The Official PEI Project Thread

[braymondg]

Originally Posted by pei guy

I don't think Canadian Tire wanted a store in Stratford because it would take a lot of customers away from the one in Ch'town. Also, Stratford has the huge Home Hardware, so there would be heavy competition.

Montague is a priority for them because people from down East don't like driving for 40 minutes to an hour just to buy something at Canadian Tire. This new store will have customers from Montague, Georgetown, Souris and Cardigan, to name a few, and right there is 15,000 people just around the four main towns.

It's nice to see this development taking place in Montague. Looks good!
Keep us informed how things are progressing and if you can post a picture that would be nice too.

[josh_cat_eyes]

Is it just me or is Canadian Tire entering the small markets. Montague, Shediac, Riverview. Are they marketing themselves like Sobeys now or something.

[kirjtc2]

Canadian Tire has had stores in small towns in Ontario for decades. They're just finally catching up here.

[josh_cat_eyes]

Originally Posted by kirjtc2

Canadian Tire has had stores in small towns in Ontario for decades. They're just finally catching up here.

Ahh...that makes sense...it always happens like that. We (Atlantic Canada) are always the last one to get anything!

[braymondg]

Holland College Expansion

Here is a photo of the steel going up for the new Holland College
expansion. At the end of this lot they have started digging the
foundation for the new residence.



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Homburg Hotel Construction Update

Homburg Hotel Construction

The construction on the Homburg Hotel continues, with the placement of the
bottom section for the crane. Installation of the crane should take place
in the coming weeks.



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[braymondg]

Montague mayor expects building boom to continue

The Guardian

MONTAGUE — Mayor Richard Collins expects the building boom in eastern P.E.I.’s largest town will continue in 2010 with an estimated $4 million-plus in construction.
Collin said he anticipates the arrival of a new Canadian Tire store valued at roughly $2.4 million and an estimated $2-million expansion to the intermediate high school.
“I expect Canadian Tire will be starting work early in the new year to get off to a good start,” he said in an interview with The Guardian.
“I think they’re getting ready to roll.”
Canadian Tire’s building permit was put on hold last year when the economic recession took hold and delayed plans.
The provisional building permit runs out soon and Collins expects construction starts will begin next to the Superstore and possibly include a Mark’s Work Wearhouse outlet.
Collins said the town will also be looking forward to the “immediate” expansion of the intermediate school with the relocation of Montague Regional High School to the edge of town.
“A new piece will be added to the intermediate school on
property formerly occupied by the old Midtown Motel,” he confirmed.
The intermediate school on Sackville Street will gain an industrial arts and music centre expansion this year as part of the relocation package.
The construction projects follow on the heels of the completion of the new regional high school, the new provincial Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development building and a new Cox and Palmer law office on the waterfront.

[braymondg]

If all goes according to plan, motorists will be driving in circles by July 1 at the intersection of Mount Edward Road and Allen Street.



Work was recently completed on updating the underground storm water system to correct flooding problems at the intersection in the past, and work on a roundabout will begin this spring. This roundabout will keep traffic circulating at all times. As for pedestrians, this diagram indicates how people will be able to cross the street. There will be two crosswalks, one across Allen Street, the other across Mount Edward Road, indicated by the white dotted lines. Roundabouts are considered safer for pedestrians because it eliminates left-turning vehicles with drivers focused on oncoming traffic and not on those crossing the street.

It will be interesting!

[pei guy]

Sorry about the lack of pictures everybody: i lost my camera charger , but when i get a new one i'll post some pics of the Cox & Palmer building (which will also house a dentist), the Fisheries building, the high school and Canadian Tire.

[braymondg]

New shopping centre proposed for Charlottetown

NIGEL ARMSTRONG
The Guardian


A public meeting will be held concerning two massive pieces of undeveloped land in Charlottetown that might be home for an equally massive shopping centre.

The issue of agricultural land to the north of the existing Charlottetown Mall was on the agenda at Monday’s monthly meeting of Charlottetown City Council. Plazacorp Retail Properties Limited is seeking to rezone two large parcels of farmland to C-3, shopping centre commercial.



Sources that asked not to be named have told The Guardian that Sobeys will move its West Royalty grocery store to the new development.

