The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[MonctonRad]

So the poll has been open for about a week now. Is this the final tally? Or is there an official deadline before a formal request is made?

I was thinking of keeping the poll open until Tuesday and then contacting the admins.

[benvui]

I'll vote for a subforum (like Edmonton)

[MonctonRad]

Just to carry on our tradition of meaningless and banal retail updates: :rolleyes:

There is another new store moving into the Lounsbury's Centre. Jane's Gluten Free Store will specialize in services to those afflicted with Celiac Disease. This is obviously a niche market, but I'm sure this store will be much appreciated by those with this affliction.

This will leave just one vacant storefront in the Lounsbury's Centre.
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And to norshorer, I think porchmouse is correct about the Golden Eagle. There is a large "for lease" sign on the front of the property and I'm pretty sure a franchised operation like St. Louis Wings would be much more interested in the Golden Eagle property than Happy Wok. The Wok wasn't much more than a hole-in-the-wall.

[NBNYer]

Jane's Gluten Free Store will specialize in services to those afflicted with Celiac Disease. This is obviously a niche market, but I'm sure this store will be much appreciated by those with this affliction.


Niche market indeed. Talk about limiting your target clientele, on the other hand, this is the kind of business that people will "travel" a ways to get to. Hope it works out for them.

[Sushi Guy]

One more vote for "subforum " :tup:

[Norshorer]

Just to carry on our tradition of meaningless and banal retail updates: :rolleyes:

There is another new store moving into the Lounsbury's Centre. Jane's Gluten Free Store will specialize in services to those afflicted with Celiac Disease. This is obviously a niche market, but I'm sure this store will be much appreciated by those with this affliction.

This will leave just one vacant storefront in the Lounsbury's Centre.
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And to norshorer, I think porchmouse is correct about the Golden Eagle. There is a large "for lease" sign on the front of the property and I'm pretty sure a franchised operation like St. Louis Wings would be much more interested in the Golden Eagle property than Happy Wok. The Wok wasn't much more than a hole-in-the-wall.

Jane's = I actually know quite a few people who have kids, girlfriends, etc. or are gluten-intolerant themselves, so this is a much needed resource for people afflicted with this type of disease. As long as the store carries a decent variety of items at reasonable prices, I don't think they'll have any problems staying afloat providing people hear about the store opening up.

As for Golden Eagle, yes, you are actually both correct. I just drove past a few minutes ago & noticed that for lease sign. Had no idea that it was also out of business. Wow... 2 similar restos closing within months of each other. Surprising... especially since Golden Eagle was doing so well (the place was always packed each time I'd drive by).

Too bad we can't get true-to-style southern BBQ joints like Bonehead's or The Q (both located in Halifax). Sure, we've got Barnyard BBQ, but they're getting rather long in the tooth & I don't think they've bothered changing their menu since they first opened. I also had quite a few bad experiences paying $40+ and ending up with more fat on the plate than meat. I'm hoping that if St Louis Wings does indeed open up, that they'll have comparable items.

[MonctonRad]

This reply by Mike K (the SSP website manager) appeared in the seperate section for St. John's thread. He was responding to both St. John's and Moncton as I had already broached the possibility of a Moncton subforum with him. This probably makes our poll regarding a seperate Moncton section rather moot.

We'd like to try taking the prefix route for the time-being and see how many threads remain active and how much traffic they receive. We've found in the past that creating new sections that only have a small handful of active threads compartmentalizes the forum too much and makes it much less appealing.

So moving forward we'll monitor how things go with St. John's and Moncton threads.

Please prefix St. John's threads with [St. John's] and Moncton with [Moncton].

:)

This might be an acceptable intermediate step and would be similar to what is going on in the Manitoba/Saskatchewan section of SSP.

If we follow his suggestion, we would end up having a number of different Moncton threads in the SSP Atlantic section prefaced such as:
- Moncton: Retail Thread
- Moncton: Riverview Developments
- Moncton: Downtown Developments
- Moncton: General Updates & News
You get the idea. It sounds like the website admins would only consider a subforum if we can prove steady traffic volumes on a number of individual Moncton based threads in the general Atlantic Section.

Is this the way people want to go? We may not have a choice.

[KnoxfordGuy]

I give my all important vote for subforum ;)

[NBNYer]

Is this the way people want to go? We may not have a choice.


So lets split up the thread and see how it goes :tup:

[Steelcowboy]

Subforum sounds good, may the sheppard lead all of us to a new greener pasture :) hehe, i dunno what I was getting at but...if we're going to head that way...lets do it. :)

[Mike K.]

Hi everyone. We had a quick chat among mods and the consensus was to see how the prefixes work out before we move into a full out sub-forum.

[Taeolas]

Would it be worthwhile for the other 'big' threads in this forum to try a similar approach? (Freddy, St. John, Sydney and PEI?)

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

I would think any thread which has a reasonable amount of traffic could be subdivided in such a manner. This would include both Freddy and SJ. :tup:

[MonctonRad]

I was just browsing the job listings on Kijiji for Moncton and came up with an interesting posting for a manager for a new PetSmart location in the city.

Since PetSmart is supposed to go into the Mapleton Power Centre and is supposed to share a building with Best Buy and Bed Bath & Beyond, I wonder if we can take this as indirect evidence that this project is now a go and that all three stores will soon be under construction with a presumed opening date in time for Christmas......

Inquiring minds want to know! :D

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There was also a job posting on Kijiji for a store manager for a new Pseudio store at Champlain Place.

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Edit - I have taken the liberty of creating a Moncton Retail Thread in the Atlantic Canada section as per Mike K's suggestion. It would probably be best that future posts dealing with Moncton retail be posted in this new thread. Anyone should feel free to create new Moncton threads in the Atlantic Canada section, just don't forget to preface them with [Moncton] to identify them as being a Moncton specific thread.

I thought briefly about creating a thread for the GMIA, but I think that would subvert the current Atlantic Canada Airport Thread. Same thing for the concert thread. As long as we don't have a subforum, I don't think we need individual Moncton threads for those particular topics.

It would be good to have neighbourhood specific threads (Riverview, Dieppe etc) and perhaps threads for individual large projects (events centre). There isn't much point in creating a thread though until there is something to post. This will all gradually evolve over the next several months I'm sure.

[JasonL-Moncton]

It's a bit of an adjustment to have to open multiple threads to see what's going on locally...kind of miss having it in one and just scrolling through...

[Taeolas]

Hopefully it will encourage more discussion, by preventing a post being missed in the middle of a bigger discussion in the general thread (for example).

It might be worthwhile to set up a "Table of Contents" post that the mods can sticky with links to the various thread.

For example something like:

New Brunswick:
Moncton:
Downtown
Riverview
Sackville
Retail
etc....

Saint John:
Downtown
....
Retail

Fredericton:
North Side
South Side
Oromocto
Retail

[JasonL-Moncton]

:previous:

Now that would be better...certainly would be helpful.

[MonctonRad]

The usual disclaimer applies - I did not get this article from the Brunswick News website :)

Events centre fits well with plan: mayor
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Times & Transcript
By Brent Mazarolle

Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc says the goal of building a new multi-purpose events centre in the core of the city dovetails nicely with the city's proposed new municipal plan.

The draft PlanMoncton document - which will be the subject of a public hearing at Moncton City Hall on April 5 - calls for a revitalized downtown core that is vibrant and welcoming not just during the day, but on nights and weekends as well.

LeBlanc says the idea of an arts, entertainment, culture and sports complex at the heart of downtown meets the goals of the proposed plan, clustering people in the centre rather than seeing them scattered in venues throughout the city.

The fact that the proposed facility may not be explicitly addressed in great detail in the document is something 'I wouldn't see as a cause for concern,' LeBlanc said.

In fact, 'it would be unusual for such a document to mention a specific development,' the mayor said, emphasizing municipal plans generally look at city issues from a 10,000-foot perspective.

LeBlanc said he and others remain committed to making an events centre a reality, even though the city was disappointed last fall in its quest to get some federal cost-sharing for the project.

With numerous public opinion polls overwhelmingly supporting the construction of a new centre, not to mention support from organizations like Downtown Moncton Centre-Ville Incorporated, the mayor is refusing to give up.

Asked if there has been any departure from the goal, he said, 'not a bit.' One man among the thousands who have called for the city to build a new facility that would supercede but not completely replace the aging Moncton Coliseum has a bit more direct interest than others.

Metro Moncton businessman Robert K. Irving is owner and president of the Moncton Wildcats, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team that is the anchor tenant at the Coliseum and would be the anchor tenant in a new facility.

Beyond the benefits a new facility would bring the team, Irving sees the events it would host as having benefits extending well beyond just hockey.

'I think that it would really revitalize downtown in terms of people coming from out of the city who would visit the downtown more. It would create more activity for the different businesses in the downtown,' he said.

'People would be going downtown when they wouldn't for other reasons.' Asked if he was frustrated by the years that have come and gone without final decisions being made and ground being broken, the veteran businessman was perhaps more philosophical than many a fan of entertainment, the arts and sports has been over the decade or so that the conversation about dealing with the aging Coliseum has been happening.

'It has to go through a certain process. I guess the process is taking longer than what most people thought it would take,' he said.

Of course, 'all parties who are involved have to feel confident with the decision that has been made.' Meanwhile, the Wildcats - not to mention musical acts and the city's professional basketball team, the Moncton Miracles - will continue to use the Coliseum, where Irving says there is one big problem in particular.

