raising a toast with promoters to another phenomenal show, there he was clad in a rain coat and knee-high rubbers, waving a flashlight.

He stopped me and I was struck by the earnestness in his voice.

"How did you like the show? Did you and your wife get up close?"

Ian knew my wife and I are huge U2 fans. But there was something different about Ian that night. It wasn't just small talk. It was almost as if he knew this would be the last time he got to see the post-concert buzz on the faces of people he knew.

Ian may not have known about the cancer diagnosis that wet July night, but I have wondered these past few days if he knew in his heart that this was it; that the amazing odyssey that started with the Rolling Stones would end with U2.

And yet, I'm confident it won't end.

Don't worry, my friend. Thanks to you, the band will play on.

* John Wishart is managing editor of The Daily Gleaner in Fredericton. For almost three decades, he worked at the Times & Transcript as a reporter and editor.

Final note - When the downtown events centre gets built (note I said when, not if), it will have been largely through the efforts of Ian Fowler. I wonder if it would not be a fitting tribute to this powerful individual to name it the Ian Fowler Memorial Arena.........

[benvui]

Final note - When the downtown events centre gets built (note I said when, not if), it will have been largely through the efforts of Ian Fowler. I wonder if it would not be a fitting tribute to this powerful individual to name it the Ian Fowler Memorial Arena[/COLOR].........

I've been thinking the same thing

[David_99]

Received a flyer in the mail stating the Grand Opening for the new Elmwood Sobeys is this Saturday. Price Chopper is closing tomorrow.

[MonctonRad]

Price Chopper is closing tomorrow.

Quelle surprise!!

The Lawton's on Elmwood near Morton will be next.....

[macas539]

Does anyone know what's afoot at assumption blvd and Vaughan Harvey near the ball fields? I drove by there today and trucks are dumping mounds of dirt and building up a large pad. I thought it may be just an expansion of the ball fields but it seems to be an awful large area and a lot of grading for that. This couldn't be where that new office building would go could it?

[mmmatt]

A Great Year So Far...

Just wanted to take a moment and mention that we have had an excellent construction season so far this year. The latest permit figures came out this week for Sept. and we are 40M above last year at this point!

This graph below shows the "Jan-Sept" portion of the years listed, for proper comparison. The value is 1 = 1,000,000$. I Included nearby markets as well for comparison.
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/9654/graphj.jpg

This graph below shows the $ per person spent in each market. (again only the Jan-Sept period). Just noticed that on this one I put "1.23" instead of 2007 for some reason, so ignore that haha.


http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/7137/graph1q.jpg

So as you can see we have spent the last few years doing consistently well, but this year a large jump! And that's without many "Signature" developments this year aka casino etc.

[mmmatt]

Some pics from the last couple days working (driving) around the area.

Just a few of the many things going on of course...however these ones I dont see very often so I suppose most of you dont either...

These pics were taken while driving with a cell phone so excuse the quality please :P

Harrisville Condos...just laid the foundation last week (this pic is terrible sorry)
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/1508/photo0366ns.jpg


200 Commerce St (Caledonia) New multi-tennant building. foundation is down.
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/336/photo0362x.jpg

Caledonia Warehouse 1 (60,000sq ft) (rumoured to be Canadian Tire Distrubution). They have almost 1/2 the steel up.
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/4039/photo0361q.jpg

Caledonia Warehouse 2 (170,000sq ft) (rumoured to be McKesson Medical Distribution). Most of the exterior is up now.
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/7766/photo0358s.jpg

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/8558/photo0359m.jpg

Jean Coutou Shediac They are renovating the former Shoppers on Main. Looks much better.
http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/9756/photo0363bs.jpg


Gov of Canada Shediac Most of the exterior is up now.
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9815/photo0365z.jpg

Some other stuff

- Today I was in the Scoudouc Ind. Park and there are 3 new buildings going up. All in the 10-15,000 sq ft range. This is on top of the 2 new buildings in that same range that have gone up there in the last year. (both leased). I guess the new interchange paid off for that area!

- Peace Center is almost done

- There is a new apartment building that started behind Shoppers on St. George (beside one that was built last year) I assume it will be of similar design. 4 floors.

- They have about 1/4 of the structure up for Bella Casa II

- The new Valmond building off Vaughn Harvey hasnt changed much lately...there is activity on the site, just nothing visible. I'm assuming they are curing the foundation/underground parking etc. Most likely it will go up fast once they are done the foundation (a la Empire Theaters).

