The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[MonctonRad]

T&T confirms in the newspaper today that the lights are out on the bridge because of copper thieves.

[MonctonRad]

Agenda for the Moncton PAC meeting - January 22nd.

http://www5.moncton.ca/docs/pac/PAC/...u_jour_CCU.pdf

[jonny golden]

Consumer confidence up in Moncton. Satisfaction with the municipal government down slightly.

https://www.919thebend.ca/2020/01/15...ng-in-moncton/

[NBNYer]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

Consumer confidence up in Moncton. Satisfaction with the municipal government down slightly.

https://www.919thebend.ca/2020/01/15...ng-in-moncton/

"Residents were also asked about the performance of their municipal government under Mayor Dawn Arnold. 57 percent were satisfied which is down from 65 percent about a year ago."

I wonder what are the main issues behind this drop in satisfaction?

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by NBNYer

"Residents were also asked about the performance of their municipal government under Mayor Dawn Arnold. 57 percent were satisfied which is down from 65 percent about a year ago."

I wonder what are the main issues behind this drop in satisfaction?

On the question of confidence in municipal government, they only surveyed 200 people in Moncton, all by phone. The medium of the survey can affect the type of responses and type of people who respond. The press release says the results are accurate +/- 4.9% 19 times out of 20. That's not exactly a study I'd take to the bank.

[MonctonRad]

Reader's Digest has ranked Moncton as the 12th best city in Canada to raise a family (and tops in Atlantic Canada).

https://www.readersdigest.ca/health/...sD12kEeXhQfjio

I would agree with this assessment myself. I moved to the city just before my eldest son was born in 1989, and have generally had no regrets. The schools are of good quality and the city has well organized sporting activities for children and adolescents, especially in team sports like hockey, soccer, baseball, football and basketball. There are lots of recreational activities in the area including places like Magic Mountain and the Magnetic Hill Zoo. Beaches and national parks are nearby. A great place to raise a family.

My only proviso is the lack of a public anglophone university in the city. This can be a major cost penalty for anglophone families sending their kids to university, as the cost of housing and food in residences when you send your kids away is roughly double what it would be if your kids could stay home to go to university.

[habs33]

Moncton hopes new bylaw prompts development in hard-to-access areas

Moncton approved a new bylaw Monday the city hopes will help kick-start development in hard to access parts of the city that needs new, and costly infrastructure.

"When you look at the city, all of the easy land has been developed," Bill Budd, the city's director of urban planning, told council Monday.

He hopes the new bylaw will help fill in the gaps, leading to development in areas previously considered hard to reach.

The new Development Charge Bylaw sets out mechanisms to pay for new infrastructure like bridges or water and sewer lines Budd said otherwise would be too costly for private developers to take on.

[benvui]

Originally Posted by habs33

Moncton hopes new bylaw prompts development in hard-to-access areas

I'm not sure this is what the city needs, I think those hard to reach areas should remain and focus should be put on building up in our down town areas. Sprawl cost money, to the city, not just during development but on an ongoing basis. The city should be trying to prevent this kind of sprawl and increase population density instead, but this is just my opinion.

[tmacdougall]

I don't mind development within existing city bounderies, i.e. vision lands but I agree that the city 'needs' to continue to incentivize density growth in the downtown.

Originally Posted by benvui

I'm not sure this is what the city needs, I think those hard to reach areas should remain and focus should be put on building up in our down town areas. Sprawl cost money, to the city, not just during development but on an ongoing basis. The city should be trying to prevent this kind of sprawl and increase population density instead, but this is just my opinion.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by tmacdougall

I don't mind development within existing city bounderies, i.e. vision lands but I agree that the city 'needs' to continue to incentivize density growth in the downtown.

Development will no doubt happen in the vision lands sometime in the future. The city has wanted to see it for quite some time. That's why they've approved this bylaw. Lets just hope that it's not another massive sub-division.

[MonctonRad]

Final report on building permit valuation for 2019 for the (City) of Moncton.

January 17, 2020
Building permits value surpass quarter billion mark for first time in 2019

MONCTON – The City of Moncton has broken new ground when it comes to annual building activity with 2019 ending in $257.4 million dollars’ worth of building permits issued, an increase from $220.7 million in 2018. The trailing 10-year average rose by nearly four million dollars to an average $189.9 million, ranging from a low of $123 million in 2014, to this year’s record high.

Commercial and industrial projects were strong throughout the year, coming in at $140.8 million or 55% of the total. The largest drivers of these results include an ongoing expansion at Organigram on English Drive ($49.6 million), a new YMCA in the North End ($11.2 million), and a new Day & Ross Distribution Centre on Frenette Avenue ($7.2 million).