'We always are battling the city for ice time, whether it be regular season or playoffs,' he said. In the past, the Wildcats have had to hold normally lucrative playoff games - the times when most sports teams make their money - in the relatively tiny J-Louis Levesque Arena. 'It's a big challenge for us,' Irving said. 'The league says Moncton is one of the most difficult for ice time.'

[MonctonRad]

Again, not from the Brunswick News website


Soccer game to be 'showcase event' for Moncton
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Times & Transcript
By: Cole Hobson

Canada versus China match on May 30 expected to lead to bigger opportunities for the city, according to Canadian soccer journalist

A leading Canadian soccer journalist believes Moncton's hosting of an international game in May is a 'showcase event' for bigger things for the Hub City and will stir up cross-Canada excitement amongst fans of the sport.

Daniel Squizzato is a Torontobased writer who is a founding member of CanadianSoccerNews.

com. He has been covering Canada's national soccer teams for the last few years and believes the May 30 contest between the Canadian women's national team and China at Stade Moncton 2010 Stadium is sure to draw lots of attention from the soccer world.

'I imagine people who are in Moncton and in New Brunswick and in the Maritimes don't need any help from me to get excited about an event like this. There is an excitement around it as well because it is shortly before the Olympics,' he said. 'Canada has qualified for the tournament in Olympic soccer and that is probably going to be one of their last games before they go out to London to participate. Knowing that a team will be playing on Canadian soil so close to the Olympic games, I think it's an exciting opportunity for people in Moncton and all fans of the team.' Squizzato also believes the exhibition game will serve as a barometer for the city, in terms of drawing higher-profile soccer competitions in the future.

'It looks as though Moncton is pretty likely to be one of the host cities for the Women's World Cup in 2015, however, putting on a good show in a friendly such as this could be the difference between the city being awarded games ... with teams that no one really cares much about or potentially hosting games with the Canadian team down the road in 2015,' he said. 'Because obviously the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) is going to look for the host city that has the right facilities, that can provide the right atmosphere, that can sell tickets … If Moncton can put its best foot forward in a friendly such as this, when the time comes for the CSA to decide what cities might host what games come 2015, that would definitely put Moncton in a very positive light as far as that's concerned.' Soccer fans are also well known for their willingness to travel to support their home teams. However, Squizzato said he doesn't anticipate widespread travel from all across Canada for the game, as there are previously announced matches featuring the men's national team in Cuba and the United States within a few weeks of the Moncton game that are likely to have a lot of Canadian soccer fans traveling abroad to attend. That being said, the soccer writer thinks the game will still draw a big crowd of non-Monctonbased supporters.

'Moncton being where it is just geographically, I think it's reasonable to assume that there will be fans coming in from other provinces, to get the chance to see one of our national teams play live, which is something that we as Canadians, wherever we may live, we don't get many opportunities to do,' he said.

One soccer fan planning to travel a distance for the game is Stephanie Yang, who lives in Boston. Interestingly enough, Yang is American, but has developed an affinity for the Canadian women's national team and plans to cross the border and head to Moncton to support the squad.

'(Moncton's) proximity to Boston (is why I'm attending) and the rarity of Canadian women's national team games in North America,' she said. 'Not only are they playing in Boston this month, but also in Moncton - quite a gift. I don't want to miss the opportunity.' Yang said she's looking forward to supporting the team and doesn't mind having to drive a long distance to do it.

'It's exciting to see the team being highlighted anywhere in Canada,' she said. 'I'll always regret not being able to see the team in Vancouver during CONCACAF qualification (in January). Just watching the game against Mexico and the raw emotion of getting a win like that in front of a home crowd was incredibly stirring.' Squizzato was also the originator of a September 2010 petition to get the CSA to bring the men's national team to Moncton. While he's still hopeful that will come to fruition, he said the women's national team game is a good step, made possible by Moncton's infrastructure.

'I think that a big factor when it comes to Canadian soccer is venues. We really don't have a very large number of soccer-specific or soccersuitable venues in the country. I think the thing that instantly put Moncton on the map and got me interested in the idea of having a national team game there was when they built the new stadium,' he said.

Squizzato points out that even Toronto wasn't a hotbed for international soccer activity before BMO Field was built in 2007.

'Toronto went for the better part of 10 years ending earlier this decade without really hosting any games of the men's or women's national teams … and since then (BMO Field) has become the de facto home base for the men's national team,' he said. 'How this relates to Moncton is prior to 2010 when the stadium was built, not many people, CSA included, probably would have considered Moncton as a place to play a friendly or as a host city for the 2015 Women's World Cup.' While Toronto obviously dwarfs Moncton in terms of population, Squizzato points out that there are parallels between the two cities in terms of what can be hosted after the proper facilities are in place.

'In the race for 2015, Moncton already has a definitive leg up over a city like Halifax, based on the fact that it has a stadium and if this friendly against China goes off well and attracts a good crowd, that will be one more element in Moncton's favour as you look to 2015,' he said.

Even if you don't follow women's soccer or the Canadian national team, Squizzato points out that the Moncton game will be an opportunity for the local sporting world to get a first-hand look at top-notch athletes.

'If nothing else the game is important and exciting because of the opportunity to see a player like Christine Sinclair play live. Canadians don't always want to talk up their own athletes, we feel bashful, we feel polite, we feel that it's not appropriate to toot our own horns in that way, but Christine Sinclair, captain of the women's national team, is undisputedly one of the best women's soccer players on the planet,' he said. 'By the time she retires she is most certainly going to be the all-time leading international goal scorer in soccer history, men's or women's. To be able to see a player of that calibre suit up for her national team on home soil … while she's still in her prime, is a good opportunity for young female players and anybody who appreciates the game of soccer.' Tickets for the game will be available next month.

[JasonL-Moncton]

:previous:

I hope that this game is supported well, it would be another boon for the city to have the Women's World Cup come here.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Absolutely!

Conversely, if this "friendly" is poorly supported and attended, then I think that the chances of Moncton being considered as a host city for the World Cup would diminish considerably.

This is a very important "test run". :yes:

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BTW - although I spent a lot of time yesterday getting a bunch of individual Moncton threads up and running, I by no means consider this to be the death of this particular thread. This thread will always be active for topics of general discussion and for issues that can't easily be pigeonholed into the other Moncton specific threads.

When this thread does get retired (in the next several months), I wonder if it's replacement should be renamed "[Moncton] General Updates & News".

[BlackYear]

China vs Canada game

I works nights M-F and since this is a night game, I'm taking a vacation day off for this event. I'm not a big soccer fan, however, I do enjoy watching a good game here and there. And, I'm also attending to show my support for these type of events in my city.

Thread feedback

As a reader, I prefer to have one thread only. It's easier to read through the news feed within one thread.

Splitting up in multiple divided thread categories is going to be a pain to sift through. I'm not digging this decision. IMO.

If you're going to split, why not keep it simple.
- Moncton
- Riverview
- Dieppe
- Greater Moncton Retail (Please do not use Metro :yuck:)

Why are you adding [Moncton] in front of Dieppe, Riverview, Sackville, etc.? That's really confusing.

Why split the real Moncton into NorthEast and East? Why not keep "Moncton" just one Moncton? With Dieppe, Riverview and retail gossip out on their own, it should be enough.

I realize the thread naming may not yet be written in stone, but I hope it doesn't get to much out of control. Please keep in alpha order.

And finally, what the heck is with all these St-John's threads? :koko:

[gehrhardt]

China vs Canada game

Why are you adding [Moncton] in front of Dieppe, Riverview, Sackville, etc.? That's really confusing.

Why split the real Moncton into NorthEast and East? Why not keep "Moncton" just one Moncton? With Dieppe, Riverview and retail gossip out on their own, it should be enough.

I realize the thread naming may not yet be written in stone, but I hope it doesn't get to much out of control. Please keep in alpha order.


The [Moncton] and [St. John's] tags have been added at the request of the forum admins so that they can track the activity on the various threads. As for the alphabetical sorting, I think it's just done by post times, newest to oldest (with sticky's sorted separately.)

I do agree that there seems to be a lot of threads, and with how you've suggested it be split up. I'd also add the following, though

Moncton Suburbs/CMA.

This would work instead of Sackville having a separate thread. Salisbury, Shediac, and Hillsborough could just be added to it, since none of them have nearly enough activity to warrant their own thread.

[MonctonRad]

I agree that the current setup seems messy and perhaps confusing, but the forum admins and mods are not currently willing to establish separate Moncton and St. John's subforums.

Like Gerhardt says, they requested a series of individual threads be created prefaced by [Moncton] or [St. John's] so that they can monitor activity on an ongoing basis to see if a subforum would ultimately be justifiable. This is therefore what I have done.

If the experiment is a bust after 4-6 months, then we can just go back to a single Moncton thread. If it is a success, then perhaps they will allow a subforum to be created.

A subforum would be the obvious choice to keep this format well organized, but the admins and mods want to see if we deserve this privilege. In the meantime, please try to play along with the current situation and see how it plays out. Hopefully they will see the light and allow a subforum to be created. :)

I can see maybe two more Moncton threads to be created:
- [Moncton] Downtown/Inside Wheeler Developments
- [Moncton] Industrial Developments
Aside from this, other Moncton specific threads would only be creates on an "as needed" basis. For example, if a mega project like the events centre was announced, this might justify an individual thread.

[Norshorer]

Could we please address the elephant in the room and POST LINKS to all these new supposed threads, etc. that are being phased-in?