- Empire Theaters has most of its exterior up

- The "Flatiron Moncton" on mountain road has its foundation in. To me it screams drive thru coffee...

[Hogie75]

Relish burger on Main Street in the old jewelry store next to Cut Throat Pizza officially opened its doors today. Tried it and it is great!!

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Nice graphs and nice update mmmatt :tup:

I agree, your "flatiron" next to the Lily Chinese Buffet on Mountain Road screams "coffee" to me too, but I don't think it will be another Timmies. Given the shape and orientation of the building, I wonder about another Second Cup or perhaps a Starbucks.

So, you think the "behemoth" in Caledonia will be McKesson Medical Supplies. That place is truly massive, it would have to be the distribution centre for all of eastern Canada to justify the size of that building!!

Also interesting to see that the new distribution centre next door might be for Canadian Tire. It's only going to be half to two/thirds the size of the McKesson building.

I agree that progress on the Valmond building seems painfully slow, but I dare say that you are correct about the curing time for the concrete for the underground garage. It will be interesting to see if there will be a tower crane on site to assist in construction. :)

This weekend I hope to get out and take a few pics of the Mountain & Gorge area now that construction is finished. :tup:

[MonctonRad]

Does anyone know what's afoot at assumption blvd and Vaughan Harvey near the ball fields? I drove by there today and trucks are dumping mounds of dirt and building up a large pad. I thought it may be just an expansion of the ball fields but it seems to be an awful large area and a lot of grading for that. This couldn't be where that new office building would go could it?

I'm sure that it is just ongoing work at the Harold Page Memorial Sportsplex. I believe they refurbished half the playing fields last year, with the remainder of the work occurring next year.

The rumoured new office building will be going in across the street, on the northeast corner of the Vaughan Harvey/Assumption intersection.

[macas539]

I see. I figured a building there would look slightly out of place.

[nwalbert]

A Great Year So Far...

Just wanted to take a moment and mention that we have had an excellent construction season so far this year. The latest permit figures came out this week for Sept. and we are 40M above last year at this point!


Just out of curiosity, where do you get your data from? Curious to have a look.

[D3nZ]

Not exacly sure if the commissioner of the QMJHL spilled the beans a little bit early. He just said on Sportsnet during the first intermission of the second game of the Super Series that there are 3 new arenas to be built for current teams in the Q. Gatineau, Drummondville and you guessed it Moncton.

[mmmatt]

I agree, your "flatiron" next to the Lily Chinese Buffet on Mountain Road screams "coffee" to me too, but I don't think it will be another Timmies. Given the shape and orientation of the building, I wonder about another Second Cup or perhaps a Starbucks.




Yeah one of those would be my first guess as well. Starbucks would be awesome!


So, you think the "behemoth" in Caledonia will be McKesson Medical Supplies. That place is truly massive, it would have to be the distribution centre for all of eastern Canada to justify the size of that building!!


Thats just a rumour that I've heard...Ive asked people who work nearby etc. Like you said it would have to be for a large part of Canada for them to need that much space, thats why I am personally a bit skeptical of that rumour...


Also interesting to see that the new distribution centre next door might be for Canadian Tire. It's only going to be half to two/thirds the size of the McKesson building.


Yeah, now that you say it perhaps people are getting wires crossed...maybe Can Tire is the larger one? Might make more sense...we will have to wait and see I guess. (unless they go incognito all the way like some others have :cool:)

[mmmatt]

Just out of curiosity, where do you get your data from? Curious to have a look.

Sorry I usually post the links...

I used StatsCan for all the data as they are the definitive source.

The first table is all info that can be found by using this chronological list (there is a release every month):

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?catno=64-001-X&chropg=1&lang=eng

I used only the September ones though of course. The specific table you need to find once into the specific month (aka sept 2008) is called:

"Value of residential and non-residential building permits, census metropolitan areas, unadjusted, cumulative, January to September 20**"

Here is the link to the most current table for example:

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/64-001-x/2011009/t012-eng.htm

For the PEI numbers its the same process except you use the provincial table of course.

For the other table I used the same info and divided the dollar value by the population of that area. I used the median estimate (2009) for simplicity sake. Those population figures can be found here:

CMA (Hali, Monc, SJ)
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-214-x/2008000/t021-eng.htm

PEI
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-215-x/2009000/t458-eng.htm

[nwalbert]

Sorry I usually post the links...