Downtown development continues with positive momentum. Building permits in the Downtown totaled $37.7 million in 2019 with projects such as the Junction ($10.1 million), the new Hilton Garden Inn Hotel ($10 million), and apartment buildings on St. George Street and Victoria Streets (approximately $4 million each).

We are seeing unprecedented levels of private sector investment in our City, and that investment continues to spur even more growth,” said Mayor Dawn Arnold. “As well, we are very pleased that our Downtown continues to densify and reach new heights.”

Institutional permits came in at $14.3 million or 5.5% of the total, down from $39.2 million in 2018. The largest project driving this value was an addition to a special care home on John Street ($8.9 million).

Residential development represented 37.7% of the year’s total value at $97.1 million, an increase of $42.5 million compared to 2018. This includes 16 new apartment buildings containing 727 units ($55.5 million), 68 new single-unit homes ($12.7 million), and 114 duplex units ($15.7 million).

“The residential numbers are of particular interest to us at this time” said Kevin Silliker, Director of Economic Development. “We are seeing good residential growth, but want to ensure that people migrating to the region have appropriate options for their housing needs.”

What I find particularly telling is that institutional permits only accounted for 5.5% of the total, and of that, the largest project was for a private institutional project (addition to a special care home on John Street). This means that about 98% of the building permits issued by the city of Moncton last year were for private sector investments, and this was a record year to boot! This is a testament to the strength of the Moncton economy at the present time.

With Riverview and Dieppe numbers thrown in, I suspect that the tri-city area will have generated over $400M in building permits last year.

[tmacdougall]

I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

I was listening to the radio this morning on the way to work and heard that Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview saw the value of building permits reach nearly $400 Million in 2019. A very impressive feat.

According to a Huddle article dated January 25, 2018, average annual GDP growth for the region was 1.6 per cent from 2012-17. The Conference Board of Canada projects 1.9 per cent growth from 2018-2021.

In this same article, 3Plus’s Economic Leadership Council announced an ambitious growth plan, one that calls for three-to-four per cent GDP growth a year for the next five-years.

Now, we have been in a bull market for nearly 12 years now. I think we all know what is coming. Surely, we will see a bear market if not at the tail end of 2020, surely it will happen in 2021.

Get your crystal ball out folks, I would be interested to hear your thoughts about about what a bear market (recession) would mean to this region, during and after the downturn. Is it possible for Greater Moncton to push through a downturn? If not, can the region recover and continue on a path similar to what we are seeing now.

[MonctonRad]

Here's a link to the CBC article about the greater Moncton area's growth over the last year:

Moncton, Dieppe break building permit records as construction booms
Residential construction is increasing but vacancy rates are falling
Shane Magee · CBC News · Posted: Jan 23, 2020 5:00 AM AT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-b...sing-1.5436533

The last line in the article is a little disappointing. Despite currently having historically low vacancy rates for class "A" office space in the city, Ian Franklin states that he is "not personally aware" of any new downtown office construction planned in the next two years.

This of course does not negate the possibility of significant renovations to existing structures (eg - 1222 Main or the old Moncton High School).

As an aside, I've noticed a change in news coverage recently in major outlets like the T&T and the CBC. Whereas before, they didn't pay much attention to development news in the region, now there seems to be articles almost every day regarding commercial and retail projects in the metro area. We are well aware that the conventional media pays attention to social media. I wonder if this sudden interest in reporting development news is a response to the activity on sites like SSP and Retail Talk & Share on Facebook?

A classic example would be the recent fuss over the downtown Lush pop-up store. This generated furious posting activity on Retail Talk & Share (less so here), but both CBC and the T&T were all over this story as well. I'm sure this was a response to public interest.

[L'homard]

I've always thought the TT paid good attention to development news, far above coverage in other similar cities and beyond comparison with other media outlets in Moncton. I've found this to be the case for many years. Maybe it's just me?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by L'homard

I've always thought the TT paid good attention to development news, far above coverage in other similar cities and beyond comparison with other media outlets in Moncton. I've found this to be the case for many years. Maybe it's just me?

They have been, no question, but I have noted recently that they are more "on the mark" about noting small developments or changes in the retail landscape (usually in sidebars on the page), and curiously, this tends to occur 1-2 days after these tidbits are discussed in social media.

Another example of mainstream media responding to activity on social media was the recent announcement of Carrabba's Italian Grill as the anchor restaurant for the new Hyatt Place Hotel. As soon as the milk was spilled on social media, there was virtually no delay in the restaurant being formally announced and covered in the mainstream press.

