The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[Sony500]

When I heard of the new liquor store going on Main and Vaughn Harvey, I thought that is where it was going. It will be nice to see that land being taken up and put to good use.

[MonctonRad]

Love Mercedes-Benz, however there is already one in SJ, we don't have the market in New Brunswick for 2 M-B dealers.

You are likely right, but it is also true that most people won't travel 150 km to service their vehicle. That's why there is a preponderance of BMW's in Moncton and a lot of Mercedes in SJ.

I would seriously consider purchasing a Mercedes.......if there were a dealership in Moncton. My next car therefore may be a Beemer. Mercedes-Benz is losing business by not having a dealership in Moncton.

[@Champlain]

You are likely right, but it is also true that most people won't travel 150 km to service their vehicle. That's why there is a preponderance of BMW's in Moncton and a lot of Mercedes in SJ.

I would seriously consider purchasing a Mercedes.......if there were a dealership in Moncton. My next car therefore may be a Beemer. Mercedes-Benz is losing business by not having a dealership in Moncton.

The thing is, there is only a certain amount of people who will buy a $50 000 and up car in Moncton and New Brunswick in general (also there is no actual population growth or immigration in NB) so not that much market growth. There is only one dealer for each luxury-premium brand in the province and we don't even have the complete spectrum of luxury divisions anyway and with the economy the way it is now... We have Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Acura, Volvo, Lexus is finally coming to SJ, but we don't have Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, (Maserati, Bentley, Aston Martin) and others. The ones in ( ) are 100% out of the question, LOL. We also have Cadillac and Lincoln, which have some nice cars, however those brands are little less exclusive and are sold at regular GM dealers and Ford dealers in the case of Lincoln. The next one coming to the NB market will probably be Infiniti, mark my words... ;)

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Infiniti of Moncton would sound good. :notacrook:

[MonctonRad]

John Deere dealership now open
Published Wednesday May 27th, 2009

Green Diamond brand sets up in Caledonia Industrial Estates
By James Foster
Times & Transcript Staff

Nothing runs like a Didychuk when it comes to John Deere.

Green Diamond Equipment Ltd., located on Commerce Street in the Caladonia industrial park is all set for its grand opening this Friday and Saturday. Darrin Didychuk, a Moncton native, is CEO of Green Diamond Equipment, the Maritimes' largest John Deere distributor which has opened its new corporate headquarters and showroom in Caledonia Industrial Estates.

"Three years ago we were not in the New Brunswick market," Didychuk says.

"We developed the N.B. market employing over 30 people at start-up, growing the N.B. market to over 45 employees today. In very difficult economic times we have expanded and grown our business without the assistance of government to cover the three Maritime provinces in eight towns and cities...," Didychuk says.

Green Diamond's new flagship store is located at 70 Commerce St. and everyone is invited to check out their lines of new and used equipment, which are aimed at everyone from the homeowner to the construction industry and, of course, the agricultural community.

The new store and administrative offices represent a $3-million investment and in the past two years they've invested more than $6 million in new locations and in developing existing locations.

The main attraction of Green Diamond is their commitment to offer the best in service, parts, equipment and financing.

They also figure heavily in other aspects of the Maritime marketplace, spending more than $4 million per year on goods and services from Maritime suppliers.

Didychuk returns to Moncton after an absence of about 25 years and is struck by what he calls "a new vibrant city which has little resemblance to the past.

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held tomorrow at 11 a.m.; Friday is John Deere Demo Day, featuring Gators, compact tractor demonstrations, lawn tractors and more; and Family Fun Day is Saturday. Visitors can enter a draw to win a John Deere lawn mower.

Articles such as this in the business section of the T&T are really nothing more than "infomercials", but I chose to include it here because we often neglect to talk about the continual growth that is occurring in the area industrial parks. In many ways, it is this growth that is the economic engine for our region.

[MonctonRad]

Events bring Metro priceless publicity
Published Thursday May 28th, 2009

Moncton has means, motive to position itself as events capital: PR veteran
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff

Determining the precise monetary value of publicity is the subject of lively debate in the world of public relations, but a local veteran of the industry says the exposure a community gets from hosting events is almost priceless.

