The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread [Archive] - Page 46

MonctonRad

Mar 7, 2009, 3:04 PM

:previous:

Good to have you back mmmatt, looking forward to the pictures from your trip. Things have been quiet from Myles too, I presume he's away also.

Now, for the new stuff:

It's official. The first H&M store in Atlantic Canada will be in Moncton. The second H&M will follow in the fall in Halifax. It is notable that both Halifax and Moncton will be getting this retailer before some larger cities such as Winnipeg.

:banana: :banana: :banana:

H&M fashions coming to Metro Moncton this spring
Published Saturday March 7th, 2009

Swedish company to open store in Champlain Mall
By Yvon Gauvin
Times & Transcript staff

H & M Hennes & Mauritz, better known as H&M, the Swedish-based clothing company, announced yesterday that it will be opening a store in the newly renovated Champlain Place Shopping Mall in Dieppe in the spring.

Metro Moncton already knew the popular clothing chain was coming to the region but wasn't sure where it would be located.

A Canadian spokesman for H&M said the store will occupy over 15,200 square feet and offer a wide range of fashion clothing for women, men, teenagers and children.

The company is also planning a second store in Atlantic Canada, this one in the Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth, N.S., in the fall.

H&M already has 43 stores in Canada, half of them in Ontario, 14 in Quebec and the others in British Columbia and Alberta.

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB was established in Sweden in 1947 and has 1,700 stores world-wide and 73,000 employees.

Its business concept is to offer fashion and quality at the best price and has a wide product range for women, men, teenagers, children and cosmetics. The company also creates its own collections.

The new store will mean shoppers in Atlantic Canada won't have to make the trip to Montreal and beyond to browse and shop for H&M fashionable clothes and products.

It would seem Metro Moncton's reputation as a central shopping destination helped influence the decision to open its first retail store east of Quebec in Dieppe.

The company was founded in 1947 by Erling Persson who became interested in the new kind of clothing store that combined a high turnover of garments at low prices and opened the first store in Västerås, Sweden. Hennes is the Swedish word for "hers".

Mauritz Widforss, who had a stock of men's clothing in his retail store, joined with Persson in 1968.

JasonL-Moncton

Mar 7, 2009, 8:26 PM

Jason, that is Halifax "County" that is 84th, Halifax is number 7 on the list. So Moncton is safer than Halifax

Ahh, yes I misunderstood the article I read, the way it put it made is sound reversed which really perplexed me.

JL

mylesmalley

Mar 8, 2009, 12:25 AM

Things have been quiet from Myles too, I presume he's away also.

Yep. I was at a trade show in Chicago, then storm-stayed in Montreal.

@Champlain

Mar 8, 2009, 4:42 PM

When you hear about a world renowned brand like H&M getting settled at Champlain, it only confirms my previous statements regarding the exciting things coming at Champlain Place (we all knew it was coming at Champlain, but this article only confirms it). When a development corporation like Cadillac-Fairview invests 14 million dollars in a property, they have great things coming. Stay tuned!
MonctonRad could not have said it better; each retail area in Moncton have their own niche and that's for the better.

Jerry556

Mar 8, 2009, 8:23 PM

its nice too see these high end stores come to Champlain, but the only thing that am not a big fan about is that Champlain place is beginning to be just a big clothing store(everything in Champlain place are turning in clothing stores).

@Champlain

Mar 8, 2009, 9:16 PM

Champlain is reinventing itself into a fashion mecca, so yes for women, but also for the whole family, for example our H&M location will be for the whole family, not all H&M are full-fledged like this one. Clothing, jewelry, shoes and beauty will take an even larger place at Champlain in the next few years. But remember that well established small tenants & anchor stores, that are not fashion related, will be staying.

Jerry556

Mar 9, 2009, 3:33 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WTeDGegF3c

you guys should check this out.

mylesmalley

Mar 9, 2009, 4:15 AM

... its alright, but pretty boring. And the production values are very poor - especially the cuttaway scenes with the actress at the end.

Although it's a huuuuuge improvement over the one they did a few years ago. If I recall correctly, the whole thing was about diversity and they never showed a single minority in the city.

JasonL-Moncton

Mar 9, 2009, 3:55 PM

METRO NEIGHBORHOOD FACING HUGE TAX INCREASE

Noel Street resident says his property tax bill jumped by 40 per cent
By Mary Moszynski
Times & Transcript Staff

- For the past eight years, Lawrence Doucette and his wife have lived in their modest two-bedroom bungalow in a Moncton neighbourhood.

They decided to move to New Brunswick after leaving Prince Edward Island and wanting to settle in a larger centre.

They bought a small home on Noel Street, a bungalow that, combined with the property tax, would be affordable on their fixed incomes.

But this year Doucette was told his bungalow, which was assessed last year for $95,300, is apparently now worth more than $133,000.

Now he's faced with a 40 per cent increase in his property tax bill, which states he now owes $2,234.

"I almost had another heart attack -- that's how surprising it was," he said.

Doucette, who said he didn't renovate his house last year, said an employee of Service New Brunswick told him his home had been under-assessed for the past few years.

And he's not alone.

Brent Roy, spokesman for Service New Brunswick, confirmed that particular area of Moncton had been under-assessed.

There are about 600 households in the area, he said, adding there will be a number of households that will likely see a larger jump in their bills this year.

Although Service New Brunswick would like inspectors to go to a neighbourhood every seven or eight years, the area around Noel Street hasn't been visited in roughly 20 years, Roy said.

It would be impossible for employees to individually inspect every home in the province each year, said Roy.

Instead, assessors look at building permits, real estate data and growth in communities.

"It's been 20 years since this area was last inspected. As a result of that, we were far below the assess value of that region," said Roy.

A bungalow in the same area recently sold for $143,000, he added.

"Buildings are far different than they were 20 years ago."

The average jump in assessments in Metro Moncton was three per cent.

"At 40 per cent a year increase in taxes, we can't afford to live here too long," Doucette said.

Doucette said he plans on appealing his assessment even though he's not confident it will result in any changes.

"It looks like they picked an area and (decided) let's jump everyone's taxes," he said.

The provincial government has changed the way property owners can appeal their assessments.

