[Moncton] Riverview Developments

[Conorth]

There are 2 proposals on the PAC meeting agenda for this week. A 40 unit 4-storey apartment on Biggs Drive and a 84 units apartment on Quinn Court.

https://www.townofriverview.ca/sites...t_biggs_dr.pdf

https://www.townofriverview.ca/sites...ce_request.pdf

The Quinn Court lot was previously approved for 2 apartment buildings totalling 72 units back in 2022.

https://www.townofriverview.ca/sites...pac_report.pdf

[MonctonRad]

Thanks!

Biggs Drive proposal:


This is kitty corner to the Byron Dobson Arena complex.

Quinn Court proposal:


Site Plan


Front Elevation

I preferred the original proposal for this site with two separate apartment buildings.
Also, I do not see any underground parking on the site plan, which is a disappointment.

[Conorth]

Yes, the original proposal looks really nice but doesn’t have underground parking too. The he latest one has more units and will probably be cheaper to build/has better ROI for the developer.

[MonctonRad]

I was counting up all the apartment building projects (proposed or approved) for the town, and came up with about 800 units.

Using standard occupancy, that means housing for 1600-2000 new people in the town. Nothing to sneeze at.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I was counting up all the apartment building projects (proposed or approved) for the town, and came up with about 800 units.

Using standard occupancy, that means housing for 1600-2000 new people in the town. Nothing to sneeze at.

And if Thrive comes back to life, we could see even more. They had big plans in Riverview at one time.

Their building on Coverdale Road - The Tides - has been accepting tenants, and I imagine the pricing for those units would be on the upper end of the scale. So hopefully they get back into the construction business soon.

[jenike]

Has anyone heard what is happening at the old Riverview Mall? I heard rumours that the old tenants are being shipped out. I'm not sure what is happening with the building.

Not sure if there is truth to it or just rumours at this point.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by jenike

Has anyone heard what is happening at the old Riverview Mall? I heard rumours that the old tenants are being shipped out. I'm not sure what is happening with the building.

Not sure if there is truth to it or just rumours at this point.

Rumours are rampant. Hard facts are difficult to come by.

[drewber]

Originally Posted by jenike

Has anyone heard what is happening at the old Riverview Mall? I heard rumours that the old tenants are being shipped out. I'm not sure what is happening with the building.

Not sure if there is truth to it or just rumours at this point.

Not even close to being true. It's been debunked by a few tenants of the building including giant tiger and the fox and hound

[Conorth]

A rezoning to allow 2 x 6-storey apartment buildings on Cleveland Avenue was presented to the council tonight. There should be little objections to the proposal since it's not close to single family developments.

https://townofriverview-pub.escribem...cumentId=19496

[MonctonRad]

Thanks:

As far as I can tell, this project is slated for the recently completed extension of Cleveland Avenue, on the west side, immediately behind the new Kent store, but, not on the corner of Cleveland & Gunningsville, but, instead, further to the north, behind the lumberyard portion of the Kent property.


Site plan (Cleveland Avenue to the right, and the Kent store to the left)


Render

2 x 6 storey buildings totalling 408 mostly single bedroom units.

The current proposal is for two multi-unit dwellings, each with six storeys and 204 units. Multiunit dwellings are permitted in the Suburban Commercial zone but are limited to 15m, or approximately 4-5 storeys. The proposed buildings are for six-storey buildings approximately 21m tall. As such, the proposed use is permitted in the zone, but the height exceeds what is permitted. While height variances can be considered by the Planning Advisory Committee, the Community Planning Act (s. 55(1)(b)) requires that variances be reasonable, desirable, and within the intent of the municipal plan and zoning by-laws.

Staff believes that the scale of the buildings are reasonable and desirable given proximity to major collector roads, public transportation routes, and commercial services, and located far away from low-density residential areas. However, granting additional storeys by variance is not within the intent of the Suburban Commercial zone, which sets a specific height limit that would not permit six storey buildings. Staff is of the opinion that changes of this scale exceed the scope of what should be considered by PAC, and is therefore being brought to Council for rezoning consideration

Residential density in the Findlay Park area is growing exponentially. The town of Riverview will have to very seriously look at a dedicated bus route from Findlay Park to the transfer station at the Avenir Centre, with a service frequency great enough to deal with substantial commuter usage at peak times.

This will increase the total number of planned apartment units in the town awaiting construction to well over 1200. Most of these will be in the general Findlay Park area.

[Nashe]

That parking lot... good grief. What a wasted opportunity.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Nashe

That parking lot... good grief. What a wasted opportunity.

Agreed. This is not the sort of development that would appeal to an urban enthusiast, but, I get the impression that this apartment complex is being built for a specific purpose and a specific demographic.

Virtually all the units will be single bedroom, so, I get the impression that this complex is designed for first time renters or low income tenants requiring basic housing. As such, it would probably be unreasonable to expect high quality landscaping and thoughtful horticultural design. An ocean of surface parking is what you get instead.

I say this not to impugn this particular development. The city requires housing in all forms and price levels. It is what it is.

This development is well located in terms of accessibility to surrounding necessities, but, it not very close to most employment nodes. For this reason, I sincerely hope Codiac Transpo and the town of Riverview are making plans for upgraded transit to Findlay Park. There will soon be about 800-1000 new apartment units in the Findlay Park area.

I wonder if we will soon see expanded fast food option in Findlay Park, like a McDonalds or a Burger King. I think the population base will soon be there to support this.

[jonny golden]

Although there is a large surface parking lot, there appears to be entrances at both ends of
each of the buildings. Is there also underground parking?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

Although there is a large surface parking lot, there appears to be entrances at both ends of
each of the buildings. Is there also underground parking?

It appears so, but, with over 400 units in this development, only a minority of the parking will be underground.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

It appears so, but, with over 400 units in this development, only a minority of the parking will be underground.

At least they've mostly shielded the parking lot from the street.

And with this development plus 5 other apartment buildings in the Findlay Park area currently under construction, I also think we'll see more retail activity soon. Fast food, maybe another coffee option, etc..

[MonctonRad]

Speaking of Findlay Park, the new Kent store on Findlay Blvd opens on April 6th.

[Conorth]

Originally Posted by Nashe

That parking lot... good grief. What a wasted opportunity.

Yea, agreed. But they need that many parking spots because of the number of 1-bed apartments. The planner mentioned the unit mix may change to add more 2-beds which will reduce the parking.

Riverview has started the process of reviewing their municipal plan (done every 10 years). Moncton should be starting soon too. Hoping one of the changes will be to the current parking requirement. It's currently 1.25 per unit in most zones. Instead of a blanket requirement, maybe consider having different requirement for diff unit sizes.

[jnaygull]

https://www.919thebend.ca/2024/04/10...raws-concerns/

The NIMBYs are not presenting a strong argument. I feel that this one has a good chance to see the light of day.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by jnaygull

https://www.919thebend.ca/2024/04/10...raws-concerns/

The NIMBYs are not presenting a strong argument. I feel that this one has a good chance to see the light of day.

I think the town councilors pretty much nailed it. It's a suitable location for the development. As for the traffic, Pinewood is now the primary east-west street in the area with it's roundabout.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

I think the town councilors pretty much nailed it. It's a suitable location for the development. As for the traffic, Pinewood is now the primary east-west street in the area with it's roundabout.

So assuming this project gets the green light, could we see ICON Developments working on two major projects (infinity 30 floors) at the same time? Or would this project be pushed to a later date?

Over the last few years we've heard a lot of talk about labour shortages and supply chain issues, but development projects just keep on getting built in Moncton.