I used StatsCan for all the data as they are the definitive source.

The first table is all info that can be found by using this chronological list (there is a release every month):



Awesome, thanks a ton for sharing!

[mmmatt]

Sorry Im flooding the page today...but I've been off for a bit so give me a break! :P

I also found an updated site plan for the Mapleton Power Center recently!

Its from a leasing broker company. On the plan they list 5 retailers.

Now I'll post this but please remember that it is possible they are not confirmed.

This Image is dated Oct. 28 2010

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/2537/mapleton.jpg
source (http://www.paracom.on.ca/brochures/site_plans/391117397_moncton_site_plan___2011.pdf)

1. http://www.golftransactions.com/gpaccess/upload_files/1010315.jpg
source (http://www.golftown.com/)

2. http://www.suburbanfc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Cleves-Source-For-Sports-Logo-2.jpg
source (http://www.suburbanfc.ca/registration/cleves-suburban-day)

3. http://www.androidguys.com/wp-content/uploads/best_buy_logo.jpg
source (http://www.androidguys.com/2009/11/25/best-buy-mobile-offering-5-android-under-100/)

4. http://bedbathandbeyondcouponsx.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bed-bath-and-beyond-online-coupons.gif
source (http://bedbathandbeyondcouponsx.com/)

5. http://images.forbes.com/media/lists/companies/petsmart_200x200.jpg
source (http://www.forbes.com/companies/petsmart/)

6. http://files.softicons.com/download/application-icons/glassy-buttons-icons-by-curtivearticide/png/128/question-mark.png
source (http://www.softicons.com/free-icons/toolbar-icons/glassy-buttons-icons-by-curtivearticide/question-mark-icon)

The last one is just listed as "restaurant" on the plan...not sure if thats just an idea or they have someone lined up.

Here is the link to the full PDF file for the plan (better quality): http://www.paracom.on.ca/brochures/site_plans/391117397_moncton_site_plan___2011.pdf

There is an interesting looking snake-like feature on the bottom left...possibly a walkway down the hill?

Anyways, all in all this is a fantastic lineup of stores that we don't have yet. Freddy has a Pet Smart and is getting a Best Buy too, but as far as I know (correct me if wrong) these are the only planned Bed Bath and Beyond and Golf Town in NB.

Also with the movement of Cleve's from Trinity that will open up the slot for Bouclair, keeping that whole area full to capacity. So we could possibly see 6 new national retailers set up in the next year or so in this area! :)

To me it looks like the total sq footage says 268,000 (its a bit blurry) for all buildings on the plan. Trinity is 647,588. plus wal-mart, future shop, home depot, northwest center etc Id say we are looking at least 1,500,000 sq ft of retail in that area at this point.

[Taeolas]

Actually I don't think Freddy is getting a Best Buy any time soon; but Bed Bath and Beyond is coming in the Colbert Centre expansion in the spring.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Excellent find mmmatt!!

I agree that your "snakey thing" will be a walkway down from the traffic lights at Mapleton/Trinity.

It's interesting to note that the development's internal street is called Brick Street. The building at the top end of the development (where they secured a variance a couple of months ago) is big enough for a Brick. The Brick was also supposed to be one of the original tenants of this development before the original iteration tanked.

Finally, at least two of the buildings at the entrance to the development look like they will be restaurants. We know that Ola (Ela) Greek Taverna and P. F. Chang's are planning on entering the Moncton market. Another possibility could be Jack Astor's

[emad]

It's still a rumour at this point, but I heard that a St-Hubert express was coming to Dieppe at the Thanh's Palace location on the corner of Pascal and Champlain st.

It might fill the vacant place at the back of that restaurant :shrug:

[Lrdevlop]

:previous:

I've heard too that St-Hubert Express was coming to Dieppe... For the location, the only thing I heard was that it's going to be UpTown.

[josh_cat_eyes]

Sorry Im flooding the page today...but I've been off for a bit so give me a break! :P

I also found an updated site plan for the Mapleton Power Center recently!

Its from a leasing broker company. On the plan they list 5 retailers.

Now I'll post this but please remember that it is possible they are not confirmed.