In December, the Liberals introduced legislation which ensured the burden of proof is shifted away from property owners when appealing their bills.

As well, homeowners can visit www.snb.ca/assessments to find the sale prices of residential and non-residential properties across the province.

The information is intended to help homeowners compare the assessed value of their homes with other homes in the neighbourhood.

Homeowners have until March 31 to send in a "request for review."

Once the request is received by Service New Brunswick, an assessor will call the homeowner and go through the reasons why their house was assessed at a particular value. If the homeowner isn't satisfied with the answer, they can go to the Assessment and Planning Appeals Board.

Roughly 5,500 homeowners ask for a review of their bill and about 200-250 end up before the board.

Roughly 55 per cent of the bills reviewed are adjusted.

Wow...mine has gotten nutty in the last couple of years...but this is ridiculous.

JL

gehrhardt

Mar 9, 2009, 4:20 PM

Aah, the benefits of living just outside of the city. The difference in taxes more than makes up for the cost of gas to get to work. Well, for now anyway.

C_Boy

Mar 9, 2009, 8:31 PM

Aah, the benefits of living just outside of the city. The difference in taxes more than makes up for the cost of gas to get to work. Well, for now anyway.

:previous: YEAP ! You got that right hehe. Just close enough to be ahead :yes:

MonctonRad

Mar 9, 2009, 8:55 PM

Recession?!?......what recession?

Construction activity off to record pace in Hub City
March 09, 2009 - 11:07 am
By: Tara Clow
News 91.9

MONCTON, NB--February was a great month for construction activity in the Hub City.So good, that it was the best month of February in the history of the City.Business Development Specialist for the City of Moncton Ben Champoux says 2009 could turn out to be the best year ever for construction in Moncton.

29 permits were issued last month, valued at 62.2 million dollars.The previous record for the month of February was set in 2003, when 6.3 million dollars worth of permits were issued.So far this year, 57 permits have been issued valued at 64.8 million, compared with the 61 permits issued for the same time period last year worth 4.2 million.

Champoux says the increase in construction activity last month is due to the 44.2 million dollar permit issued for the Provincial Courthouse and the two 5.7 million dollars permits for the foundation of the Palladium and Casino buildings.

He says it's very impressive that Moncton can continue to perform so well, just as other parts of the world are dealing with financial uncertainties, a housing crisis and job cuts.

BlackYear

Mar 9, 2009, 9:01 PM

I bought a 95 year old side by side duplex (I own both sides) downtown area 8 years ago.

- 2001 assessed at $79,000, property taxes $1450
- 2009 assessed at $131,000, property taxes $3010.

Joy!

Sony500

Mar 9, 2009, 9:23 PM

Champlain Pl. pays over 4 million dollars in property tax per year.:koko:

MonctonRad

Mar 9, 2009, 11:02 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WTeDGegF3c

you guys should check this out.

Interesting video. I agree with Myles, the production values are a little cheap but they do a good job of putting a good face on Greater Moncton. Some of the material they excluded is a little peculiar however. They made a point of talking about Medavie Blue Cross but not Assumption Vie. Strange.

There is no question that whoever did this video carefully read the Wikipedia article on Moncton. It all seems very familiar! I have noticed this a couple of times before when browsing other outside articles about Greater Moncton. Both mmmatt and myself are responsible for about 80% of the content of the Wiki article. I think we should ask for a commission! :D

BlackYear

Mar 10, 2009, 12:21 AM

I remember seeing this video about 1 or 1.5 years ago. It's something from the Enterprise Greater Moncton group.

http://greatermoncton.org/welcome.php

There are some interesting factoids on this web site. Funny thing, Moncton is growing so fast that even the contents on this site can't keep up. There's a nice slightly outdated aerial view of downtown in the <<Living Here>> section, within the <<Click Here. Living in Greater Moncton Guide>>.

Jerry556

Mar 10, 2009, 2:33 AM

i now the apartment there gonna start building on high street are low income(they are right?) but hopefully they aren't too tacky and cheap looking. anybody know??

mylesmalley

Mar 10, 2009, 3:58 AM

I haven't heard if those are low income or not. I'm not even entirely sure where on High Street they're supposed to go. However, much of the construction in that area recently has been low income so that might not be a bad assumption. That said, since they can't use vinyl down there anymore, it'll certainly look less tacky than it could :D.

Jerry556

Mar 10, 2009, 10:31 AM

although its very close to the 5 story apartment building they just built on mountain road(in front of the esso) a couple of years ago. That building is all brick and stone. Never know might be nice.

mylesmalley

Mar 10, 2009, 12:13 PM

Some good news to kick off the day:

Record construction forecast
Published Tuesday March 10th, 2009

$62M in building permits for February outpace yearly totals posted during Moncton Miracle
A1
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff

Remember the 1990s, when the Moncton Miracle took off?

In those years, Moncton's growth began to outpace the national average and construction permits reached a 10-year average of $57.5 million?

But if the heady 1990s were great, it's hard to find the word to describe last month, when building permits hit $62 million in just the span of 28 days.

In fact, the permits issued by the city in the first two months of this year are roughly half the total of permits issued in all of 2008.

With the best February figures in the city's history now achieved, and a half-dozen major projects still in the works this year, Moncton business development specialist Ben Champoux said yesterday a record construction year looks likely for 2009.

There's no question the extraordinary February figure, literally 10 times the previous February record set in 2003 is owing to the issuing of a $44 million permit for the new justice centre under construction at the corner of Assomption Boulevard and Westmorland Street in downtown Moncton.

However, the February 2009 figure would have shattered the previous record even without the courthouse project, thanks to $5 million permit for renovations at The Moncton Hospital and a pair of $5.76 million permits issued for the Casino New Brunswick complex being built near Magnetic Hill.

Champoux noted the two casino complex permits, totalling almost $12 million, are just for the foundations.

Continued work there, completion of the City of Moncton's new track and field stadium, new retail spaces on Mapleton Road and a pair of large downtown residential projects are all in the works this year as well.

"At a time when all we seem to hear about worldwide is related to financial uncertainties, the housing crisis, and job cuts, it is pretty impressive that Moncton continues to perform so well," Champoux said. "Employment (locally) has been in record territories over the past three months and, as expected, 2009 could very well be our best year ever for the construction sector in Moncton."