In Charlottetown, Plazacorp currently owns University Plaza which includes Smitty’s, Eastside Mario’s, Jumbo Video and others; Belvedere Plaza that includes the bigger Superstore, Indigo, Mark’s Work Wearhouse and others; UAS Plaza that houses Shoppers Drug Mart, Subway and TD Canada Trust across the road from the Charlottetown Mall; and Spring Park Plaza that includes the downtown Co-op grocery and Value Village.

[josh_cat_eyes]

Originally Posted by braymondg

New shopping centre proposed for Charlottetown

NIGEL ARMSTRONG
The Guardian


A public meeting will be held concerning two massive pieces of undeveloped land in Charlottetown that might be home for an equally massive shopping centre.

The issue of agricultural land to the north of the existing Charlottetown Mall was on the agenda at Monday’s monthly meeting of Charlottetown City Council. Plazacorp Retail Properties Limited is seeking to rezone two large parcels of farmland to C-3, shopping centre commercial.



Sources that asked not to be named have told The Guardian that Sobeys will move its West Royalty grocery store to the new development.

In Charlottetown, Plazacorp currently owns University Plaza which includes Smitty’s, Eastside Mario’s, Jumbo Video and others; Belvedere Plaza that includes the bigger Superstore, Indigo, Mark’s Work Wearhouse and others; UAS Plaza that houses Shoppers Drug Mart, Subway and TD Canada Trust across the road from the Charlottetown Mall; and Spring Park Plaza that includes the downtown Co-op grocery and Value Village.

That would be a HUGE investment. Perhaps could even get the Royalty Power Centre moving. I don't see what Crombie REIT doesn't buy something and put the sobeys in that though. They only own the County Fair Mall in Summerside and the Sobeys Plazza in Stratford. You'd think they would want to build something in Charlottetown. They only problem I have with the development is the size along with the size of the Royalty Power Centre. I don't know how many more big box retailers a city of Charlottetown's size can handle. A new Kent store is supposed to be built up in RPC but other than Kent the only other big box retailers Charlottetown doesn't have that I can think of is Best Buy, Costco, Princess Auto, Urban Planet?, Homesense? and maybe some smaller stores like American Eagle, West 49, HMV. Like not a very long list really.

[kirjtc2]

I'm with you. I really can't imagine them filling another power centre in Charlottetown without cannibalizing the existing ones.

Could they at least wait for the Sears one to even start to fill up? Looking at their site plan ( http://www.trinity-group.com/?q=node/378 ) it looks like they're trying to get Costco...that big one on the right is the shape of a typical Costco store.

[braymondg]

Well, they must think there is something there because did you notice the
size of the trade area they want to attract :

TRADE AREA
65,000 population in primary trade area.
135,000 population in secondary trade area.

(Stats Canada says the agglomerated population of Charlottetown is almost 60,000)

They want to penetrate the whole island and move alot of off island traffic and divert it to Charlottetown.
I think this is a good thing. Build it and they will come. We need the jobs!.

[mylesmalley]

Great if the city can attract that kind of investment, but that's a pretty massive mall for an area the size of Charlottetown.

Unless the intention is to consolidate and get rid of some of the older retail stock in town?

[MonctonRad]

I remain absolutely stunned at the amount of development ongoing and planned in the greater Charlottetown area......

I grew up in the city in the '60s & '70s and pretty much nothing was built there during that time. What is going on there now is nothing less than astounding!!



I agree with Myles, the size of this proposed development site at the corner of the bypass and rte. 2 is huge. Perhaps kirjtc2 is correct and Costco may be the anchor for the development. With existing Costco stores in Halifax(2) and Moncton and new stores planned or under construction in Saint John and Fredericton, Charlottetown would likely be the next obvious market in the Maritimes to consider.

The market figures supplied by braymondg are interesting. As he says, they point to the inclusion of the entire provincial population. This would still be a lot less than the catchment areas for any of the mainland Maritime cities however, and I worry that the Island population will not be large enough to justify a development of this size.

In particular, there is a real worry that if this shopping development is built, that the downtown could become a ghost town. This would be quite sad as the downtown Charlottetown shopping experience is unique and is one of the main reasons why I still go over to the Island occasionally to look around. I would not be so attracted to go over there if the only choice was yet another "power centre" with the usual assortment of discount big box stores.

Charlottetown should be cautious about approving this project. I kinda agree with kirjtc2, perhaps it would be better if they filled up the Sears development first........I'm not saying that Costco shouldn't build over there but there might be enough land next to Sears to accomodate it. If so, then a whole new shopping centre might not be necessary.

