[Moncton] Downtown Developments - Page 391

MonctonRad · #**7801** Posted **May 18, 2024, 1:46 AM**

You should send the question to city hall and say what they have to say.

Or, send the query along to the CBC or T&T and see what their reporters can dig up.

MonctonRad · #**7802** Posted **May 18, 2024, 10:55 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I think the street design is pretty much a done deal, but will be phased in over three years.

The proposed buildings along the street are purely hypothetical though, although I am encouraged by the fact that the developers of Fivefive on Queen Street are already looking forward to their next project. They might consider building along Downing.

If I were to guess, it will likely be 10 years before Downing Street looks anything like the rendering.

Well, IT HAS NOW BEEN 10 YEARS since I made this post in the [downtown] section, and, the reopening of Downing street is STILL only half done, and there have been no buildings actually constructed.

Infrastructure work is ongoing of course, but, we STILL have no idea what the final plans will be. There's lots of rumours and speculation, some of which are pretty fantastical, but the lack of progress on this file is becoming depressing.

Ashford/Downing is becoming yet another project like Fundy Quay in Saint John, but, even there, there are actual shovels in the ground and prep work for the first of the new towers. We can and should do better.

Any guesses out there how things will look on the 20th anniversary of my post???

sailor734 · #**7803** Posted **May 18, 2024, 11:04 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Well, IT HAS NOW BEEN 10 YEARS since I made this post in the [downtown] section, and, the reopening of Downing street is STILL only half done, and there have been no buildings actually constructed.

Ashford/Downing is becoming yet another project like Fundy Quay in Saint John, but, even there, there are actual shovels in the ground and prep work for the first of the new towers. We can and should do better.

A risk of being pedantic there are no towers started at Fundy Quay. Building one (pilings driven and concrete stated to be poured) will be a long, low, 6 floor semi L shaped building. The taller stuff (16-19 floors) are years away.

adamuptownsj · #**7804** Posted **May 18, 2024, 6:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailor734

A risk of being pedantic there are no towers started at Fundy Quay. Building one (pilings driven and concrete stated to be poured) will be a long, low, 6 floor semi L shaped building. The taller stuff (16-19 floors) are years away.

The southeast 16-storey building is scheduled to start next spring. The northeast 19-storey will be the very last, IIRC.

At least Moncton has lots of other stuff going on.

jonny golden · #**7805** Posted **May 19, 2024, 1:05 AM**

Reposting - Just realized I posted it in the wrong thread:

There's major infrastructure work that has to happen first before the Downing Street buildings can start. I don't know if they have to create the new east-west street before building construction is able to start. We could be looking at a couple of more years before we see anything happening.

Meanwhile, Ashford is keeping busy with their new apartment building construction. The first Lorentz Drive building is now accepting rental applications.

They had indicated before that they could release more details of their plans for the Assomption land. They should at least do that.

reflist · #**7806** Posted **May 19, 2024, 9:49 AM**

Hello, I cant seem to find this thread for FiveFive Queen street. All that im looking for is the building hight because im creating a 3d model in sketchup to place in my google earth.

MonctonRad · #**7807** Posted **May 19, 2024, 11:02 AM**

It has simply fallen off the bottom of the page. The building is finished, and nobody is talking about it any more.

If you look on the bottom left of the Atlantic Canada Section page, you will see a box labelled “display options.” The default setting is to show threads active in the last 100 days. Reset this box to show threads “from the beginning”, and you will be able to find the FiveFive Queen thread.

Cheers

Leroy321 · #**7808** Posted **May 19, 2024, 11:02 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by reflist

Hello, I cant seem to find this thread for FiveFive Queen street. All that im looking for is the building hight because im creating a 3d model in sketchup to place in my google earth.

29.5 meters and it 8 stories tall

MonctonRad · #**7809** Posted **May 19, 2024, 11:04 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leroy321

29.5 meters and it 8 stories tall

Nine storeys if you include the penthouse with the restaurant

reflist · #**7810** Posted **May 19, 2024, 11:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Nine storeys if you include the penthouse with the restaurant

Okay this helps alot, thank you so much for your guys help!

jonny golden · #**7811** Posted **May 19, 2024, 11:46 AM**

A very successful project that's been a great addition to a once not so great neighborhood. I remember when it was built, there was a lot of speculation as to whether the developers would do a second building. There are some older houses behind 55 Queen, a lot of which were purchased by someone all around the same time in 2018. But there was no 2nd building by these developers.

MonctonRad · #**7812** Posted **May 19, 2024, 2:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonny golden

A very successful project that's been a great addition to a once not so great neighborhood. I remember when it was built, there was a lot of speculation as to whether the developers would do a second building. There are some older houses behind 55 Queen, a lot of which were purchased by someone all around the same time in 2018. But there was no 2nd building by these developers.

A very successful project, yes, but, in many ways it was a near thing, and required a lot of imagination and flexibility to bring it to final fruition.