Sony500

Mar 10, 2009, 12:39 PM

I heard as well that the building is going to be a low income housing. Its at the corner of Myles and High, the property extends to Jones St., a couple of blocks from Mountain Rd.

mylesmalley

Mar 10, 2009, 2:32 PM

I heard as well that the building is going to be a low income housing. Its at the corner of Myles and High, the property extends to Jones St., a couple of blocks from Mountain Rd.

Ohhh, that building! I thought you guys were referring to one of the places going up around Gordon Street.

If somebody had said Myles St. from the beginning, we could have avoided all of this confusion :jester:

Jerry556

Mar 10, 2009, 8:01 PM

you said something about they cant use vinyl anymore on apartments, did the city ban this or something?

mylesmalley

Mar 10, 2009, 8:16 PM

you said something about they cant use vinyl anymore on apartments, did the city ban this or something?

Within the downtown area, yes. Or at least they say they did and they've kept their word on it so far. Vinyl siding is still fair game everywhere else though. I think the 4-story place behind the Transcript was the last apartment building to be allowed to use vinyl. Everything newer has to use higher-quality materials on the exterior.

The ban was one of the very few things the Mitton council did that I agree with. I can't imagine how bad the Blue Cross expansion would have looked if they'd gone through with their plan to put siding on it. Vinyl looks fine on suburban houses/apartments, but it looks very cheap and not-permanent when its used downtown in a more high-density setting. A city centre should feel like a city centre and not just like a denser part of the 'burbs. I'm sure some developers weren't happy about it because vinyl is so cheap, but with the number of alternatives I think there shouldn't be much problem finding a compromise.

Sony500

Mar 10, 2009, 8:32 PM

Ohhh, that building! I thought you guys were referring to one of the places going up around Gordon Street.

If somebody had said Myles St. from the beginning, we could have avoided all of this confusion :jester:

I believe you were the only one confused myles:haha:

Jerry556

Mar 10, 2009, 9:46 PM

they were seriously considering putting siding on the blue cross extension, what a joke, \

on a side note i was looking for commercial(construction/carpentry) work around here, other then ashford and acadia, which other commercial developers do yous guys know of??

Sony500

Mar 11, 2009, 3:02 AM

:previous: the only ones that i can think of right off the top is Rice Contracting, 800 Salisbury Rd and Avondale Construction, 59 Pacific Ave.

mylesmalley

Mar 11, 2009, 4:18 AM

Yeah, they wanted to use some kind of vinyl at the top where the cladding is beige.

brod3211

Mar 11, 2009, 4:49 PM

They tore down the old abandoned gas station/ repair shop on St. George street, they mentioned doing that and building something there I wonder if thats what they are planning on doing :)

Jerry556

Mar 11, 2009, 5:52 PM

Good that building was an eyesore, hopefully they build something nice, that part of st George is getting nice with the new apartments and the caisse poplulaire, now this. Anybody know whats going there??

MonctonRad

Mar 11, 2009, 8:04 PM

I noticed today that they seem to be doing some site preparation work on the lot between McManaman's new orthodontic building and Costco on Mapleton Road. Does anyone know what the plans are for this land?

JasonL-Moncton

Mar 12, 2009, 12:20 PM

MonctonRad

Mar 13, 2009, 12:21 AM

Dieppe developer pledges to address residents' concerns
Published Thursday March 12th, 2009

Special-care home proposed for lot adjacent to residential area in Dieppe
Times & Transcript Staff

A developer who wants to build an 80-bed special-care home at 857 Amirault St. in Dieppe vows to work with area residents and city council before finalizing his plans.

The facility would be built in two stages, the first phase for those who need help in their day-to-day lives; the second phase for residents who are mostly autonomous but prefer to reside near health and other care services.

Some area residents had concerns about a proper buffer between their residential neighbourhood and the facility, parking, traffic patterns and the like, but city council was told at its regular meeting this week that the developer will meet with city staff and local homeowners to ensure all concerns are met.

mylesmalley

Mar 13, 2009, 3:11 AM

God I find that frustrating! Doesn't matter what it is, if something gets proposed the first concern is 'But, what about the traffic!'. I mean seriously, people. You live in a city that grows by around a thousand people a year. Traffic is going to increase everywhere. And if you continue to demand living in huge lots in suburban developments, the problem is only going to get worse.

MonctonRad

Mar 13, 2009, 3:18 AM

:previous:

Plus the fact that it is only a special care home. It's not like it's a new neighbourhood pub or a convenience/video store. Traffic should be negligible and they should be good neighbours. Sounds like a bad case of NIMBY to me! :shrug:

gehrhardt

Mar 13, 2009, 11:31 AM

Maybe they're concerned about the inevitable increase in elderly drivers in the area. Anyone who's seen the South Park episode on the subject would agree. :ancient::ahhh:

mylesmalley

Mar 13, 2009, 1:21 PM

That's the problem though, MonctonRad. People don't mind development when it suits them because they're getting a new house out of it. But as soon as they're done construction and they get used to that empty lot next door that won't get built on for a year or two, everything becomes a NIMBY thing.

If you move to a high growth area, don't complain about the growth!

FireEyedBoy

Mar 13, 2009, 3:31 PM

BlackYear

Mar 13, 2009, 9:44 PM

The goverment has finally put a for sale sign on the old massage parlour on the corner of Lutz/St George, hopefully we see something happening there soon,, its such a waste, and there is the empty lot behind it as well ( house burned down). My fiance had a good idea about it,, seeing as how they want to give st george a facelift, it would be awesome if the city bought the land and the vacatn lot and turned it into a small park, maybe a dog park.. I know its a hig traffic area and that would be a long shot,, but it would be a great fit, with the church across the street and victoria park close by,, something similar to the small park in the garden hill area ( the one with the lions heads on the fountain)

There's another house between this building and the house which was destroyed by fire. On the right hand side of this old message parlor is the old firehouse which is now a Youth Centre.

If you flatten the old message parlor, expropriate the house behind it, buy the now empty flatten lot from the house fire, you now have a nice piece of land to create something unique. Perhaps a little park with trees, grass, park benches, flower beds, and light posts. This would fit well with the Youth Center and the Cathedral Church.