This Image is dated Oct. 28 2010

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/2537/mapleton.jpg
source (http://www.paracom.on.ca/brochures/site_plans/391117397_moncton_site_plan___2011.pdf)

1. http://www.golftransactions.com/gpaccess/upload_files/1010315.jpg
source (http://www.golftown.com/)

2. http://www.suburbanfc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Cleves-Source-For-Sports-Logo-2.jpg
source (http://www.suburbanfc.ca/registration/cleves-suburban-day)

3. http://www.androidguys.com/wp-content/uploads/best_buy_logo.jpg
source (http://www.androidguys.com/2009/11/25/best-buy-mobile-offering-5-android-under-100/)

4. http://bedbathandbeyondcouponsx.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bed-bath-and-beyond-online-coupons.gif
source (http://bedbathandbeyondcouponsx.com/)

5. http://images.forbes.com/media/lists/companies/petsmart_200x200.jpg
source (http://www.forbes.com/companies/petsmart/)

6. http://files.softicons.com/download/application-icons/glassy-buttons-icons-by-curtivearticide/png/128/question-mark.png
source (http://www.softicons.com/free-icons/toolbar-icons/glassy-buttons-icons-by-curtivearticide/question-mark-icon)

The last one is just listed as "restaurant" on the plan...not sure if thats just an idea or they have someone lined up.

Here is the link to the full PDF file for the plan (better quality): http://www.paracom.on.ca/brochures/site_plans/391117397_moncton_site_plan___2011.pdf

There is an interesting looking snake-like feature on the bottom left...possibly a walkway down the hill?

Anyways, all in all this is a fantastic lineup of stores that we don't have yet. Freddy has a Pet Smart and is getting a Best Buy too, but as far as I know (correct me if wrong) these are the only planned Bed Bath and Beyond and Golf Town in NB.

Also with the movement of Cleve's from Trinity that will open up the slot for Bouclair, keeping that whole area full to capacity. So we could possibly see 6 new national retailers set up in the next year or so in this area! :)

To me it looks like the total sq footage says 268,000 (its a bit blurry) for all buildings on the plan. Trinity is 647,588. plus wal-mart, future shop, home depot, northwest center etc Id say we are looking at least 1,500,000 sq ft of retail in that area at this point.

I can't believe Charlottetown beat out Moncton on some of theses stores. They've had a Brick for like 4-5 years, Bed Bath and Beyond for 2 years and they are currently building a Petsmart as we speak (well maybe not today cause it's a holiday) They also have an Indigo (although Moncton has Chapters but I think it could support an Indigo in this new development or somewhere else in the city)

Also what does anyone think the chances are that one of the new restaurants is an Olive Garden, Kelsey's or Milestones?

[MonctonRad]

I can't believe Charlottetown beat out Moncton on some of theses stores. They've had a Brick for like 4-5 years, Bed Bath and Beyond for 2 years and they are currently building a Petsmart as we speak (well maybe not today cause it's a holiday) They also have an Indigo (although Moncton has Chapters but I think it could support an Indigo in this new development or somewhere else in the city)

Also what does anyone think the chances are that one of the new restaurants is an Olive Garden, Kelsey's or Milestones?

Moncton would have had these stores several years ago too - if the first iteration of the Mapleton Centre hadn't tanked.

Regarding Indigo - while I would certainly like to see one in our end of town, I'm not sure the market is big enough for both an Indigo and a Chapters, especially with what appears to be happening in "bricks & mortar" book retailing.... :(

Regarding all the restaurants that you have mentioned, they would certainly be most welcome. The only reason why I chose P. F. Changs, Ola (Ela) and perhaps Jack Astors is because these are chains which have (or have had) expressed interest in the Moncton Market. Moncton used to have a Kelsey's about 20 years ago. Both Olive Garden and Milestones seem to be concentrating on larger western and central Canadian markets, so I think they are unlikely. Baton Rouge might be a possibility; especially since their new location in Halifax is a hit, and the chain is owned by Moncton based Imvescor. :)

[David_99]

Baton Rouge might be a possibility; especially since their new location in Halifax is a hit, and the chain is owned by Moncton based Imvescor. :)

I made it a point to eat at both Baton Rouge and Scores on my last trip to Montreal. Would love to see Imvescor bring these chains to Moncton.

[kirjtc2]

I made it a point to eat at both Baton Rouge and Scores on my last trip to Montreal. Would love to see Imvescor bring these chains to Moncton.

Imvescor forced a sports bar in Saint John to change its name from Scores earlier this year, so something may be up for NB....