- FiveFive is a condo building, and, like most New Brunswickers, Monctonians tend to have a serious physical aversion (conversion reaction) to the idea of paying money to own what is essentially an apartment unit. You buy houses but you rent apartments. Condos, even at a quality building like FiveFive is a tough sell.

- Because of this NB quirkiness, they had to pivot and convert several floors in the building into the Canvas Tapestry Hotel by Hilton. This was inspired, and led to the rooftop bar and the Gahan House restaurant. Add in the Experience Store by ANBL and the combination was perfect.

Will Moncton get over it's aversion to condos? Perhaps, but, I think this will be a slow process. In the meantime we will be looking at exclusively apartment construction in the core, which is unfortunate. I think builders would be more willing to risk their money in new construction if there was a lively condo market, The face of downtown would change much more quickly if Monctonians embraced condos.

SevenSquared · #**7813** Posted **May 19, 2024, 3:47 PM**

I think there's an enormous difference in demand for condos in 2018 Moncton compared to 2024 Moncton.

The low-priced older condos (usually $200k-$350k) in those small 4-storey wood-framed buildings in downtown Moncton or Dieppe sell extremely quickly whenever one hits the market.

Those upper floor condos at 55 Queen are very high-end compared to the average big city condo, in terms of finishings, amenities etc. A $600k-$800k condo today, combined with the level of property taxes here in NB, is naturally going to be an extremely tough sell in a small city.

There's a big void between those two extremes. We have tons of older people looking to downsize, and choosing to move into apartments because that's the only alternative we have here. Others are homeowners looking to simplify to more stress-free, low-maintenance lifestyles. Not to mention the massive influx we'd had of people from urban areas who don't share the aversion to condo living that a lot of locals have.

jonny golden · #**7814** Posted **May 19, 2024, 3:53 PM**

Excellent points. I know that the 55 developers were very good at adapting to the market as their project progressed. They sold several condos for big money, and when the market for them was exhausted, they wisely rented the unsold ones as apartments.

The only condo market in the Moncton area that's somewhat successful is the garden home style. You're 100% right in your assessment about the apartment building style condos that are so popular in larger cities. There is an aversion to paying a monthly fee, but you are a home owner that's building equity as opposed to paying monthly rent for something you'll never own.

If apartment style condos were popular in Moncton, it would be a very attractive option for developers. I'd love to see one of our developers try a combo building downtown. 20 storeys with the top 3-4 floors as condos. That way, they'd recoup a large chunk of their cost up front. And like the 55 developers, they could always rent out and condos that didn't sell, mitigating the risk.

Mapleton_Roadie · #**7815** Posted **May 20, 2024, 12:02 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGGUS

The listing on CG Group Website for 352 and 332 shows underground parking as an option?

I had a tour of the completed building. There's ample underground parking with 10 chargers and hopes to add more. The building manager said that the others would be similar.

MonctonRad · #**7816** Posted **May 22, 2024, 3:44 AM**

From the Taverna Greek Resto-Bar & Grill Facebook page:

Quote:

Stay tuned, as we will be announcing our official opening date in just a couple of days! We can’t wait to share this special moment with all of you. Get ready to experience the flavors of Greece right here in our community.
Opa!

MonctonRad · #**7817** Posted **May 22, 2024, 5:38 PM**

Moncton approves $200K artwork for new police station
Cost included with $57M budget as part of city's public art policy
Shane Magee · CBC News · Posted: May 22, 2024 2:17 PM ADT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-b...-art-1.7210926

A small-scale model of the Spirit Of Reconciliation artwork that Moncton has approved for the new RCMP building. (City of Moncton)

Quote:

The piece will feature a red canoe, made of powder-coated steel and iron, atop two pillars.

A description of the piece says the pillars are meant to represent how the law and colonialism forbid access to knowledge and wisdom. By lifting the birchbark canoe off the earth, it symbolizes the divide of Indigenous people and their culture.

Quote:

The artwork will be installed in front of the Albert Street building near its public entrance, a location where it can be seen from a public space inside the building.

It will include lights inside the canoe to create a lantern effect.

A rendering showing the location of the artwork, on the lower left, near the entrance to the new police building. (City of Moncton)

jnaygull · #**7818** Posted **May 22, 2024, 7:00 PM**

Oh, the controversy that this spending will incure.

lirette · #**7819** Posted **May 23, 2024, 2:18 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnaygull

Oh, the controversy that this spending will incure.

Ultimately, it accounts for 0.3% of the entire project, and adds some visual character to an otherwise generic development. If someone wants to spend time and energy complaining about that I'd suggest they join up on some of the neighbourhood Facebook groups where they can complain about non consequential topics like this one all day.

J81 · #**7820** Posted **May 24, 2024, 2:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lirette

Ultimately, it accounts for 0.3% of the entire project, and adds some visual character to an otherwise generic development. If someone wants to spend time and energy complaining about that I'd suggest they join up on some of the neighbourhood Facebook groups where they can complain about non consequential topics like this one all day.

Ill be the first! 200k for this piece of junk? What are we even doing?