Or you could also turn it into a basketball court, and still have room for a smaller version of a doggy park playground.

In any case, if someone was to buy it and simply turn it into a parking lot, I wouldn't complain. But, I would rather see something unique and different to spruce up this area.

:banana:

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j303/blacquiere/Moncton/st-george.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j303/blacquiere/lutz%20fire/lutzfire01.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j303/blacquiere/lutz%20fire/lutzfire02.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j303/blacquiere/lutz%20fire/lutzfire05.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j303/blacquiere/lutz%20fire/lutzfire07.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j303/blacquiere/lutz%20fire/lutzfire09.jpg

FireEyedBoy

Mar 13, 2009, 10:25 PM

I cant believe I forgot about that house between the massage parlour and the empty lot,, I live across the street and look at that lot everyday. I personally wouldnt want to see it turned into a parking lot,, as of right now, there is ample parking in the lot across from the commerce building, and most of the bussiness on the area of st george/robinson all have good size parking behind their locations.. Something to bring more people to the area would be great. I agree with the idea of a park or basketball court. It would really compliment the renos at the youth center and the church.

mylesmalley

Mar 13, 2009, 10:54 PM

A nice looking 4 story apartment building would do much to create a streetscape, especially with the construction that's been going on on the other side of the road.

Just a thought though.

BlackYear

Mar 13, 2009, 11:02 PM

How does this look? Nice individual trees along Lutz, thicker tree line on the north and east side of the court area, and a little park on the corner.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j303/blacquiere/Moncton/st-george2.jpg

MonctonRad

Mar 14, 2009, 1:42 AM

C_Boy

Mar 14, 2009, 2:28 AM

I agree more with Myles. We should try to maintain the density of the streetscape on St. George. It is after all Moncton's "second main street". A four storey brick apartment building on that site built in a wall-to-wall style would be just great.

We should be promoting increased density on St. George, not less. :D

I agree with you guys. St-George definetly is the "second Main st" hopefuly one day everything between Main and St-George will be high density and a better downtown core feel to it then we do now .

rocyn

Mar 14, 2009, 9:56 PM

Forgive me for asking a question I'm sure has been answered somewhere in the thread, but I cannot seem to chose the right search terms to find my answer.

What is supposed to be going into the strip mall on Mountain Road (between Shoppers Drug Mart and Frenchy's?)

MonctonRad

Mar 14, 2009, 10:56 PM

:previous:

They are putting the exterior cladding on right now and each individual storefront is going to be very unique. This leads one to suspect that there may in fact already be tenants lined up. I have no specific information however. Does anyone know?

The production values of this strip mall actually look quite good (certainly a lot better than the new strip mall next to the NBCC on Mountain Road).

MonctonRad

Mar 14, 2009, 11:03 PM

Some quicky mall news......

Both La Vie en Rose and Koodo are now open at Champlain Place. Ricki's has also reopened at the mall following in store renovations.

mmmatt

Mar 15, 2009, 4:10 PM

I passed by the justice center for the first time in a few weeks yesterday...lots of progress going on down there! They have the site all dug out and tons of piles in place...hopefully I can get my cam down there soon.

David_99

Mar 15, 2009, 11:45 PM

I haven't seen it mentioned here yet but has anyone else noticed all of the boards going up around Moncton High for the past week? I thought maybe they were just fixing windows but today I noticed some of the old brick was removed. Have renovations started already? I thought they were still awaiting a decision on how to go about the restoration/rebuild.

@Champlain

Mar 16, 2009, 12:07 PM

A quick mention regarding some other Champlain news. Costa Blanca & the new Fairweather will be opening in the coming weeks. Spring is closed for an expansion and reno, H&M will open in May 09. As for Koodo, this kiosk looks very cool and different with the two round pods, it's different from other mobility kiosks.

mmmatt

Mar 16, 2009, 1:04 PM

All regions in Canada in which unemployment rate went down between 2008 and 2009

_____________________________________

Province

Economic Region 2008 rate 2009 rate

_____________________________________

NFLD

Avalon Peninsula (St. Johns) 11.1 10.8

NS

Annapolis Valley 10.5 10.3

NB

Moncton-Richibucto 7.4 7.2

QC

Capitale-Nationale 5.3 5.2

Lanaudière 8.1 7.4

Mauricie 8.2 8.0

ON

Kingston-Pembroke 7.4 6.8

Muskoka-Kawarthas 8.4 6.0

MB

Southeast (Winnipeg) 5.6 5.1

North Central 5.3 2.5

SK

Swift Current-Moose Jaw 4.2 3.2

Source: Statscan: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/71-001-x/2009002/t021-eng.htm

mylesmalley

Mar 16, 2009, 1:13 PM

woah, what happened in muskoka?

@Champlain

Mar 16, 2009, 1:32 PM

It's been said before that New Brunswick will be one of the few provinces in Canada that will safely surf the wave during this recession. When we look at the Moncton area, it shows.

ErickMontreal

Mar 16, 2009, 4:12 PM

A quick mention regarding some other Champlain news. Costa Blanca & the new Fairweather will be opening in the coming weeks. Spring is closed for an expansion and reno, H&M will open in May. As for Koodo, this kiosk looks very cool and different with its two round pods, it's different from other mobility kiosks.

Out of curiosity, do you know if Costa Blanca's parent company Urban Behavior will also set up shop here?

@Champlain

Mar 16, 2009, 5:02 PM

Out of curiosity, do you know if Costa Blanca's parent company Urban Behavior will also set up shop here?

Urban Behavior recently opened at Micmac in Dartmouth, but no word as of yet if it's coming to Champlain.

Marchabsfan

Mar 16, 2009, 10:14 PM

the old market on high street being torn down, is going to make room for a 55 unit apartment building, and have some photos of downtown and the courthouse from the top of the delta beausejour but don't know how to add them here?

mylesmalley

Mar 16, 2009, 11:00 PM

The best thing is to create an account with a site like Flickr. Barring that. you can send it to me and I can post it for you.