I'm not even a new reader and I'm getting confused as heck by all this. If not, can we at least post a link to the page that contains a list of what's been added?

This is why I was on the fence... it's a major pain having to dig through multiple things vs. just one single thread that has everything dumped in it. That's my 2 cents, for what it's worth.

[mctnguy]

Yeah I can't say I'm a fan of having to open multiple threads. I think I like everything in one thread. But I will accept whatever is implemented since I rarely post.

[C_Boy]

Developer drops bid to rezone Royal Oaks

Moncton continues negotiations to build new school

CBC News
Posted: Mar 14, 2012 4:27 PM AT

The city of Moncton says a Toronto developer has dropped its request to rezone land in the Royal Oaks subdivision, which includes the future site for the new Moncton High School.

City spokesman Paul Thomson said Moncton will continue to negotiate with the province for a deal to pay for water and sewer lines to the schools, as well as an access road and sidewalks.

"We are discussing with the province and wanting to work with the province with regards to the infrastructure needs that putting a school out there will mean for the city," Thomson said Wednesday.

He said the province can ignore municipal zoning decisions.

Christina Windsor, a spokeswoman at the Department of Education, said the province will continue with its plans to build the new Moncton High off Elmwood Drive.

But Windsor said she has no idea how the high school will be connected to Moncton's roads, water and sewer system.

The Department of Education spent $1.475 million for the property where the new school will be located.

Moncton High School was closed in 2010 over health and safety concerns. The provincial government invested $2 million into the 75-year-old facility so students could go back to the school until the new one is ready in 2013.

Some citizens are opposed to having the school move to the outskirts of town.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Well, this sounds like the worst of both worlds. The high school will still be built in the boonies but will now be surrounded by wilderness rather than a new subdivision. This means that 100% of students will now be bussed! :(

I wonder if this means that Romspen will now back out of redeveloping the old school as well.... :hell:

[NBNYer]

:previous: What a fiasco this whole thing! :koko:

[mylesmalley]

Well shit... I mean, this was bad from the start, but I'm not sure how much worse it could get now.

Who wants to bet that Romspen is going to find a reason not to renovate the old MHS now?

[Steelcowboy]

I drove by the Golden Eagle restaurant and it must be closed..there's a FOR LEASE sign out in front.

[riverviewer]

A high school on a septic and well?
Romspen has his money, he sold the land. What does he care if anything further happens?
I hope you are wrong about MHS's renovation.
Central Riverview is looking like a great choice to raise a family. Central Moncton? Not so much.

[MonctonRad]

OK

The spokesman for Romspen was on CBC Radio this morning to clarify this issue. The main takeaways are:

- Moncton High School is still going to be built at Royal Oaks. The province is not subject to municipal zoning bylaws.
- Romspen is still committed to developing Royal Oaks, but there are still several hundred lots available in the current phase of the development and they don't need rezoning to proceed (in the short term). They realize this is a contentious issue and with municipal elections only two months away, they don't want to place too much pressure on city councillors seeking reelection.
- Romspen still plans to seek rezoning of the "northlands", but will not do so until it is required to when the land inventory in current parts of the subdivision are exhausted, probably in 2-4 (possibly as long as 8) years.

In essence, nothing has changed. Romspen is just making a tactical decision.

They want to:
- separate their land development proposal from the (controversial) MHS relocation in public perception
- curry favour with hard pressed city councillors by taking this controversial proposal off the table before the election
- avoid being dragged into negotiations to upgrade Elmwood Drive. ie - if they don't seek rezoning now, then they won't have to pony up any money for the extension of civic infrastructure to the neighbourhood. That becomes an issue purely between the city and the province. When they finally do seek rezoning, the infrastructure will already be built!

Ingenious really.......

[Sony500]

Why is there not a Moncton Developements thread and where do we post if we want to talk about traffic situations? There are Moncton East and Northwest Developments, but no West or Downtown Developments thread.

[Sony500]

I should also say that Moncton high being in Royal Oaks is dumb dumb dumb. Why can't we get a government in this province that has at least a little bit of common sense?

[MonctonRad]

Why is there not a Moncton Developements thread and where do we post if we want to talk about traffic situations? There are Moncton East and Northwest Developments, but no West or Downtown Developments thread.

There are a couple of threads that still could be added, and no I have not created a [Moncton] Downtown (Inside Wheeler) thread yet. I did several neighbourhood specific threads just to get things moving, and was planning to add a downtown thread when something of interest came along. In the meantime, the main Moncton thread is available for general discussions.

We are kind of in a transitional period here. :)

[Sony500]

:previous:
I realized that. I wasn't aware that you were not finished with the forums.

[RyeJay]

OK

The spokesman for Romspen was on CBC Radio this morning to clarify this issue. The main takeaways are:

- Moncton High School is still going to be built at Royal Oaks. The province is not subject to municipal zoning bylaws.
- Romspen is still committed to developing Royal Oaks, but there are still several hundred lots available in the current phase of the development and they don't need rezoning to proceed (in the short term). They realize this is a contentious issue and with municipal elections only two months away, they don't want to place too much pressure on city councillors seeking reelection.
- Romspen still plans to seek rezoning of the "northlands", but will not do so until it is required to when the land inventory in current parts of the subdivision are exhausted, probably in 2-4 (possibly as long as 8) years.

In essence, nothing has changed. Romspen is just making a tactical decision.

They want to:
- separate their land development proposal from the (controversial) MHS relocation in public perception
- curry favour with hard pressed city councillors by taking this controversial proposal off the table before the election
- avoid being dragged into negotiations to upgrade Elmwood Drive. ie - if they don't seek rezoning now, then they won't have to pony up any money for the extension of civic infrastructure to the neighbourhood. That becomes an issue purely between the city and the province. When they finally do seek rezoning, the infrastructure will already be built!

Ingenious really.......

There exists a narrative in Moncton that the developer for Royal Oaks "feels demonized" due to the apparently "hostile opposition."

The hostility, in fact, is rationally concerned citizens of whom are strongly opposed toward spending a large sum of public funds to build a new school outside of the city, when a smaller sum of public funds could be used for a new school inside the city -- which would permit many more students to walk, saving on costs for gas, driver salaries, and health care; as well as permit urban renewal for the dowtown due to a new school being an amazing asset for local residential development, which would in turn support commercial and light industrial development. Moncton needs to stop talking about its downtown and actually do something about it. An attractive downtown for developers means making an attractive downtown for families.

The developer for Royal Oaks, like so very many before, has temporarily dropped the bid to rezone in order avoid paying its fair share for civic infrastructure.

Now all of you must foot the bill :)

This is actually extremely common with developers, especially in cases where there is a sealed deal in terms of public projects, and is yet another factor in how fatally expensive foolishly sprawled developments can grow.

It boggles my mind how basic math is being ignored. Even in PlanMoncton, the document's pressing issue of dealing with the soaring costs urban sprawl burdens on the municipal and provincial budgets is contradicted with simple, misleading terminology: such as urban sprawl being given the more temperate term urban concept, which is the 'plan' promotes.:koko:

Because apparently not everything is a concept...

With Royal Oaks and Hall's Creek on the 'horizon', it seems as though Moncton is, in FACT, hostile toward change -- and absolutely anyone who presents concerns for how extraordinarily wasteful public funds are spent they are immediately branded as anti-development.

[MonctonRad]

You make some valid points but I don't think Moncton is hostile to change. In particular, they have made some decisions regarding active transportation (such as an expanded trail system) which are forward thinking and some other decisions which are controversial (dedicated bike lanes on busy streets leading to lane reductions).

The city is also actively promoting downtown development and is pursuing the principal catalyst that would stimulate core development (the events centre). It is simplistic to say that the city has thrown in the towel and is blindly embracing sprawl. Civic administration has let the province know that the city is unhappy with the plans to relocate MHS, but the city also knows that ultimately they are powerless to reverse the provincial government decision. As such, they are trying to negotiate the best deal possible. This is the next best thing to do.

Likewise, although the city definitely wants densification in the core, they are not going to do this at the expense of the overall economic growth for the community as a whole. If a developer wants to establish a worthwhile project elsewhere in the serviceable boundary, the city is not going to say no just on principle. They will examine the net benefits to the community and make the best possible decision. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valour.

The city is ultimately being as pragmatic as possible. The issue with MHS is that the new school will be outside the serviceable boundary and the concept of relocating the school there runs counter to the concept of supporting downtown development. If the decision were up to the city, I'm sure that the school would not be built there. Unfortunately, the decision belongs to the province and they are not going to change their mind.

[RyeJay]

You make some valid points but I don't think Moncton is hostile to change. In particular, they have made some decisions regarding active transportation (such as an expanded trail system) which are forward thinking and some other decisions which are controversial (dedicated bike lanes on busy streets leading to lane reductions).

Moncton’s achievements in public transportation and bike lanes has been extremely modest compared to most cities its size, firstly; and secondly, these casual commonsense implementations are done without the drama.

The city is also actively promoting downtown development and is pursuing the principal catalyst that would stimulate core development (the events centre). It is simplistic to say that the city has thrown in the towel and is blindly embracing sprawl. Civic administration has let the province know that the city is unhappy with the plans to relocate MHS, but the city also knows that ultimately they are powerless to reverse the provincial government decision. As such, they are trying to negotiate the best deal possible. This is the next best thing to do.