With that in mind, Bill Whalen of Hawk Communications says Moncton's ever-growing events economy is one we should be taking advantage of at every opportunity.

"It's a niche we can and should own," Whalen said yesterday, adding if Moncton doesn't continue to stake the claim and be able to support it with events, others will.

Whalen noted Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly did just that for his city this week, talking about the Paul McCartney and KISS concerts planned for July.

Moncton also has two major concerts planned for this summer with AC/DC and Bon Jovi -- you've probably guessed Moncton will have to take a pass on the tall ships -- but it also has the countless smaller events that take advantage of the city's geographic location, sport and entertainment infrastructure, and can-do attitude toward hosting events.

Moncton also has the largest sporting event in Atlantic Canada's history in the works for next summer, the IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships.

Indeed, it could be argued the word "sporting" is an unnecessary qualifier. Beyond the thousands of participants who will descend on our region in 14 short months, the international scope of the competition and the media attention as 170 countries compete make the track and field championship about as big as any event ever hosted east of Quebec.

Halifax's hosting of a G7 summit and Moncton's hosting of the 55 nations of La Francophonie are obvious other contenders, but even they may not have received the media coverage expected for the track and field championships.

When Poland hosted the championship last year, networks in 134 countries carried television feeds. With better television signals and technology here in North America, Whalen, who's a vice-president of the 2010 local organizing committee, says the number of countries carrying coverage next year should go even higher.

That will be a huge building block in raising Moncton's profile, Whalen says.

He notes, though, it is the kind of thing whose payoffs can come slowly. That sometimes makes it hard for people to see the worth of hosting events and investing the resources to do so.

While payoffs can take time, they do pay off. It was four years ago this week that tickets went on sale for the Rolling Stones concert at Magnetic Hill. Whalen believes our track record hosting that major event, the largest concert of the Stones' tour that year with 80,000 people in attendance, played a role in Moncton winning the bid for the track and field championships.

In turn, when he and organizing committee president Larry Nelson went to Poland for the last IAAF games, the president of the IAAF, the second-largest and most powerful sport organization in the world after soccer's FIFA, already knew all about Moncton from close associates who had come here as diplomats to the Francophone Summit. And on it goes, with cumulative effect.

"I get frustrated when I hear people bellyaching when the city and province invest in infrastructure (to host events)," he says, arguing there's a tenfold return on the investments from the publicity and marketing alone.

Whalen says Moncton also gets significant value out of publicity arising from something a bit more humble than massive concerts, massive international competitions, and massive auto rallies like the Atlantic Nationals.

While the Moncton Wildcats are hardly a neglected entity in our region, Whalen pointed out what is easy to forget about them: that Moncton's name regularly appears in media across eastern Canada and into New England because we host a junior hockey team. Add in the number of times that reporting on NHL players involves their Quebec Major Junior roots in Moncton.

Speaking of the Moncton news conference several years ago announcing Ted Nolan would come out of hockey exile to coach the Wildcats in 2005-06, Whalen recalled how more than 40 media outlets from as far away as California sent reporters.

As he continues to help with Moncton's plans to join cities like Beijing and Sydney, Australia as an IAAF host city, the man who has spent much of his life communicating messages knows the payoffs of getting to deliver Moncton's message at events big and small to people from near and far may come right away or years from now.

But if that seems ambiguous, what is absolutely clear is that there are pay-offs, and they are real.

Our local economy should, of course, be built around a lot more than hosting events, Whalen takes pains to point out, but the events economy is certainly a sector we should encourage.

Personal note - While this article is not necessarily about development per se, They do make the point that hosting major events has a multiplier effect, and that developments such as the new World Track & Field Stadium, Casino NB or a possible new downtown arena would not occur without Moncton's new reputation as an events destination.