[icetea93]

Well I'm fairly certain that it isn't a Jack Astor's as my waitress at the Dartmouth Crossing restaurant said they were trying to decide between a 3rd Halifax restaurant (downtown), Truro, or Moncton. She also said that due to the shipbuilding contract that they have taken Moncton out of the running.

No idea how reliable this is but she does work there and seemed to know what she was talking about. Baton Rouge is definitely a possibility, and Olive Garden is now offering franchises in Canada. Would love to see some more Olive Gardens in Canada :tup:

[icetea93]

BTW, Olive Garden is only in Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and suburban Vancouver in Canada. They closed all other restaurants a while back, but have just recently started offering franchises here again :)

[josh_cat_eyes]

I am looking at the Lewisville/Wheeler intersection and I am starting to think I know how to fix it. What if just after the traffic circle you you had a flyover highway that went above the intersection and the train tracks. Then if you had the ramps go of the sides and underneath the current overpasses and come to an end at the current intersection underneath the new flyover highway. Possibly in a bigger project you could probably replace the whole traffic circle too.

[brod3211]

To be honest and I mean nothing by this... But I highly doubt a restaurant like Jack would make decisions based on if a city gets a big business deal, I've been I many small 15,000 - 50,000 people cities in Ontario that have them and the cities are dieing... So to be honest if that is a true... They need new management.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

I would agree with brod.

I can see how the shipbuilding contract might influence Jack Astors to build another Halifax location downtown, but it shouldn't preclude a location in Moncton.

A new large development like Mapleton should be quite attractive to a chain restaurant like Jack Astors. There would be heavy traffic in the area, which is the life blood of any food eatery. They seem to be lining up some good tenants for this development. Opportunities like this don't happen every day and I would think Jack Astors should think very carefully before passing up on the Mapleton Centre.

One last note, if you look carefully at the site plan that mmmatt found, in addition to the two restaurant pads near the entrance, one of thr other smaller buildings backing on Mapleton Road clearly has a drive-thru. Obviously this would either be a fast food establishment or a coffee shop like Starbucks.

[icetea93]

To be honest and I mean nothing by this... But I highly doubt a restaurant like Jack would make decisions based on if a city gets a big business deal, I've been I many small 15,000 - 50,000 people cities in Ontario that have them and the cities are dieing... So to be honest if that is a true... They need new management.


Oh I agree completely, just relaying what I heard

[David_99]

So I went against my instincts and did groceries at the new Elmwood Sobey's today. Saying it was packed would be an understatement. You can tell the checkout lines weren't designed to support a mob lol.

I did hear an interesting tidbit while I was there. I was told once the Elmwood NB Liquor's lease is up, they will be building an expansion onto the side of Sobeys as was originally planned!

[JHikka]

I did hear an interesting tidbit while I was there. I was told once the Elmwood NB Liquor's lease is up, they will be building an expansion onto the side of Sobeys as was originally planned!

More than likely true. A lot of the new Sobeys being built have adjacent NB Liquors.

[mylesmalley]

I am looking at the Lewisville/Wheeler intersection and I am starting to think I know how to fix it. What if just after the traffic circle you you had a flyover highway that went above the intersection and the train tracks. Then if you had the ramps go of the sides and underneath the current overpasses and come to an end at the current intersection underneath the new flyover highway. Possibly in a bigger project you could probably replace the whole traffic circle too.

That's an interesting idea, but I can't see it happening. First, you'd run into the environmental issues of dealing with Halls Creek and the marsh and not doing damage. Second, you'd be talking a pretty massive price tag. Third, I just don't think you'd have the space.

The 1 Mile House Interchange in Saint John is pushing $50 million, and given the height and amount of ramps you'd need, probably wouldn't be too dissimilar. More importantly though, I just don't know if you'd have enough space to get a highway from ground level at the traffic circle, up over the Botsford tracks AND Church Street overpass, then back down to ground level in time to get under the University Ave interchange.


I still think the only practical solution to that intersection is to have Botsford have an overpass over Wheeler at the same height as the train tracks. Then you could have a diamond or parclo intersection onto Wheeler with at-grade rail crossings on the north side. It isn't ideal, but for the volume of traffic on those rails, it would be a hell of a lot simpler than completely rebuilding the entire road network in the university area.

[josh_cat_eyes]

What if you removed the church st. overpass? If it just went up over the traffic light and train tracks? Is there some way to move the tracks? They should be able to come up with something that gets rid of that light.

[mylesmalley]

You could, I suppose, but I don't know why you'd want to. It's there. People use it. It would cost a fortune to re-route the train tracks, too.