Moncton bent over by the province? I’m sorry, but in what pathetic state would New Brunswick be if it weren’t for the economic activity generated by the Greater Moncton Area? Moncton should never act apologetic for being New Brunswick’s most successful municipality and feel as though it must abide by harmful decisions made by the province, of which should be more grateful. I am hopeful all of you vote, taking into consideration this predicament with regards to positions of the pandering politicians. It’s absolutely ludicrous that the province is poisoning its last non-stagnant municipal economy.

In terms of Moncton doing something about its downtown, both Dieppe and Riverview must be acknowledged as part of the problem. You do not need to amalgamate your political borders, but you certainly must so for your urban planning. The three municipalities are strongly interconnected, so much so that an economic illness in one will definitely spread and become an economic drag for the other two.

As well, with urbanisation, Moncton needs to get over the talk. Talk does not promote; money promotes. This is as straightforward as I can be: the city may forever talk about densifying its core in order to expand a desperately needed tax base, but words are just words especially because business speaks with numbers.

There is nothing of substance about municipal tax reform in PlanMoncton.
The drawn-out document is a naive attempt at a foundational understanding of 'what' Moncton should be doing with its downtown, instead of 'how'.

Likewise, although the city definitely wants densification in the core, they are not going to do this at the expense of the overall economic growth for the community as a whole. If a developer wants to establish a worthwhile project elsewhere in the serviceable boundary, the city is not going to say no just on principle. They will examine the net benefits to the community and make the best possible decision. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valour.

NOT densifying the core is at the expense of the overall economic growth for the community as a whole because sprawl does not pay for itself, hence the extra economic burden (via increasing costs) for everyone. Since the amount of tax revenue collected from Moncton’s core is mathematically minuscule, because it clearly does not support the magnitude of Moncton’s sprawl, I find your justification ludicrous. A worthwhile project is only worthwhile if it makes business sense, particularly in the long-term. Perhaps after some downtown infill investment, you know...to help balance the books just a tad, Moncton may return to throwing everything to the fringes.

The city is ultimately being as pragmatic as possible. The issue with MHS is that the new school will be outside the serviceable boundary and the concept of relocating the school there runs counter to the concept of supporting downtown development. If the decision were up to the city, I'm sure that the school would not be built there. Unfortunately, the decision belongs to the province and they are not going to change their mind.

Moncton knows its place :whip:

[MonctonRad]

I got my fingers rapped the other day by a mod for posting a complete T&T article. We'll try it this way...... :)

Playing poker with Royal Oaks
Monday, March 19, 2012
Times & Transcript

Has Moncton lost its bargaining chips with cancellation of rezoning request?

The high stakes poker game that promised to make Moncton's city council chamber into a saloon hall worthy of the wild west has been shot down by Romspen Mortgage Investment Corporation, the card player who asked for the game in the first place. But the question is, 'who really pulled the trigger?' Did Moncton city council shoot itself in the foot before the cards were even dealt?

Meanwhile, even if the card game disguised as a rezoning public hearing won't happen, there will still be some excitement when council meets at 5 p.m. today to conduct all the other business of what is also a regular public meeting.

Continue reading here:
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=8607

[MonctonRad]

from CBC

Council backs opponents to Moncton High move

Councillors say a public forum is needed before decisions are made on Moncton High's future
CBC News Posted: Mar 20, 2012 8:19 AM AT

More than 100 people showed up at a city council meeting on Monday night to add their voices to those challenging the Department of Education’s decision to move the high school to the Royal Oaks location.

For the first time all 10 councillors spoke out against the proposed development.

Coun. Steven Boyce said provincial officials haven't been transparent in their decision to move the school.

"If this provincial government wants to put this school in Royal Oaks, it'll go down in history as their mistake,” Boyce said.

City councillors agreed a public forum with the provincial government is needed before things go any further.

Before the members of the crowd took their message into council chambers they gathered outside of Moncton City Hall to show their frustration.

They were dressed in Moncton High's deep purple and waved signs showing their opposition to the proposal.

Daniel Richards, a Moncton High alumni, asked city council to step in and stop the move.

“Why do I as a citizen, have to stand here to fight the province I love. I'm begging the city that I love to stand up,” Richards said.

Scott Agnew, the spokesperson for the group Stop the Royal Hoax, asked the city to suspend negotiations with the provincial government involving infrastructure upgrades that would be necessary to build a school at Royal Oaks.

Agnew asked council to demand that the province hold public meetings so people can find out why and how the provincial government decided on the Royal Oaks location.

Ongoing controversy

This is the latest twist to the ongoing controversy.

The Department of Education committed to building a new school after Moncton High School was closed in 2010 over health and safety concerns.

The provincial government intends to have the new school ready for students in 2013.

The provincial government chose a parcel of land near the Royal Oaks subdivision, which is off of Elmwood Drive, last July.

Many Moncton residents have criticized the location because it is too far from the city’s downtown.

But the controversy took another turn when a Toronto developer announced plans to build a subdivision around the school.

However, Romspen announced late last week that it was dropping its request to city council to rezone land for a Royal Oaks subdivision in Moncton.

A company official said it would focus on its projects on other land. The official said the proposal was coming at a difficult time for councillors considering the upcoming May 14 municipal election.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Interesting how this is playing out. With Romspen no longer part of the equation, city council now feels free to criticize the province over it's choice of location for the school.......

With municipal elections coming up, this is partly good politics as this decision by the province is quite unpopular with the civic electorate.

A united city council however also sends a strong message to the province that if they plan to go ahead with this fiasco, that they had better be generous is helping to fund the necessary infrastructure improvements. Nobody wants another Northrup Frye debacle.

This is a dangerous game to play though. The city shouldn"t piss the province off too much if they want to keep the dream of the events centre alive. The issues are separate, but there is only one funding pot and Alward can giveth and taketh away.....

It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.......

[C_Boy]

City of Moncton to buy Highfield Square property

The City of Moncton is buying the Highfield Square Shopping Centre site, and has identified it as the preferred site for the proposed downtown multi-purpose sports and entertainment centre. An option agreement will allow the City to acquire the property for the purchase price of $6 million prior to March 2, 2013.


:D:D:D:D:banana::notacrook:

[C_Boy]

CORRECTION: City of Moncton identifies potential site for downtown entertainment centre

News 91.9

The City of Moncton has entered into an agreement with the option to purchase the Highfield Square Shopping Centre site , and has identified it as the preferred site for a proposed downtown multi purpose sports and entertainment centre. This option agreement would allow the City to purchase the property for $6 million dollars.

[JasonL-Moncton]

CORRECTION: City of Moncton identifies potential site for downtown entertainment centre

News 91.9

The City of Moncton has entered into an agreement with the option to purchase the Highfield Square Shopping Centre site , and has identified it as the preferred site for a proposed downtown multi purpose sports and entertainment centre. This option agreement would allow the City to purchase the property for $6 million dollars.

:tup: A much needed step in the right direction!

[Taeolas]

:previous:

Interesting how this is playing out. With Romspen no longer part of the equation, city council now feels free to criticize the province over it's choice of location for the school.......

With municipal elections coming up, this is partly good politics as this decision by the province is quite unpopular with the civic electorate.

A united city council however also sends a strong message to the province that if they plan to go ahead with this fiasco, that they had better be generous is helping to fund the necessary infrastructure improvements. Nobody wants another Northrup Frye debacle.

This is a dangerous game to play though. The city shouldn"t piss the province off too much if they want to keep the dream of the events centre alive. The issues are separate, but there is only one funding pot and Alward can giveth and taketh away.....

It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.......

It will come down to who will blink first. The council seems to have the populace on its side, and a lot of awkward questions are being raised, so they have a lot of kings up their sleeves.

The Province has the final say in it, and they also hold the purse strings for the Convention Centre, among other factors, so they have a couple of Ace's standing by.

The problem is, if the province holds back the Centre funding over this, there will be backlash that will hurt them. They could try to hide it under "economic belt tightening" reasons, but I suspect most people realize that Moncton really needs this to keep its own economic engine going as strongly as it has been; letting that engine stall out will hurt the province bad. Plus I wonder if Moncton could get enough Private and Federal support to bypass the province, at least to get it going past the point of no return, to basically blackmail the province into supporting.

Frankly, I really hope the Council sticks it out down there. The current MHS plans stink to high heaven, and need to be changed somehow, one way or another.

[Norshorer]

Does anyone have any news regarding the Mapleton Fashion Centre (ugh... that name doesn't sit well with me... I keep picturing a strip mall containing nothing but women's shoe/clothing stores) or "The Property Formerly Known As The Mapleton Power Centre"?

There's been LOTS of activity lately with tractor-loads of earth being moved around, leveling of earth for foundations of new pads being built, water/sewer pipes being moved around the site, etc. plus things are coming along quite nicely for Cleeve's/Golf Town buildings which are nearly complete exterior-wise with the exception of some minor work on the roof, signage that still needs to go up and some other minor cosmetic touches to the exterior. No idea how the interior is coming along on both buildings. They even have the parking lot paved and lamp posts up and running.

After spending hours digging around on Google, I couldn't find any info other than some of the previous forum posts in this thread and a few news articles from various media monitoring sites dating back to 2007 & 2011.

Does this retail complex even have an official website yet? I know Dartmouth Crossing kept building up their website even BEFORE the stores had foundations poured. I suppose they probably want to wait until they can 100% confirm all tenants, but still... we need more info! (Well, ok... I'm very impatiently awaiting for tenants to be confirmed)

The only other "new thing" I noticed was a huge yellow/green oval sign for PEC (or was it PCE?) is now being hung off corner of the building that was supposed to house BB&Beyond & Best Buy. I tried looking up info for this contractor/construction company and could not find anything online.