[mylesmalley]

It's too late for Moncton. Run while you still can, Charlottetown...!

[braymondg]

I would like to point out the Stats Canada population figures do not tell the whole story. Remember that the population only shows permanent residences.
During the summer those figures will quadruple or more. The developers of these projects must analyze the figures and make a decision based on the those figures. And after seeing the frenzy this Christmas, I can say that if you don't have a shop open here, you are missing out because every store that I was in was packed with shoppers from early Nov til Boxing Day. So there must be some confidence in the economy here, on and off season.

As for the downtown, with 40,000+ people coming into the Charlottetown downtown and area from cruise ship traffic this summer, I believe they can hold their own. New hotels, new condos/apartments are solidifying a stronger population in the downtown and there are efforts to move this along. So Charlottetown is taking an aggressive attempt to make sure the downtown is alive and that shopping variety is available to all the citizens of the CMA and the island.
Why just across the bridge in Stratford, it's recognized as one of the fastest growing towns in Canada. The population is pushing 8000, if it hasn't already.
By 2020 it might surpass Summerside (15000) in population. New subdivisions, not homes, are popping up everywhere, even in the dead of winter. You really have to see it. You'd think they struck oil over here!

As MonctonRad said, changes are on the move, and Charlottetown is catching up quickly with other Maritime cities.
Bring her on!!

[MonctonRad]

Don't get me wrong braymondg, as an ex-Charlottetonian, I am as big a civic booster as you are!

My concerns for downtown Charlottetown are sincere. Big box developments elsewhere have generally not been kind to the urban cores. Downtown Moncton is a case in point.

Perhaps Charlottetown could be different. The fact that it is a capital city helps. Downtown Fredericton has escaped significant blight (so far) despite big box development. I wish you luck but you guys should still be cautious....

[pei guy]

Canada Tree taking root in Montague

STEVE SHARRATT
The Guardian

MONTAGUE — The Canada Tree has found a permanent home in eastern P.E.I.’s largest town.
But now the work begins as officials attempt to design a structure that will house and protect the 35-foot structure and find the funding to pay for it.
“We feel this is where the Canada Tree belongs and we felt Tyler would like it here on the Montague waterfront,” said Linda Aspin, mother of the late Tyler Aspin who designed the impressive Canada Tree as a millennium project that toured the nation.
The Tree was taken out of storage and raised on the waterfront here as a special display during the Canada Games.
“It’s getting to be an older Tree and the more it gets moved, the more fragile it becomes,” said Aspin.
“Our next adventure is to build a Tree House so the Canada Tree can be something for all to see.”
Town officials were delighted with the confirmation made at a news conference Tuesday morning when the Aspin family gathered to make the commitment.
The next step is to construct a permanent home that will protect the Canada Tree that will come down in the next few days and
be stored away until a protective structure is completed.
“We are talking with some designers and it won’t be an ordinary building,” said Coun. Janice Taylor.
“We’d like to carry on Tyler’s vision and build a structure comprising of different pieces of wood and materials from all parts of the country.”
Taylor said the Tree House could also be large enough to include a small area that would act as an interpretive centre and enable small gatherings for music and the arts.
“I think this Tree is bringing a real sense of community to this town,” said Taylor.
It’s certainly bringing in the visitors. Since being erected three weeks ago, an estimated 5,000 people have visited the site and Deputy Mayor David Mabon says the spinoff is wonderful.
“People are shopping here and eating in our restaurants,” he said. “It’s just wonderful to have our own attraction and one with such significance as well.”
Tyler attended Montague Regional High School and was a member of a P.E.I. Canada Games team.
He was 31 when he died in 2001 after completing the Tree.
The Aspin family, with son Jason and daughter Meigan, chose to make the announcement on the day the late artist would have turned 40.

[braymondg]

Charlottetown Update - Project Photos

Hillsborough Waterfront Condos



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Hillsborough Park Condos



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Queen Elizabeth Hospital addition



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Holland College Expansion



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Parkside



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[MTLskyline]

Thanks for the photos braymondg!

The construction of those condominium buildings strikes me as kind of shoddy. Don't they use cranes or even concrete? Sure, wood is fine for a house, but for a larger building, I'm not so sure.I was under the impression that nearly all condo and institutional buildings are have concrete frames (followed by the exterior material on top), even for low rises.