Coincidence????

[Taeolas]

We've known for years that reporters from all the media outlets in the Maritimes keep an eye on hot topics in the Maritimes board (it's not as if we generate a lot of traffic, so when a subject pushes a lot of posts it is obvious). The FB groups are a natural extension of that, and there is a lot of overlap from the FB groups and these boards.

I suspect it is a factor of the small size of our markets. We don't have a lot of separate groups to talk about hot topics, so the SSP Maritimes boards tends to be a good way to judge what's getting hot. (Unlike say Toronto which has dozens of boards and hundreds+ FB groups to spread the news around)

[lirette]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

They have been, no question, but I have noted recently that they are more "on the mark" about noting small developments or changes in the retail landscape (usually in sidebars on the page), and curiously, this tends to occur 1-2 days after these tidbits are discussed in social media.

Another example of mainstream media responding to activity on social media was the recent announcement of Carrabba's Italian Grill as the anchor restaurant for the new Hyatt Place Hotel. As soon as the milk was spilled on social media, there was virtually no delay in the restaurant being formally announced and covered in the mainstream press.

Coincidence????

This is pretty much how most reporters work now. They just sleuth social media. The T&T is noticeably smaller than it used to be in print because its really a dying media. I just assume they have very little budget to pay for reporters to go out into the field and ask questions to get stories. Plus its run by Irving so its going to run on as tight of a budget as possible.

My friend runs a twitter account that specifically talks about the city of moncton overnight parking ban. They messaged him on twitter for an "interview". I often see reporters hanging out in local FB groups(ask moncton, newschasters etc) seeking out stories.

[L'homard]

Absolutely they'd be fools not to keep an eye on boards like these.
I should have been more clear. The TT does keep an eye on these places, that is clear. However, other media, if they do watch these places, don't seem to be nearly as keen to act on the hot tips from credible sources that has made this board what it is. I don't know why other media outlets don't seem as keen on these types of stories. I'm sure these development stories generate great online traffic and advertising sales, and they sell more than a few hard copies as well. I'm no expert but I would think this is the case or the TT wouldn't do it. IE, I've been to more than a few town planning meetings and have never seen a reporter, other than from the TT. Same with most city budget meetings and most committee of the whole meetings.
News you can use: what's going to built on that corner? What restaurant is coming next? Which "new to market" retailer is coming to town?
Almost anyone would want to be the first to know the answers. The TT seems to realize this more than the others.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by tmacdougall

Get your crystal ball out folks, I would be interested to hear your thoughts about about what a bear market (recession) would mean to this region, during and after the downturn. Is it possible for Greater Moncton to push through a downturn? If not, can the region recover and continue on a path similar to what we are seeing now.

Sometimes there is a value in living in a part of the country with a (relatively) sluggish economy.

During the Great Recession 12 years ago, the impact on the Maritimes was relatively modest (at least compared to central Canada and the US). The old adage "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" applies here.

For example, if you live in a city with a really hot economy (like Toronto), things like property values inflate really quickly during the good times, making home owners feels disproportionately (and unreasonably) wealthy. If you are suddenly a real estate millionaire, this could influence your spending habits, which in turn fuels the overall economy and a virtuous cycle begins, leading to irrational exuberance.

Suddenly a stock market crash comes, people lose their jobs, demand for real estate evaporates, home valuations plummet, and suddenly, even if you still have a job yourself, you are a lot poorer. You haul in your horns and stop spending. The local economy thus contracts and retailers and restaurateurs go out of business. Everyone suffers.

Real estate in the Maritimes is much more stable. The overall economy here is not as cyclothymic as in the big smoke. Things will get worse here, no question, but the cycle here is not as exaggerated as it would be in central Canada.

Life goes on.........

[L'homard]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

example of mainstream media responding to activity on social media was the recent announcement of Carrabba's Italian Grill as the anchor restaurant for the new Hyatt Place Hotel. As soon as the milk was spilled on social media, there was virtually no delay in the restaurant being formally announced and covered in the mainstream press.

Coincidence????

While I agree on all your points, it is a fact that the reporter knew the name of the Hyatt restaurants far, far in advance but could not report it because the paper won't print anything without the source confirming it, and the source would not confirm it on the record at that early stage, so there was no story until Corey Craig decided to speak on the record about it. So great points, but bad example in this specific case.
There is but a handful of reporters left at the TT judging by the names in the bylines. Of course they will monitor social media, as you and others have noted. They'd be nuts not to.