If anyone has an official site or newly updated blueprints (other than what's been posted by mmmatt) which confirm which stores are going where, please let me know. I moved to this end of town hoping that at least the first part of this new retail complex would be built by now, so I've got some vested interest in how well or poorly this project does since it means I might be moving again (well, the noisy neighbors are also a big reason for me wanting to leave).

I meant to take pics of all the new activity, but it's kind of hard to stop on the Mapleton off-ramp and pull-over in time when you've got a line-up of cars behind you during lunch hour & rush hour :)

UPDATE: Umkay... just noticed the newer stand-alone Moncton Retail thread which had quite a bit of discussion about Mapleton Fashion/Power Centre. Would still like someone to confirm if this complex has an official website of sorts or if newer (i.e. 2012) blueprints exist somewhere online.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

About the most up to date information regarding the Mapleton Centre is to be found on the [Moncton] Retail thread on our own trusty forum. :)

You are quite right about there being a dearth of information on the web. The only confirmed tenants are Cleves, Golf Town and PetSmart. Nothing else is carved in stone. PCL is the construction company involved in developing the site. They are a very reputable developer of major commercial projects so their involvement is a good sign.

The building with the PCL banner hung on it is actually the original strip mall that was erected on the site. Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond and PetSmart are actually supposed to be built on the other side of the central parking area. Please refer to the site plan on the retail thread.

I imagine other retailers are committed but are not yet announced. The developers would not be proceding if this were not the case. The lack of information however is very frustrating....

[Norshorer]

:previous:

Ah, ok... thanks for clearing that up. I kept thinking all these months that the numbers on the existing plan were referring to the original building that was first built on the site and kept wondering "damn... that's frickin SMALL for a Best Buy!" Makes a lot more sense to build opposite of that location.

Thanks also for clearing up the PCL Construction thing... my mind, it has a tendency to fail me at times.

Yes, nothing more annoying than trying to find info about a retail project online and coming up empty-handed. Patience has never been one of my virtues, but come on... enough with the delays, just confirm some more major tenants already! :rolleyes:

Like I said, if I can ever get around to snapping some pics of the site, I'll try to post a few. Have been really enjoying pics of projects from other forum members lately.

[benvui]

I drove by the Golden Eagle restaurant and it must be closed..there's a FOR LEASE sign out in front.

I heard on CBC radio this morning that it was closed for health reasons. Apparently they had a sewage backup in the basement where they stored their food and they didn't clean it up and they continued to server food that was stored there.

[Good2go]

I heard on CBC radio this morning that it was closed for health reasons. Apparently they had a sewage backup in the basement where they stored their food and they didn't clean it up and they continued to server food that was stored there.

The newspaper story said they are relocating, but didn't say where.

[theshark]

I heard on CBC radio this morning that it was closed for health reasons. Apparently they had a sewage backup in the basement where they stored their food and they didn't clean it up and they continued to server food that was stored there.

yes! Report from health officials here:

http://www1.gnb.ca/0601/uploads/819F46E52C25763A55CC642422644317.PDF

[MonctonRad]

Moncton most competitive city in Canada, U.S.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Times & Transcript
By: Craig Babstock

KPMG finds Moncton most cost-competitive city to do business

Moncton is the most cost-competitive city for business in Canada and the U.S., accord ing to KPMG.

The audit, tax and advisory firm released the results of its Competitive Alternatives 2012 study yesterday and ranked Moncton at the top of its list. This city was found to be more cost-competitive than 15 other Canadian cities including Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.

The KPMG study examined 26 significant business cost elements including labour, taxes, real estate and utilities in 16 Canadian cities, and compared more than 110 cities in 14 countries around the world. The study found Moncton was also more cost-competitive than the U.S. cities that were examined.

Read more:
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=8639

[RyeJay]

Here is a quick cartoon about a city EXACTLY like Moncton, explained very cheerfully and thoroughly:

http://vimeo.com/28464164

[MonctonRad]

Halifax Drops FIFA Bid

It appears that a committee of Halifax Regional Council has recommended not pursuing a stadium project at present. As such, it would appear that Halifax is no longer in the running as a host city for the FIFA Womens World Cup in 2015.

As such, there are only six cities left in the the running to serve as host cities for the tournament. Moncton is one of them. Since the organizers are looking for "up to six cities" to serve as hosts, and since Moncton is the only potential site left in Atlantic Canada, I would say our chances have just gone up a notch.

What would probably nail our bid would be if we get great attendance at the upcoming pre-Olympic "friendly" between the Canadian and Chinese national teams at the Moncton Stadium this May. :)

[cormiermax]

Here is a quick cartoon about a city EXACTLY like Moncton, explained very cheerfully and thoroughly:

http://vimeo.com/28464164

Seems like its a Canadian production as well, perhaps it was actually based off Moncton? :P

[mylesmalley]

Ahh, RyeJay...

Unfortunately, I can't see past the 7 minute mark on your video. The site just refuses to load past that point. However, there's a few points I'd like to bring up.

Fun fact #1: Moncton is the 3rd densest population centre in New Brunswick. The only ones denser are McEwen and Dalhousie-neither of which are bigger than 3.1 square km. The next densest community is Sackville, and is almost 25% less packed. Moncton has 842 persons per km2.

Fun fact #2: The next community with more than 10,000 people is Cambelton, at 486 persons per km2. Saint John is at 457. Fredericton is at 433.

Fun fact #3: Moncton is 10.4% denser in 2011 than it was in 2006...based on 2011 boundaries, which increased. The real densification amount would therefore be even higher. Moncton is densifying at the 4th fastest rate in New Brunswick, and is beat out by Tracadie, Sackville and Cambelton.

Halifax certainly has a leg up on Moncton. They're at 1106, which is up 4.3% over last census. Halifax is half of what Montreal is at. Vancouver is roughly the same. Toronto is just shy of 3000.

To make a long story short, cities all over the country have a long way to go in the density department. But your constant negativity completely ignores the fact that significant improvement is being made in places like Moncton and Halifax. It's completely unreasonable to expect cities to stop growing laterally altogether, but we can certainly encourage them to grow up at a quicker pace than outward.

Moncton has made some significant investments in mass transit. It's no subway, for sure, but within the city's means. The city has been aggressively moving forward with its active transportation initiative, which has seen dozens of km of bike trails and dedicated lanes built or repurposed. The city is working on addressing choke points and dangerous areas like the causeway traffic circle and a pedestrian/cyclist bridge. Dieppe has banned the construction of new drive-throughs altogether. We're starting to see larger and larger apartment and condominium buildings going up around the city, and downtown has seen a tremendous amount of infill housing construction to replace vacant or under-utilized lots.

Sure, the city has seen expansion and growth. I'm not particularly fond of the way Mapleton is being developed, and the plans for the land north of the University are much too suburban for my taste. But it isn't realistic to expect Manhattan either. The city has invested in roads, to be sure. but the roads built in recent years almost all feature bike lanes.

I guess to round out your point about the video describing Moncton to the T. You're probably right. As I said, I can't speak to anything beyond minute 7. But from what i've gleaned so far, the video describes just about every city in North America except the borough of Manhattan.

[RyeJay]

Ahh, RyeJay...

Unfortunately, I can't see past the 7 minute mark on your video. The site just refuses to load past that point. However, there's a few points I'd like to bring up.

Fun fact #1: Moncton is the 3rd densest population centre in New Brunswick. The only ones denser are McEwen and Dalhousie-neither of which are bigger than 3.1 square km. The next densest community is Sackville, and is almost 25% less packed. Moncton has 842 persons per km2.

Fun fact #2: The next community with more than 10,000 people is Cambelton, at 486 persons per km2. Saint John is at 457. Fredericton is at 433.

Fun fact #3: Moncton is 10.4% denser in 2011 than it was in 2006...based on 2011 boundaries, which increased. The real densification amount would therefore be even higher. Moncton is densifying at the 4th fastest rate in New Brunswick, and is beat out by Tracadie, Sackville and Cambelton.

Halifax certainly has a leg up on Moncton. They're at 1106, which is up 4.3% over last census. Halifax is half of what Montreal is at. Vancouver is roughly the same. Toronto is just shy of 3000.

To make a long story short, cities all over the country have a long way to go in the density department. But your constant negativity completely ignores the fact that significant improvement is being made in places like Moncton and Halifax. It's completely unreasonable to expect cities to stop growing laterally altogether, but we can certainly encourage them to grow up at a quicker pace than outward.

Moncton has made some significant investments in mass transit. It's no subway, for sure, but within the city's means. The city has been aggressively moving forward with its active transportation initiative, which has seen dozens of km of bike trails and dedicated lanes built or repurposed. The city is working on addressing choke points and dangerous areas like the causeway traffic circle and a pedestrian/cyclist bridge. Dieppe has banned the construction of new drive-throughs altogether. We're starting to see larger and larger apartment and condominium buildings going up around the city, and downtown has seen a tremendous amount of infill housing construction to replace vacant or under-utilized lots.

Sure, the city has seen expansion and growth. I'm not particularly fond of the way Mapleton is being developed, and the plans for the land north of the University are much too suburban for my taste. But it isn't realistic to expect Manhattan either. The city has invested in roads, to be sure. but the roads built in recent years almost all feature bike lanes.

I guess to round out your point about the video describing Moncton to the T. You're probably right. As I said, I can't speak to anything beyond minute 7. But from what i've gleaned so far, the video describes just about every city in North America except the borough of Manhattan.