There is no such thing as bad publicity.........well, perhaps except for maybe a pandemic or the explosion of a nuclear device. :)

[mmmatt]

A touch of colour...couple pics from early morning a few days ago.

sorry bout the strangeness of this stiching haha...I like it anyways though.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/Wikipedia%20stuff/IMG_1811b.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/Wikipedia%20stuff/IMG_1832b.jpg

[mylesmalley]

Nice shots, Matt. I didn't realize Salvador Dali designed the Blue Cross Centre :P

[MonctonRad]

GM building becomes 'St. George Place'
Published Saturday May 30th, 2009

Moncton company buys former auto parts distribution centre
By Craig Babstock
Times & Transcript Staff

Gordon Lahanky is happy to play a role in the rejuvenation of a section St. George Boulevard that used to be booming.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=302839&size=500x0
VIKTOR PIVOVAROV/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT
This building on St. George Boulevard, the former home of General Motors, will soon be the home of four separate businesses. For decades, Chrysler and General Motors operated parts and distribution centres for this region on St. George, but the GM facility closed its doors in 2006 and Chrysler followed last year. The empty buildings stood as a reminder of what used to be.

"To see both those go in a short period was a little bleak," says Lahanky, president of Atlantic Commercial Properties.

The company, which owns between 25 and 30 properties in Metro Moncton, housing 50 tenants, bought the former Chrysler property a few months ago, shortly after the car company moved out. It's now been brought back to life as the flagship sales office for ALLSCO Building Products, which has the same owner as Atlantic Commercial Properties.

Lahanky's company has now purchased the former GM property from the auto maker. He says they made their first bid back in 2006, but the deal was finally signed last week. He says they are excited to have acquired a large property -- 200,000 square feet -- in such a prominent, visible location.

"It allows us to continue to revitalize that strip of St. George," says Lahanky.

The building is still in good condition, but Lahanky says they will likely divide it to accommodate at least five commercial tenants. They are also branding the building St. George Place, and that new name will soon be on the front of the building.

While no deals are signed yet, a new tenant could be in place in the next couple of weeks. The property owners are in discussions with a national company and regional company about moving in. While he can't name them at this point, Lahanky says one possible tenant sells household goods and building materials, while the other sells household furnishings.

The building also has 25,000 square feet of office space available for lease.

[mylesmalley]

I'm glad to see something being done with those buildings. That mile or so of road could use some sprucing up and investment. From the article, it sounds as though a fair amount of investment will be needed to make the GM building fully useable for several businesses. It wouldn't surprise me if it were gutted and completely refinished-at least in the warehouse section.

I still have high hopes that some nice apartments might be built where Centennial Shakers used to be. The city has done a great job fixing up the south side of the lake from the Old West End to Centennial Park. It'd be really nice to see the north side ringed with apartments and condos, with a waterfront park/trail.

[David_99]

I heard rumour 'round the office that we were looking to move in there, but the inside needed major renos for our needs which couldn't be done in time. Too bad, I was looking forward to being in there. Hopefully the other spaces don't take too long to fill up.

[JasonL-Moncton]

A touch of colour...couple pics from early morning a few days ago.

sorry bout the strangeness of this stiching haha...I like it anyways though.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/Wikipedia%20stuff/IMG_1811b.jpg



Ha Ha...I wish the building ACTUALLY looked like that...definitely would be a great building downtown :p

[MonctonRad]

New health initiative for Moncton
June 01, 2009 - 12:16 pm
By: Jen Hudson - News 91.9 Staff

MONCTON, N.B. - More investment into health care in Moncton was announced this morning.

Plans for the new Integrated Health and Medical Research Centre were unveiled.

The project is expected to cost between 20 and 25 million dollars.

The new building will be constructed next to the old Vanier school, near the Georges Dumont hospital, and is looking to house a variety of health-related organizations.

The Atlantic Cancer Research Institute is considering relocating to the new building.

Chief Executive Officer Dr. Rodney Ouellette says they are running out of room in their current facility.

The 60-thousand square foot building will include green building practices, such as a green roof, wind generation and increased natural lighting.

Construction is expected to begin this fall.

I wish there were more pro-active announcements for the Moncton Hospital. Sure, we have the new ACC which is roughly a $48M investment, but this pales in comparison to the recently announced expansion at the GDH worth about $75M, and now we have this new research centre to boot worth about $25M. This is about $100M of new investment at the GDH in the last six months with nothing new on the horizon for TMH. I fear that the Moncton Hospital may ultimately lose out in this new era of hyper-regionalization with most new health care resources located at either the SJRH or GDH. I fear for the future of my hospital. :(

[BlackYear]

The Moncton Coliseum just lost another event.