JasonL-Moncton

Mar 17, 2009, 12:38 PM

Sony500

Mar 17, 2009, 8:32 PM

Here is a picture that I took today of the Justice Center construction
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3643/3362992689_476d5af970.jpg?v=0

Marchabsfan

Mar 17, 2009, 9:40 PM

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363142549/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363964114/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363140205/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363153739/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363148053/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363968320/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363155775/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363159199/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363979354/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363162199/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363982220/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363165411/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363166951/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363168603/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363168603/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363989336/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363991092/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363993124/

checkout my pics here,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/

Marchabsfan

Mar 17, 2009, 9:48 PM

http://http://www.flickr.com/photos/36445214@N07/3363142549/

MonctonRad

Mar 17, 2009, 11:02 PM

:previous:

I looked at your pics on your flickr homepage. They are quite nice. I don't know why they don't display here on SSP. Perhaps you should PM Myles or mmmatt to see if they can help. :tup: :)

MonctonRad

Mar 17, 2009, 11:11 PM

Downtown Peace Centre awaits funding
Published Tuesday March 17th, 2009

$4.4M needed to turn historic church into home for community groups, auditorium
BY ALAN COCHRANE
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT staff

Maurice LeBlanc has a dream of turning an historic downtown church into a Community Peace Centre that would bring several community organizations under one roof, but it will take some city land and about $4 million from Ottawa and Fredericton to make that dream come true.

** Image removed by administration at request of owner. **

** Image removed by administration at request of owner. **

The centre would occupy the Central United Church, its former mance on Queen street and part of the parking lot on Church Street. "It's a shovel-ready project that will become a centre of excellence for immigration, volunteerism, conflict resolution and peaceful living," LeBlanc said yesterday as he addressed a joint meeting of the Moncton Rotary Club and Downtown Moncton Centre-Ville Inc.

The Community Peace Centre idea has been in the works for several years and, yesterday, LeBlanc announced that it would be located at Central United Church, an historic building at the corner of Church and Queen Streets downtown. The congregation of the church recently decided to turn their church properties over to the community. The peace centre would bring several non-profit service organizations under one roof and create an environment where volunteers can help others and rekindle community spirit.

Transforming the church into the peace centre would require major renovations and the addition of a new office building for the partner organizations. It would also require extra land from the city and seed money of about $4.4 million, or $2.2 million each from the provincial and federal governments.

During his presentation yesterday, LeBlanc was joined by representatives of the six partner organizations who will share the space. Also yesterday, Moncton MLA and Health Minister Mike Murphy announced the provincial government will put up $100,000 to renovate the church manse to house the offices of a new project to benefit the homeless.

LeBlanc said six well-known service organizations have committed to moving their offices into the complex. The partners include Early Childhood Stimulation, Family Service Moncton, the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area (MAGMA), United Way of Greater Moncton, The Volunteer Centre of Southeastern New Brunswick and Central United Church.

These six service organizations already contribute about $6.5 million to the local economy, employ about 200 people and serve over 18,000 clients per year. LeBlanc said having them all under one roof downtown should encourage more people to use the services and volunteers to step forward and help them out. He said the establishment of the peace centre is just as important as a new school or hospital.

"This is much more than an office building for agencies; this is truly a community centre."

Rev. Jim MacDonald, minister of Central United Church, said the project will give the heritage building a new life and purpose for the future. The building is similar in construction to Moncton High School with a sandstone exterior. MacDonald said architects have found it to be structurally sound and viable for major renovations.

LeBlanc displayed architect's drawings showing the proposed construction around the church. This would include construction of a new office tower joined to the church by a glass-covered atrium. Also, the main church sanctuary would be converted into a 700-seat auditorium that could be used for church services, community concerts and various special events. There would also be a cafeteria and retail space that would generate revenue for the peace centre.

Other details would include public gardens and a pedestrian walkway along Oak Lane joining the centre to Main Street next to the Capitol Theatre.

LeBlanc said all the non-profit partners in the project are very good at social entrepreneurship and raising their own money. He said this is important because the peace centre wants to be financially self-sufficient and not dependent on government funds to stay in operation.

LeBlanc said the peace centre needs a commitment from the city, the province and the federal government before it can move forward.

From the city, the centre will need a piece of land that is now being used for parking behind the Capitol Theatre. Money from the other levels of government would be needed to renovate the church and construct the office tower and atrium.

The project would also include underground parking. LeBlanc said the peace centre project is asking Fredericton and Ottawa for $2.2 million each for a total of $4.4 million to get the project under way.

Following LeBlanc's presentation yesterday, Moncton North MLA and Health Minister Mike Murphy announced the province will contribute $100,000 toward renovations of the church manse to house the offices of a new pilot project headed by former Moncton MP Claudette Bradshaw. The Greater Moncton Demonstration Project on Mental Health and Homelessness is sponsored by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. It will be one of five demonstration projects across Canada. The Streets to Homes project is designed to help homeless people with mental health issues get better access to housing and mental health services. The office in the former church manse will be home to the team of intervenors who support clients participating in the program in Moncton.

Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe MP Brian Murphy yesterday applauded the provincial government announcement.

"I'm pleased the province has come through on the Manse renovation project and now I am asking them and the Government of Canada to finalize funding for the larger peace centre project that will provide so much benefit to the not-for-profit community in southeastern New Brunswick."

Brian Murphy said he has been working to ensure that all three levels of government support the peace centre project.

MonctonRad

Mar 17, 2009, 11:13 PM

Rezoning requested
Published Tuesday March 17th, 2009

Two zoning applications will be the subjects of public hearings at the April 20 meeting of Moncton city council. The Parkton congregation of the Jehovah's Witnesses wish to build a new church at the corner of John Street and War Veterans Avenue to replace their Granville Street Kingdom Hall, which they have sold. A portion of their land on War Veterans Avenue needs a rezoning to do that.

As well, Jean-Coutu on St. George Street is seeking permission to expand its business by removing an adjacent house of MacDougall Avenue, meaning the land the house stands on would need to be rezoned from an urban residential designation to a secondary business district.

MonctonRad

Mar 17, 2009, 11:16 PM

Moncton council urged to complete Crossman Centre
Published Tuesday March 17th, 2009

Phase two of renovated Kay Arena yet to get under way
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff

The next phase of the Crossman Community Centre is shovel ready and now is the time to make the east Moncton gathering place more than just the Kay Arena.