I'm glad at least 7 minutes of facts were able to permeate your bubble.

And all of your facts are useless because you're comparing Moncton with the rest of New Brunswick, which is all suburbia, all in debt, all in decline.

Set your standards higher and compare as broadly as you can (i.e.: any city in the world), otherwise Monctonian progress will remain at the basic 1980's level of "bike lanes" and "mass transit," when the ENTIRE POINT is to densify the core with vertical development in order to magnify the collectable tax revenue so that the city may better afford itself -- and in Moncton's case, carry the rest of the province economically.

And I don't care if Halifax is ahead of Moncton on urbanisation; that goes without saying. Halifax is extremely behind in its process to urbanise at a strong enough pace necessary to counter the rising costs of infrastructural maintenance, as well as to provide core living options at an affordable rate for the increasing number of poor and lower-bracket middle-class people.

Moncton's sprawl is still full speed ahead... And in your media its always spun as 'growth', when truthfully this 'growth' is just using the municipal credit card because sprawl absolutely never pays for itself.

[KnoxfordGuy]

"...all of your facts are useless because you're comparing Moncton with the rest of New Brunswick, which is all suburbia, all in debt, all in decline."

Fredericton is doing just fine. Thanks. Your generalization shows your lack of knowledge

[mylesmalley]

We shouldn't feed the trolls.

[RyeJay]

"...all of your facts are useless because you're comparing Moncton with the rest of New Brunswick, which is all suburbia, all in debt, all in decline."

Fredericton is doing just fine. Thanks. Your generalization shows your lack of knowledge

A town of mostly government jobs doing "fine?" Well, this should certainly power the way to recover the province's debt...

[MonctonRad]

A town of mostly government jobs doing "fine?" Well, this should certainly power the way to recover the province's debt...

Gee, this sounds like Halifax too!

- provincial government
- Atlantic regional federal government HQ's
- navy
- naval procurement contracts
- universities (7)
- hospitals (4)
- CBC

Without the government, Halifax would be a shadow of itself too! :D

[cormiermax]

Gee, this sounds like Halifax too!

- provincial government
- Atlantic regional federal government HQ's
- navy
- naval procurement contracts
- universities (7)
- hospitals (4)
- CBC

Without the government, Halifax would be a shadow of itself too! :D

I don't think anyone's arguing with this.

[MonctonRad]

Getting back to development news......

I took a drive through the Moncton Industrial Park West this evening and there is lots going on.....

There are two lots that have been cleared on DesBrisay St. There are signs up on both of these properties.

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z411/MonctonRad/Snapbucket/Moncton%20Construction%202012/78e03caa.jpg

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z411/MonctonRad/Snapbucket/Moncton%20Construction%202012/cad5d16f.jpg

In addition, there is a huge swath of land on the south end of the industrial park, paralleling the CN mainline which has been cleared as well. I don't know what is going on here, but if this land is being cleared for a specific project, then whatever is going to be built there will be very large....

[OUIR@random]

I don't want to complain, it's just that you have to go through several threads now, before we could read everything in one place. We will see double posts and it will be hard to keep up with what has been posted and what hasn't... ah well...
I will only keep an eye out on the general Moncton thread and the Retail one... :sly:

Enough with my rants, and let's get back to developments! :)

[RyeJay]

Gee, this sounds like Halifax too!

- provincial government
- Atlantic regional federal government HQ's
- navy
- naval procurement contracts
- universities (7)
- hospitals (4)
- CBC

Without the government, Halifax would be a shadow of itself too! :D

You forgot the RCMP. Oh, and you also forgot the ferry services.
Universities are private; if you want to get into government subsidies, both provinces are in for a big, long list (especially for the businesses of Irving).

But that would be missing my point.

My point: You aren't going to convince me that the tax revenue generated by a town of barely 90 thousand is better capable of supporting a paralysed province than a city of 400 thousand (which is also carrying a stagnant province). Truro, Nova Scotia is doing 'just fine' as well, but I'm not about to declare the town as a model for the province's future economic growth. Truro is suburbia also, and has only benefitted from the losses its satellite communities are experiencing. All of you are well aware that the decline of surrounding communities can quickly translate into mass migrations to another, as is very true for 'Moncton's Chiac Wave'.

Just because Truro is enjoying the deaths of surrounding communities, doesn't mean that it is conducting its own development in a profitable way, nor to break-even. Frederiction is also inflicted with suburban syndrome, and having read through some of the city's budgets I am not confident the city's tax revenues are going anywhere but paying-off its own debt.

The constant comparisons the Monctonians on this thread keep insisting upon with Halifax is very perplexing, especially when I've never brought that city up. Ever. I'm not from Halifax; as well, I frequently criticise the city. I want Halifax AND Moncton to both be there for my children to enjoy, and if I am ever blessed with grandchildren, for them to enjoy as well.

It's very troubling how selfish people are by nature, allowing their egos to inflate beyond being able to be humble enough to be self-critical. Development needs to be about sustainability -- not about masturbatory moments for one's municipal pride.

[Sony500]

[QUOTE=mylesmalley;5639451]Ahh, RyeJay...

Unfortunately, I can't see past the 7 minute mark on your video. The site just refuses to load past that point. However, there's a few points I'd like to bring up.
QUOTE]

I was able to watch the whole video on Safari browser.

[mylesmalley]

Same. Weird. I'll try it again later.

[ithree]

I spotted 3 UPS delivery trucks parked at Motel 6 earlier this evening. All three trucks looked brand new. Does anyone know when the service will be launched?

[Sony500]

:previous:
I heard it was suppose to start sometime in April.

[MonctonRad]

Found this on the Halifax Stadium thread in the SSP Halifax Local:

From News95.7 Twitter feed.

Council Votes:

23-0 say no thanks to FIFA

14-9 to add stadium project to future capital plan.

17-6 to explore shannon park as option for future site.

I'm not gloating at all, but if Halifax is now officially no longer interested in FIFA, then it would seem that Moncton is nearly guaranteed of being a host city for this event.

We should make sure that we actively support the upcoming pre-Olympic "friendly" between Canada & China at the Moncton Stadium at the end of May. If this game is well attended, I would thing we will have cinched it.....

[mmmatt]

Found this on the Halifax Stadium thread in the SSP Halifax Local:



I'm not gloating at all, but if Halifax is now officially no longer interested in FIFA, then it would seem that Moncton is nearly guaranteed of being a host city for this event.

We should make sure that we actively support the upcoming pre-Olympic "friendly" between Canada & China at the Moncton Stadium at the end of May. If this game is well attended, I would thing we will have cinched it.....

Awesome! This would be the biggest event Moncton has ever (and possibly will ever) play host to. I know it would be shared with other cities, and hence we would most likely not get the "biggest" games of the event...but still, this will be huge for the city, and will thrust us on to the international stage like never before! I will definitely be attending the game in May even though Ive never been a huge football/soccer fan, it will be a great show Im sure, at this high a level...I suggest everyone that can should attend...we need to show them that Moncton loves football/soccer!!

[Sony500]

Downtown Moncton gets more on-street parking.

http://www.news919.com/news/local/article/347695--downtown-moncton-gets-more-on-street-parking

This spells disaster, I honestly can't see this working, Suppertime traffic is backed up as it is, and this is going to make it alot worse.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Marc Genuist on CBC Radio this morning made a comment about removing all the left hand turning lanes. He predicted gridlock at rush hour.....

Stupid, stupid, stupid!! :brickwall:

And to boot, it'll cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for the parking meters and snow removal.

Heads should roll.......

[JasonL-Moncton]

:previous:

It's a bad move on sooo many levels, creating more congestion on Main St. is not going to have the effect on bringing people to shop downtown that they want, it'll be the exact opposite.

Bad move!

[Sony500]

Now they are looking at the possibility of closing Main St. between Lutz and Botsford in the summber, from July 1st and Labor Day Weekend.

[Sony500]

http://www.news919.com/news/local/article/347828--main-street-closed-to-traffic-for-the-summer

[MonctonRad]

This is the T&T article about this fiasco....

Council votes to try Main Street parking
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Times & Transcript
By: Brent Mazerolle

Pilot project to bring 110 new spots to Moncton's downtown core

Moncton city council has approved a pilot project that will bring on-street parking back to Main Street after a more than 30-year absence.

'The idea of parking on Main Street is nothing new,' architect and consultant Pierre Gallant told council yesterday, as he streamed a series of photographs showing cars parked at the sides of a vibrant Main Street over the course of most of the 20th century.

Gallant has designed a layout for Main Street between Highfield Street and Lewis Street and Queen Street between Robinson and Church Street that will bring roughly 88 stalls to the former and 22 to the latter.

read more
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=8704

I'm glad to see this being referred to as a "pilot project" at least. This is doomed to failure. The apprehension amongst non downtown residents will be that Main St will be permanent gridlock and nobody will venture there unless they absolutely have to. Between the booters and this, the downtown has no chance..... :(

Regarding closing Main St for the summer months, this has been an obsession of Coun. Bourgeois for some time. Thankfully there are a couple of strong candidates running against him in the upcoming election. Hopefully he will be given the heave ho and this issue will be put to rest permanently.

[MonctonRad]

from today's T&T

Historic Castle Manor for sale
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Times & Transcript
By: Alan Cochrane

Stone heritage property has been a Moncton landmark for over 100 years

The historic sandstone Castle Manor on Mountain Road is up for sale, and the head of Moncton's Heritage Board is worried that it could become a victim of the wrecking ball if a developer doesn't step forward and buy it.