Again, I think you could get rid of the at-grade intersection between wheeler and Botsford without much fuss just by building a simple overpass with ramps that cross the tracks at grade.

[josh_cat_eyes]

You could, I suppose, but I don't know why you'd want to. It's there. People use it. It would cost a fortune to re-route the train tracks, too.

Again, I think you could get rid of the at-grade intersection between wheeler and Botsford without much fuss just by building a simple overpass with ramps that cross the tracks at grade.

I don't think the government would like to build that, but eventually they are going to have to. I just wish there was some way of avoiding those tracks.

[emad]

Imvescor forced a sports bar in Saint John to change its name from Scores earlier this year, so something may be up for NB....

It's been a couple of time now that I see an add in the french newspaper "L'Acadie Nouvelle" that Imvescor is looking for an investor to open a Scores franchise in Moncton. Hopefully, the'll find someone soon... :tup:

[MonctonRad]

I know that David has mentioned this on the forum but this is the (abridged) T&T article about the new Sobeys on Elmwood....

New Sobeys is a one-stop shop
Published Monday November 14th, 2011
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1455735

On-site chef and holistic nutritionist can help guide customers to new, healthy meals
By Shannon MacLeod
Times & Transcript staff

There was a shopping-cart traffic jam on Saturday as Moncton residents waited to go through the checkout during the grand opening of the newest Sobeys in the city, located at 77 Filles de Jesus Ave.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=716499&size=600x0
VIKTOR PIVOVAROV/TIMES & TRANSCRANSCRIPT
shopper pushes a shopping cart in the parking lot of the new Moncton Sobeys on Saturday after the official opening at 8 a.m.

This newest Sobeys offers a variety of innovations. It has a full-time Red Seal chef, a holistic nutritionist and a pharmacist, and offers hand-made Ganong chocolates, ready-to-go meals, freshly roasted coffee beans and a community room for functions.

The community room is named the Filles de Jesus Community Room as an acknowledgement the long-standing home of the order of nuns whose convent stood on the new store's land for decades.

These innovations were a part of the master plan to bring a market feel to the 50,000 square foot grocery store, said store manager Todd Redmond.

"It's the fresh zone," he said. "When you walk in the door you want to be able to smell the fresh coffee."

And is it ever fresh. They bring in raw coffee beans and roast them on site, and they're the first store in the New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island area to have an on-site roaster, said Redmond.

"It roasts them for seven minutes at 200 degrees to cook the beans, all high-end beans. We can bag them whole or we can grind them for you."

The hand-made Ganong chocolates are made on site at the store, said Redmond.

"They're actually rolled by an apprentice. They're hand dipped, not done by a machine."

On a daily basis, (chef Rob) Colpitts will be spearheading a new program called Butcher's Own, he said.

"Basically it's protein, ready to cook and in under 60 minutes, you can have a meal put together and that's why I'm here," the chef explained.

With this new Sobeys program, Colpitts will prepare beef, chicken, pork, seafood or any kind of protein so shoppers can take it home and throw it in the oven and it's ready to go, said Colpitts.

"It's all ready. Starting next week I'm going to be doing sauces. Everything in the store, whether it be a package or a bottle, I'll show how easy it is to create a meal, create a sauce, have a protein, take it home and it's ready to go in less than an hour."

This Sobeys is one of three in the Maritimes to have a full-time Red Seal-certified chef on staff, said Colpitts.

"Sobeys, they've always been about service and food," he said. "But they've never had the answers to questions people might ask, like how to cook something, so that's why they've hired (me)."

If people have questions about anything related to cooking, or creating in the kitchen, they can talk to Colpitts about it, he said.

Like Colpitts, Brittany Leeman, a registered holistic nutritional consultant, will be available to assist shoppers with anything dealing with well being and natural sources, she said.

"So we try to focus on vitamins, supplements, gluten-free products, alternatives to dairy and things like that."

Not only a resource, Leeman will also be offering classes on a variety of topics, depending on what kind of questions customers are asking, she said.

personal note - the new Lawton's Pharmacy next to the new Sobeys also opened on the weekend. It's really a zero sum gain for Elmwood Drive however, because the old Price Chopper closed with the opening of the new Sobeys and the old Lawtons further down Elmwood is also now closed. When the new NB Liquor location opens, the old store on Elmwood will also close. This will leave some significant vacancies on the street.....