That was the message delivered to Moncton city council last night by members of the Kay Community Centre Foundation as they presented the City of Moncton with a cheque for $150,000.

The money is the second instalment of a $450,000 commitment the public made to the city back in 2003 when the community convinced council to re-think a plan to mothball the previous Kay Arena and replace it with a broader facility instead.

Bill Hennessey, financial chairman of the foundation, said the money raised was the result of a lot of public support, both from private citizens and the corporate community, including platinum sponsor Cavendish Farms and gold sponsors the Hum Lew Sun Lions Club, Scotiabank, Atlantic Mazda, Hennessey Consultants, Coastal Inns, Leon's Furniture and Appliances, the Ron Smyth Memorial Community Fund and Elmwood, Dieppe and Mountain Road Home Hardware.

While foundation members were there to present money to council, they were also on hand to remind council the full community centre, as envisioned, has yet to be completed, even though the city had initially put the larger project to tender before costs forced a downsizing.

Currently, the facility has the rink and two large community rooms for public gatherings of all kinds, but the planned gymmnasium and walking track were not built.

"I'd like to stress the importance of finishing the Crossman Centre," Hennessey said. "You'll recall the city put out the bid to the whole project. The plans and architectural drawings are done."

As well, the land is in place and the current building, opened in 2008, is designed to easily accommodate the addition.

"We are confident Phase 2 of the Crossman Community Centre meets all the requirements of the federal government's Recreational Infrastructure Canada program," he told council.

He asked council to give its support to finishing the project with a letter to ACOA. That support would, of course, involve paying one third of the cost of Phase 2, to be shared with the federal and provincial governments.

However, city council rejected the idea of putting money into the project when it deliberated this year's budget back in January.

As a matter of procedure, councillors don't make motions arising from public presentations, but Ward 1 Councillor Paulette Theriault made it clear she would likely be bringing a motion to the next council meeting.

Many of those corporate commitments, now worth more than the $450,000 originally sought, were made on the understanding it would be a complete year-round centre, which lends some urgency to the foundation's request.

Hennessey also urged council to complete the project, which would cost the city about $1 million to match federal and provincial funds, because of the name on the building.

"Having worked shoulder to shoulder with Norm Crossman on this, I can think of no more fitting tribute than to finish the work," he said.

MonctonRad

Mar 17, 2009, 11:20 PM

Riverview pushes for new Kindergarten-Grade 8 school
Published Tuesday March 17th, 2009

Town council begins process of obtaining land proposed for K-8 school
By Eric Lewis
Times & Transcript Staff

Riverview continues to push forward in its quest for a new Kindergarten-Grade 8 school.

Some time ago, the town offered up land free of charge to the provincial Department of Education for the school, which is badly needed in the east end of town, and now the town is making moves to see that the province receives that land.

Education Minister Kelly Lamrock confirmed last month that a new school would be built sometime in the future, but he gave no timeline or even an indication of when the work might start.

But parents in the community, and even Riverview council itself, has said it would like work to begin on the school no later than spring of 2010.

At a recent town council meeting, representatives of the Parent School Support Committees for Lower Coverdale and Riverview schools stressed the schools are needed now and not a few years from now.

The school would take the place of the aging Lower Coverdale and Gunningsville elementary schools. Plus, being a K-8 school, it would take some pressure off Riverview Middle School.

Both Lower Coverdale and Gunningsville schools are 50-plus years old. Lower Coverdale has seen an increase in enrolment over the last few years and Gunningsville school has more portables outside the school than it has classrooms in it.

Both schools are generally considered to be past their point of usefulness.

Riverview Councillor-at-large Don Lenehan has been one of the more vocal proponents for the proposed school. A rookie on Riverview council, Lenehan says the school issue is one of about a half-dozen reasons he ran for council in the first place.

Yesterday, Lenehan said the school is "long overdue."

"As far as I'm concerned, this issue should have been resolved 20 years ago," he says.

"Kids, education -- that's where it all starts."

Last week at its regular meeting, Riverview town council unanimously passed a resolution to commence the process to obtain the title of the land identified for the school and to transfer it to the province.

The town doesn't currently own the land it is proposing that the province use for a new school.

However, the developer who owns the land, behind the air traffic control centre in east Riverview and accessible off Wendell Street in Gunningsville, has agreed to talk with the town to see if the two sides can arrange a land-swap deal.

The developer would swap his piece of land for a piece of land the town owns which is near its old water dam near Point Park.

The town could then offer up the proposed school site to the province.

Chief administrative officer and town manager Dave Muir said yesterday the process to obtain the title of the land hasn't actually started yet, but will soon.

Muir said the province has indicated in the past it would require approximately 30 acres of land for a new school.

Yesterday, the Department of Supply & Services, which would oversee the acquisition of any land associated with a new school, confirmed that it had seen the proposed school site, but until the school becomes an official capital project, the department would not comment on whether or not the proposed site meets its needs.

Coun. Lenehan said yesterday that in addition to offering up land, which would be a big cost saving move for the province, the town is also willing to put more items on the table if need be.

One item that has been mentioned is the possibility of the town building and maintaining sport fields next to the school that could be used by both the school and the rest of the community. That would be an additional savings for the province.

Reached for comment yesterday on the school project, Romeo Goguen, the developer behind Carriage Hill Estates, didn't want to comment on the potential land-swap deal just yet because it is currently still in talks.

While nothing is yet signed or official, Goguen stressed that, one way or another, Riverview needs this new school.

"There is a definite need for a school immediately," he said. "We're interested in working with the town and the province to see if we can make this happen."

Personal note - My gut feeling is that this project will be approved by the Dept. of Education in 2010 and that construction will begin in 2011. This would fall on the heels of the new north end school already approved.

Sony500

Mar 18, 2009, 12:04 AM

MonctonRad

Mar 18, 2009, 12:13 AM

I got your pics to work Marchabsfan. I knew how to do it but for some reason, the first time I tried it, it wouldn't work.

What you do is get the web address (URL) of the picture (by right clicking on the image to display its properties; eg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3634/3363989336_63e28def55.jpg?v=0), copy the URL and paste it into your reply here and then enclose it between the bbCodes of and . It should then create a link to this site.