'About all we can do right now is raise awareness of this building and hope that somebody bites,' Beverly Barrett, chairwoman of the Moncton Heritage Board, said yesterday.

The Heritage Board is now working to have the Castle Manor building placed on Canada's list of most endangered buildings. The Moncton High School building, just a five-minute walk away, has already been on the list. Both Castle Manor and the Moncton High building are constructed of dark brown sandstone blocks, but the castle itself stands out as a landmark because of its Gothic Revival architectural style.

read more:
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=8714

Well, it appears that just about all of Moncton's early 20th century Gothic Revival architecture is at risk.

This includes:
- Castle Manor
- Moncton High School
- Assomption Cathedral

If we are not careful, the city could lose all of these historic buildings within the next five years or so. We should not let this happen. There is very little that defines Moncton architecturally. These three Gothic Revival buildings come closer than anything else to doing so. It would be a great shame to see them all gone...... :(

[Acajack]

Here's a thought...

Officially call it "Stade UdeM Stadium."

However, French speaking people can refer to it as "Stade UdeM" and English-speakers can call it "UdeM Stadium"

I don't understand why both need to be said. If you're giving someone directions, you don't tell them to go to "Rue Main Street", you just say "Main Street."

Don't get me started on the Saint John and St-Jean thing either... :sly:

A bit late on this but I have also wondered why they always use both Stade and Stadium in the name when speaking in English (or French). Nobody does this elsewhere in the country, even when a place has a bilingual official name like Lansdowne Park or Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa. The sign outside says Stade Frank Clair Stadium, but in English it is Frank Clair Stadium and in French it is Stade Frank Clair.

I really find it odd to read stuff like news releases and news stories in English referring to Stade Moncton 2010 Stadium.

[MonctonRad]

this is the editorial from today's T&T regarding on-street parking on Main Street:

Going from bad to worse
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=8715

Is Main Street parking the lifeline downtown needs?
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Times & Transcript

We Say: Beleaguered Main Street gets no help from parking plan

No one will argue that Moncton's downtown, particularly on Main Street, needs help.

And it might even have been argued that, under different circumstances, some help would be available in the form of added parking on Main Street.

For example motorists who will soon wish to avoid a narrower, choked-off Main Street might have chosen to travel by Boulevard Assomption had Moncton City Council done that job right when they had the chance.

Boulevard Assomption could have been a fourlane throughfare, but instead council bowed to the desires of its engineering department and settled for a dog's breakfast of confusing turning lanes and only two actual lanes for two-way traffic.

As for Main Street, it is already an inefficient mess which is about to get even messier. Ways to avoid Main are limited without a properly designed Assomption, so many motorists will still attempt to move from one end of Metro to the other via Main.

But this main artery, already seriously clogged, will now lose the convenience of its turning lanes, which will have to be removed to make room for parking spots.

Main Street will of course still have its sidewalk cafes, which are very nice but still thwart any possibility of widening the street, which would have been very handy considering all the room which will now be taken up with those parking spots. It should be tight going indeed and motorists will have to be attentive, as well as patient.

Bottom line, this whole scheme seems to benefit no one but the City itself, which will enjoy whatever revenue from the new parking meters is not lost to the cost of clearing snow from them in the winter.

But perhaps, as they say, it's an ill wind indeed that blows no one any good.

Negotiating Main Street will become so dicey for driving shoppers that it will likely make the chaos at the Champlain Place and Trinity malls actually seem attractive by comparison.

Council, hopefully with the help of Downtown Moncton Inc., needs to go back to the drawing board.

Personal note:

It's interesting the sudden reversal in the editorial stance of the newspaper on this issue.....

The T&T has brought up the topic about what to do for Main Street on many occasions over the last several years, usually leaning towards turning it into a full time pedestrian mall or promoting on-street parking in some form. The status quo never seemed to be an option for the paper.

Well, suddenly the paper seems to be in favour of the status quo! Perhaps they have been listening to us on this forum!! :D
--------------------------------------------------------------

On street parking on Main St will reduce the street to two lanes with no turning lanes. The loss of the left turning lanes will contribute significantly to traffic congestion, especially at rush hour. Even now, it can take 10 minutes or more to travel 6-8 city blocks at the height of rush hour. You could probably safely double this in the future.

When the events centre gets built on Main St in a few years time, not only will you have morning and afternoon rush hours, but additional evening rush hours around scheduled games and concerts. Just imagine 9-10,000 people all trying to arrive at the events centre at roughly the same time, with a good portion of the attendees coming from Dieppe and driving up the narrowed and choked Main St to get there. It would not be a happy sight!! :(

The on street parking on Main St will all be parallel parking. Parallel parking is not popular with motorists at the best of times. Can you imagine how popular it would be for a driver to reverse into a parking space with several dozen cars impatiently waiting for him. I'm willing to bet that lots of people will avoid using these parking spots!! :yes:

I would be concerned about how narrow the street will be. I don't know about you, but I personally would not enjoy eating a meal downtown if I parallel parked on Main St. I would be worried the whole time I was eating that somebody would make a mistake navigating the (narrowed) street and bung my side mirror. Nope, I can guarantee you that I would go out of my way not to park on Main St and would choose a side street to park instead.
-------------------------------------------------------------

If the city is determined to (permanently) take this course, then I think the big fix will be necessary...........

What I mean by this is that Main St will have to cease being Main St. I think through traffic will have to be actively diverted onto Assomption Blvd.

What I would do would be to tear down (and relocate) the Codiac Police HQ and reallign East Main St so that it feeds directly onto Assomption Blvd. I would make Assomption a four lane street with a median for it's entire length. I would also extend Assomption beyond Vaughan Harvey and have it reconnect with a (realligned) West Main St somewhere around the Honda and Toyota dealerships.

By doing this, then there would again be an unobstructed direct route through downtown but it would avoid the central portions of Main St. With traffic diverted in such a manner, then it wouldn't matter so much what experiments the meddling city planning department would have in store for Main St.

This solution however would cost tens of millions of dollars and I don't imagine the city would be interested in it. As such, Main St will remain the only direct east/west route through the core. Since Main St serves such a critical function, nothing should be done to it that would interfere with efficient traffic flow.

On street parallel parking on Main St is a bad, BAD, BAD idea!!!

[mylesmalley]

I'm not exactly sure how one would even be able to accommodate parallel parking along Main. If the whole road is two lanes, without the occasional turn lane, anyone who wants to parallel park is going to stop all traffic behind them.

Oh well. Time will tell.

In other news, I guess big cutbacks are coming at what's left of CFB Moncton. Theoretically though, this could free up some valuable land between Vaughan Harvey, John and St George.

[NBNYer]

I would be concerned about how narrow the street will be. I don't know about you, but I personally would not enjoy eating a meal downtown if I parallel parked on Main St. I would be worried the whole time I was eating that somebody would make a mistake navigating the (narrowed) street and bung my side mirror. Nope, I can guarantee you that I would go out of my way not to park on Main St and would choose a side street to park instead.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, I'd be worried about that car too! :haha: Don't they have standard automatic retractable side mirrors? :D



If the city is determined to (permanently) take this course, then I think the big fix will be necessary...........

What I mean by this is that Main St will have to cease being Main St. I think through traffic will have to be actively diverted onto Assomption Blvd.

What I would do would be to tear down (and relocate) the Codiac Police HQ and reallign East Main St so that it feeds directly onto Assomption Blvd. I would make Assomption a four lane street with a median for it's entire length. I would also extend Assomption beyond Vaughan Harvey and have it reconnect with a (realligned) West Main St somewhere around the Honda and Toyota dealerships.

By doing this, then there would again be an unobstructed direct route through downtown but it would avoid the central portions of Main St. With traffic diverted in such a manner, then it wouldn't matter so much what experiments the meddling city planning department would have in store for Main St.


Don't forget the rail line between Assomption and West Main. I think the plan was always to extend Assomption blvd to connect with the causeway just south of the west Main traffic circle.

Maybe eliminating some left turns all together on Main could ease the situation, on the other hand, there is no proper grid street pattern on the south side which would allow this to work properly.

[mylesmalley]

I really don't understand the plan to connect a road up to the causeway. That's a pretty tight circle as it is for it's speed and number of connecting roads. I'm afraid we'd just end up with our own version of the Armdale Rotary in Halifax. I think it would make a lot more sense for Assomption to continue to West Main around the end of Jones Lake, or as MonctonRad suggested, further down by the car dealerships.

[NBNYer]

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/1556/assomption.png


Source (http://www.moncton.ca/Assets/Government%20English/Publications%20English/Urban%20Trans%20Program.pdf)

[MonctonRad]

DND Cuts Hit Moncton

According to news sources today, the regular forces will be leaving the Moncton Garrison within the next two years.

Affected units include:
- 1 Construction Engineering Unit (moving to Kingston)
- 4 Air Defence Regiment (moving to Gagetown)

The base however will not be closing, and as far as I know, will remain the 37 Brigade Group HQ and will remain home to the 8 Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's). These are reserve units.

23 civilian jobs will be lost at the base and the two regular force units had a complement of 125. So, it would seem reasonable to suspect that job losses will be around 150. The reservists at the base have a complement of 175. I presume these will stay.

Nevertheless, this will be a blow for the city. This won't have much impact on our unemployment rate (currently 6.2%), as most of the affected individuals will be leaving the area but the loss of payroll will have an impact on the economy. This announcement, on top of the Maple Leaf Foods announcement last fall will mean the removal of over 600 jobs from the economy over the next few years..........