I will repost a few of my favourites here (with your assumed permission).

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3634/3363989336_63e28def55.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/3363168603_553cb5e4a8.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3439/3363970290_a4343a208f.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3562/3363157557_6b081fd464.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3648/3363142549_005752f466.jpg?v=0

mylesmalley

Mar 18, 2009, 3:21 AM

Great photos, Marchabsfan! I especially like the one with the Blue Cross clock tower at the centre.

It seems very odd that the province wants more than 30 acres of land to build a single school. I just did some quick measuring on Google Earth and it looks like Bessborough School is sitting on a lot that's only 4.5 acres and we seemed to have lots of room. I doubt even Evergreen has more than 10 acres of land at its disposal.

JasonL-Moncton

Mar 18, 2009, 12:07 PM

That 'peace center' is hideous!

Putting that big ugly box beside a gorgeous old church...that's just wrong...are there no architect's out there with any vision anymore?

Man that's ugly...

JL

mylesmalley

Mar 18, 2009, 2:04 PM

While I agree the whole peace centre idea sounds a bit dubious. I'm espcially concerned about public funds going to a church. That said, I don't know if I'd call their proposal hideous. From the looks of it, it's going to be a glass-walled office building like Moncton Place, judging by the lack of windows. Plus if they put an atrium in between the building and church, that might also look nice. Best of all, this is an in-fill project that'll be getting rid of a (pretty much useless) parking lot. All plusses in my book.

Sony500

Mar 18, 2009, 3:03 PM

Maybe its just the color of it, I don't know why they would put it all yellow

gehrhardt

Mar 18, 2009, 4:10 PM

Yeah, once we get real renders, I'm sure it will look better. Getting rid of yet another parking lot downtown is always a good thing. Especially when a parking garage is in the desgin.

JasonL-Moncton

Mar 18, 2009, 5:30 PM

Best of all, this is an in-fill project that'll be getting rid of a (pretty much useless) parking lot. All plusses in my book.

That's one of the busiest parking locations downtown...that's the 'first' lot I go to when looking for parking downtown. To put a building there that's not a 'large' parking facility would be bad imho.

JL

mylesmalley

Mar 18, 2009, 6:12 PM

true. but. the spaces in that lot are all too small, the lot is really uneven so it's harder to move around and park there etc. plus, there's a large garage directly across the street from it.

Long term, more parking strain might be a good thing anyway. By eliminating parking spaces while creating more demand for spots, the necessity for an actual, sizable parking structure downtown will become a higher priority for the city.

We're going to have to come to terms with the fact that sooner or later, we wont' be able to park in front of our destination.

brod3211

Mar 18, 2009, 7:57 PM

If you look at those pictures you can see where the new peace center piece would go. looks like it would fit in the nicely as long as its an all glass office they plan on building.

mylesmalley

Mar 18, 2009, 8:49 PM

I can't imagine a three/four story office building with no windows...

MonctonRad

Mar 19, 2009, 12:01 AM

If you look at those pictures you can see where the new peace center piece would go. looks like it would fit in the nicely as long as its an all glass office they plan on building.

To flesh out brod's observation, this photo by marchabsfan prominently displays Central United Church in the foreground and you can see the adjacent parking lot where the five storey "peace centre" would be built. This is needed urban infill.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/3363168603_553cb5e4a8.jpg?v=0

As several people have pointed out, I'm sure that the building would be glass walled like Moncton Place. That's why the initial rendering seems so featureless.

** Image removed by administration at request of owner. **

I'm sure the final render and the end product will be more attractive.

I'm intrigued by the concept of the glass atrium between the new building and the existing church. The mention of a walkway connecting to Oak Park and the Capitol Theatre also is interesting. i know they are planning on creating synergies between the 700 seat auditorium/sanctuary in the existing church and the Capitol. Central United has great acoustics. I can imagine recitals being held here.

In fact, between the Capitol, Empress and the Peace Centre, you would have three performance spaces on a single city block. That sort of situation would be pretty unique in the Maritimes.

mylesmalley

Mar 19, 2009, 6:28 AM

Good news, everybody!

I've added a new feature to my project map of Moncton (and now Fredericton).

In the top-left where the map key is, there's now a button called New Point Mode. It makes creating new points a whole lot easier.

Basically, if you're looking at the map and you see something is missing, hit the button, click through the first few windows, then you're ready. After that, if you click somewhere on the map, several boxes will pop up asking questions about the project (name, status etc). When those are filled out, a final box pops up with some code in it. All you have to do then is PM me with that and I can paste it right into the map.

Sounds kinda convoluted, but once you give it a try, you'll see it goes very quickly. Best of all, it cuts the time to do it to a few seconds a project. I wish I'd thought of this before I typed in a hundred or so points the long way.

Most of the projects in town are already on the map, but there's lots in Dieppe and Caledonia that have yet to be added.

Best of all, now that I've simplified everything, I can probably start adding other cities too. Saint John coudl really use one and everyone from there could contribute to it.

mmmatt

Mar 20, 2009, 4:03 PM

^ Nice update to the map Myles...thats an awesome project :)

PS if anyone was interested in my photos from NYC I put my thread up in the photos section...heres the link: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=166703 Theres a lot Moncton could learn from cities like NYC, many things could be done on a smaller scale.

@Champlain

Mar 20, 2009, 5:00 PM

mmmatt

Mar 20, 2009, 11:39 PM

mmmatt, great pictures in a great city. You are a very good photographer! Nice!

Thanks :)

________________________________________________________

Making room for development
Published Friday March 20th, 2009

** Images removed by administration at request of owner. **

An excavator operator pulls the roof and walls off a house on the corner of Gordon and High Streets, dropping the house to the ground, yesterday.

** Images removed by administration at request of owner. **

An excavator operator pulls a wall off another house on the corner of Gordon and High Streets yesterday. Not to worry though, as the second house was also being demolished in order to make way for a yet to be determined residential complex.

Anybody know what this is about?

MonctonRad

Mar 21, 2009, 1:05 AM

:previous:

I believe it is for Valmond Robichaud's condo project on High Street.