Now, this is nowhere near as bad as other economic blows that have hit the city in the past, and if any city in the region can withstand this, it would be Moncton but this might have to be factored into growth projections for the city over the next several years.

I think Moncton will still continue to do OK.

[Sony500]

Not too long ago they removed all the NO left turns on and off of Main St. You can even turn left from Bonaccord on to Main St. Makes me wonder if they didn't have this planned for quite some time.
If you wanted to get to Assomption Blvd, and you missed Mechanic St. you had to drive all the way down to Lutz St. before you could turn left to do so.
I thought this was a good move on the city's part, but it makes me wonder if it wasn't part of a plan.:shrug:

[Resurgo]

Downtown Centre Renderings:

http://www.moncton.ca/Moncton__Our_Tide_is_Rising___/Downtown_Centre/Downtown_Centre_Renderings.htm

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Canada/NB/1305552294/ID=2222423988

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Welcome to the forums Resurgo!

We have already been having an extensive discussion on this topic on the [Moncton] Centre (inside Wheeler) thread. :)

Excellent username BTW. :tup:

[MonctonRad]

MHS should be saved: Williams
Monday, April 16, 2012
Times & Transcript
By: Brent Mazerolle

Province seeks proposals to preserve and rejuvinate historic building for new community uses

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claude Williams told the Times & Transcript his department would soon be issuing a request for proposals for re-purposing the Moncton High School building.

And now that RFP has been issued, seeking to identify interested and qualified developers to purchase and re-purpose both the historic Moncton High School property and surrounding land owned by the province.

'This is a very important project for the city and the province,' Williams told the Times & Transcript.

'We are looking for thoughtful and detailed proposals to make sure the school maintains a memorable presence and remains a vibrant cultural icon for the downtown.' The request for proposals seeks a mixed-use project for the 77 year old school which will promote community inclusion and reflect and preserve the building's historic significance.

The re-development could include, but is not limited to, arts and culture, community space, residential, retail and commercial space, or green space.

The exterior and interior character of the two and a half storey, Gothic Revival style stone building, including the 1,200-seat theatre, must be preserved throughout so that the defining elements of the historic structure are incorporated into any proposed re-development.

read more:
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=8774

[pierremoncton]

Province seeks proposals to preserve and rejuvinate historic building for new community uses


What? Wasn't it part of the deal with the Royal Oaks guys that they convert MHS into condos?

What am I missing? I'm very confused here.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Nope, unfortunately ths two projects are not linked. Romspen initially said that if MHS were located out at Royal Oaks, that they would repurpose the old school, but apparently the labyrinthine and archaic tendering rules of the provincial government (specifically the Department of Supply and Services) makes this kind of linkage illegal.

So, MHS is being relocated to Royal Oaks with no guarantee that the old school will escape the wrecking ball!!! :(:hell:

Now, the province does intend to seperately tender the project to repurpose the old school, and presumably Romspen will bid on this project, but given the debacle over the relocation of the school to Royal Oaks, one never knows..... :rolleyes:

[MonctonRad]

Editorial from today's paper

New life for an old school
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Times & Transcript

We Say: 'Repurposed' MHS perfect fit for city's 'festival industry'

By many accounts Moncton's East Coast Music Awards event last weekend was the best attended since, well, the city's last opportunity to host the ECMAs way back in 1997. All the downtown venues were busy; restaurateurs and bar owners were beaming, Main Street was filled with people and the big events were jammed with people.

Later this month the city hosts the Northrop Frye Literary Festival and through the year there are such events as the annual Acadian Film Festival and the Hubcap Comedy Festival. We note also that Moncton is home to the only ballet company in Atlantic Canada. Clearly, our town throws a party in celebration of music and all the performing arts like no other city in the region. The fact serves as the perfect backdrop for this week's statement from Transportation Minister Claude Williams as his department prepares to issue a Request for Proposals from private developers for the purchase and rebirth of Moncton High School.

Min. Williams is absolutely correct when he says Moncton High School must be saved so that one of the city's few remaining heritage buildings can be retained as a 'memorable presence (which) remains a vibrant cultural icon for the downtown.' While proposals emphasize a heritage preservation element and can include mixed-used concepts for retail, residential and commercial space, we are particularly interested in any that might be able to save the school's fine auditorium as a performing arts venue. That would serve as an excellent complement to other performance stages in the Metro area, the variety of which is part of what makes Metro the region's ideal location for our string of festivals which keep Metro rocking all year long.

Moncton has proven that the performing arts can be an effective economic generator and obviously Min. Williams gets that big picture. He has been a focal point for the high emotional currents running through the Moncton High School story this year and deserves credit for his support of Moncton.

http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=8794

[Over60]

:previous:

Nope, unfortunately ths two projects are not linked. Romspen initially said that if MHS were located out at Royal Oaks, that they would repurpose the old school, but apparently the labyrinthine and archaic tendering rules of the provincial government (specifically the Department of Supply and Services) makes this kind of linkage illegal.

So, MHS is being relocated to Royal Oaks with no guarantee that the old school will escape the wrecking ball!!! :(:hell:

Now, the province does intend to seperately tender the project to repurpose the old school, and presumably Romspen will bid on this project, but given the debacle over the relocation of the school to Royal Oaks, one never knows..... :rolleyes:

Since this is my first post i don't want to get off on the wrong foot but i felt a need to comment on the notion in the quote above about DSS's archaic tendering rules. The rules in place are not just for DSS but any purchasing done by the province. The rules are found in two pieces of legislation, the Public Purchasing Act and the Crown Construction Contracts Act. The Province of New Brunswick have been at the forefront for many years in developing policy with respect to public purchasing. The rules which are referred to as archaic were put in place after consultation with the construction industry to provide a true public, open and transparent bidding procedure. It has eliminated the cronyism and partisan politics that existed 40 to 50 years ago. Romspen respected these rules when they released their original condition of tying the two projects together. It remains to be seen whether the bid to build the school and also provide a proposal to re-propose MHS. I suppose the fact that they have sold their land for the school which will enhance their Royal Oaks development they have already won the prize.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Welcome to the forums Over60!

No offence taken and thanks for the clarification. :)

I understand the rational for the rules, but in this case, it makes for uncertainty regarding the ultimate fate of the old MHS building. If it had been made a condition for Romspen to redevelop the old MHS building in order to get the contract for the new bulding, then we would all be secure in the knowledge that the existing MHS would be preserved. Instead, we don't know what will happen.

I suspect though that although there is no overt linkage between the two projects, that there is still an "understanding" in place and that, alll things being equal, Romspen might have the inside track to get the contract to renovate MHS.

[MonctonRad]

A couple of infrastructure notes from local papers today:

Roundabout Approved

The roundabout at the intersection of Killam, Collishaw, Russ Howard, Purdy and Waverley has been approved by Moncton City Council. This will obviously be a complex roundabout, with five access points and will be complicated by the level rail crossing at the top end of Russ Howard, and may end up being a double lane roundabout rather than a single lane circle. It will be interesting to see how the motoring public responds to this. :)

http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=8800

Ryan Street closed for the Summer

The section of Ryan Street between the Horsman Road roundabout and Evergreen Drive Extension will be closed From April 23 to mid September to allow for necessary infrastructure improvements (gutters, curbing and replacement of culverts with proper storm sewers).

http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=8806

[Over60]

:previous:

Welcome to the forums Over60!

No offence taken and thanks for the clarification. :)

I understand the rational for the rules, but in this case, it makes for uncertainty regarding the ultimate fate of the old MHS building. If it had been made a condition for Romspen to redevelop the old MHS building in order to get the contract for the new bulding, then we would all be secure in the knowledge that the existing MHS would be preserved. Instead, we don't know what will happen.

I suspect though that although there is no overt linkage between the two projects, that there is still an "understanding" in place and that, alll things being equal, Romspen might have the inside track to get the contract to renovate MHS.

But it's just that "inside track" that the rules are meant to curtail. Who is to say that with the inside track that Romspen's repurposing of MHS would be the best available option. The province is currently seeking Requests for Proposals from all interested parties for this project. As I said it remains to be seen whether now Romspen will respond. But now its an open competition, there may be even local developers whose proposals could be superior to Romspen. Richard Carpenter does have a expertise in these type of projects, however with his other current problems he may not be interested. An open public tendering procedure provides a fairness and the ability to solicit many different options.

On the whole MHS issue, and I am a graduate, what should have been done was announce the closer of "Moncton High", end of story. Then, with the obvious need for another high school in the area build a new one wherever.....just don't call call it "Moncton High". Let the old school die a natural death.

[MonctonRad]

On the whole MHS issue, and I am a graduate, what should have been done was announce the closer of "Moncton High", end of story. Then, with the obvious need for another high school in the area build a new one wherever.....just don't call call it "Moncton High". Let the old school die a natural death.

I agree with you on this point. The new high school at Royal Oaks will have as much in common with MHS as a schnauzer has with a pit bull. I have suggested in the past that they should just call the new high school "Royal Oaks High". It will after all not be a "city" high school and will service a broad stretch of rural Kent and Westmorland Counties as well as the city of Dieppe.

Probably no more than half the student body will be from Moncton itself, and most of that will be from the east end. Let's face it ladies and gentlemen - MHS is for all intents and purposes dead....

[Philbilly]

Does anyone know more info on what development would happen in the futur around or in roger call center parking lot ?