Jerry556

Mar 21, 2009, 3:26 AM

it is that project, just 1 more house to go, wondering if everything is finalized for the condos(renders)

ErickMontreal

Mar 23, 2009, 8:58 PM

Dieppe’s Future Full of Opportunities

DIEPPE – In his yearly municipal affairs address presented to Club Rotary members on Monday, Mayor Jean LeBlanc said 2009 will undoubtedly be a year filled with interesting projects for the City of Dieppe.

In fact, the City finished 2008 with a surplus of $663,965 in its general operating budget compared to the $30,435,789 budget estimate, and a surplus of $344,615 in its water and sewer budget. As of last December 31, the City carried a debt of $79,903,000 with property assessments evaluated at $1,742,129,657.

Even though the entire country is facing an economic slowdown that will affect many Canadians, the municipality expects to weather the storm a little bit better than large urban centres. Over the past 20 years, the City invested $133,000,000 in capital infrastructure, 50% of it in the past four years.

“Rest assured that we are already working very hard to ensure that the City of Dieppe is recognized throughout the world as the major urban, economic and cultural centre of Acadie”, said Mayor LeBlanc. “We plan on maintaining our downtown development efforts. To think that just a few years ago, we barely had a city centre; now, it is the cornerstone of our development. It has become a gathering place for families thanks to its numerous recreational, sporting and cultural activities.”

Mayor LeBlanc also mentioned the City’s commitment towards maintaining the exceptional quality of life it offers thanks to the quality of its many trails, infrastructure, parks and programs – all, according to him, essential elements to continued development.

“Dieppe offers its resident and business community with a quality of life that is second to none. It is the obvious choice for those who want to live and work in a central location”, explained the Mayor. Dieppe’s management team and the Economic Development Corporation have already held their first strategic planning meetings to set measurable goals that will allow the City to move forward on important municipal issues.

Major capital infrastructure projects on the agenda for 2009 include changes to Melanson Road (up to Dieppe Boulevard) and to Acadia Avenue (from Gauvin Road to PharmaSave).

Also in 2009, the City will begin phase one of renovations to Paul Street (includes section between Sunset Street and Highway 15).

The Mayor said he is still waiting for approval on the City’s request to prolong Aviation Avenue. The request was submitted as part of the City’s infrastructure program. Its purpose is to expand the Industrial Park and enhance the Business and Technologies Park as well as the Arts and Culture Center.

“Given the high number of economic projects and the acres of industrial land sold over the past ten years, the municipality is considering adding 150 acres to the Industrial Park and embark on a third development phase”, explained the Mayor.

The land in question is strategically situated in proximity to the airport and the intersections of Highways 15 and 2. That makes it ideal for the light industry sector, the transport and distribution sector and the aero spatial sector, as it would be accessible by air, by rail and by road. The additional development phase of the industrial park will help attract new businesses to Dieppe, which will, in turn, foster the creation of jobs, increase the municipality’s tax base and widen the scope of services offered to the ever growing population.

“As you can see, Dieppe is a city to discover, a city that offers a great lifestyle and a city that is always open to new possibilities. Each one of us plays an important role in our city’s development.” 2009/03/23

Dmajackson

Mar 24, 2009, 3:01 AM

There's been a small debate going on in the Halifax thread about roundabouts and well somehow Moncton showed up.

So I was wondering are the two circular roadways in Moncton (Champlain Place and the Causeway) officially roundabouts or rotaries?

mylesmalley

Mar 24, 2009, 3:14 AM

They're traffic circles! :D

I think rotary would be more appropriate out of the two though.

The city is building two actual roundabouts (small circles) in the next year or two.

Sony500

Mar 24, 2009, 4:42 AM

Speaking of trafficabout circles, wouldn't it be better if they rerouted Collishaw St. to meet up with the roundabout on killam Dr. instead of Russ Howard St. There isn't going to be much traffic coming from Russ Howard. Take out the traffic lights at Waverly and Killam, and make Collishaw part of the rotabout circle.

mylesmalley

Mar 24, 2009, 4:53 AM

That is where it's going, as far as I know. It'll connect Killam, Waverly, Collishaw and Russ Howard Dr.

The city tossed around a bunch of ideas like building a second lighted intersection, but I think they opted for the big circle.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong though.

JasonL-Moncton

Mar 24, 2009, 12:15 PM

I think that's exactly what it is Myles.

mylesmalley

Mar 24, 2009, 3:24 PM

MonctonRad

Mar 24, 2009, 4:21 PM

:previous:

Let's hope it's more than just a yellow dot painted on the pavement in the middle of the intersection.

:haha: :jester: :haha:

mylesmalley

Mar 24, 2009, 5:35 PM

Don't even make the suggestion, MonctonRad

:haha:

JasonL-Moncton

Mar 24, 2009, 5:45 PM

I think it's gonna be quite a circle, they've already torn down one house to accomodate it and I believe another is to follow...

Dmajackson

Mar 24, 2009, 7:44 PM

It'll be pretty interesting to see how that roundabout will work/be laid out. You'll effectively have five streets meeting at a single point. It doesn't look like the available land will afford much room for a big circle.

You could take a chapter out of Halifax's books and build an Armdale Roundabout (Rotary). :)

That thing works like a charm out here.

ErickMontreal

Mar 24, 2009, 11:09 PM

What to do with Highfield Square ?

Rimouski (Qc), a city three times smaller than Moncton in term of population puts the final touches on a revitalization plan of a declining mall based in the city core. The entire project is valued at 40-millions , it will feature retail spaces as well as 300-apartment spaces which will be split into two twelve-story towers. Moreover, a large range of services such as a bank, pool, a drugstore, underground parking garage, and the like will be included.

http://www.chronikdope.com/images/2Tours/tours-2.JPG

http://www.chronikdope.com/images/2Tours/tours-3.JPG

http://www.chronikdope.com/images/2Tours/tours-4.JPG

http://www.chronikdope.com/images/2Tours/tours-6.JPG

To me, besides the of arena project, a such kind of projet would be the proper way in order to refurbish the whole complex and thus helping to bring back people into a urban-style living. The emphasis also has to be put to draw more independents retailers in downtown mainly to create a real option for customers. Furthermore, even a hotel-tower would be envisaged.

It still has to be seen whether the city has enough vision to accomplish a such project.

PS : Could we please also stop the powercenterization of the core ?