Country star Brad Paisley was set to play on Tuesday Sept. 1st. This article was posted in the T&T a couple of weeks ago.

"Country music star Brad Paisley is coming to Moncton, according to his website. The multi-time Academy of Country Music Award and Grammy winner Paisley has the Moncton Coliseum pencilled in for Tuesday, Sept. 1 on his website. Paisley is known for the hits "Start a Band," "Waitin' on a Woman," "She's Everything" and many more. Maritime dates are also listed for the Halifax Metro Centre on Sept. 2 and Saint John's Harbour Station for Sept. 3."

Just got word today, the promoter has canceled the show because the Coliseum is too small for the stage. :brickwall:

[Jerry556]

the office building on the corner of main and Vaugh Harvey is going quick, already got excavated and footings and foundation almost done, just since last week.

[mmmatt]

Bella Casa is either complete or very near to completion at this point:

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/Wikipedia%20stuff/IMG_1666.jpg

Yay for the first underground parking in Riverview! (now if only we could convince more developers to follow suit.)

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

A very handsome building with a commanding view of downtown Moncton. If you buy a unit, does it come with automatic membership to the Moncton Golf & Country Club? Just wondering.... :tup:

[mmmatt]

:previous:

A very handsome building with a commanding view of downtown Moncton. If you buy a unit, does it come with automatic membership to the Moncton Golf & Country Club? Just wondering.... :tup:

Not sure about the membership haha, but that would be a neat idea. This building does look really good and adds a ton of character to the area when heading toward Riverview on the bridge.

[JasonL-Moncton]

The Moncton Coliseum just lost another event.

Country star Brad Paisley was set to play on Tuesday Sept. 1st. This article was posted in the T&T a couple of weeks ago.

"Country music star Brad Paisley is coming to Moncton, according to his website. The multi-time Academy of Country Music Award and Grammy winner Paisley has the Moncton Coliseum pencilled in for Tuesday, Sept. 1 on his website. Paisley is known for the hits "Start a Band," "Waitin' on a Woman," "She's Everything" and many more. Maritime dates are also listed for the Halifax Metro Centre on Sept. 2 and Saint John's Harbour Station for Sept. 3."

Just got word today, the promoter has canceled the show because the Coliseum is too small for the stage. :brickwall:

Ridiculous...we need a new venue NOW...just another in a long line of examples.

JL

[monctonian]

Here is the architect's rendition of the proposed integrated Health and Medical Research Centre. Pierre Gallant of Architects4 says LEED certification for this building is desireable. The synergy potential is there.

http://monctonguide.com/architects4.jpg

[benvui]

Here is the architect's rendition of the proposed integrated Health and Medical Research Centre. Pierre Gallant of Architects4 says LEED certification for this building is desireable. The synergy potential is there.

http://monctonguide.com/architects4.jpg

I love the fact that they are integrating Vertical-axis wind turbines on the roof. Its a wonder more builders don't try and do that or solar panels to try and reduce the operating costs of the buildings. I know that accessibility to efficient vertical-axis wind turbines has been limited, but the technology is starting to catch up finally. Hopefully this is the start of a trend.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Agreed, this is a fine looking building and will have excellent visibility from Wheeler Blvd. It will be an excellent addition to the city's inventory of modern office buildings.

I am somewhat mollified by the fact that this building is going to be privately financed without any government input. As such, the relationship of this building to the GDH will be somewhat similar to the relationship of the Professional Arts Building to the TMH.

There is no question that the GDH needs additional space for teaching and research for the new medical training program. Also, the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute works with the oncology departments at both the TMH and GDH.

[P Unit]

I like the combination of brick and bright colours that seems to be evident in a lot of work by Architects4. I think it's also good to have medical buildings concentrated near the university. Perhaps the colour scheme itself is a reference to the school?

[MonctonRad]

City gives land to peace centre
Published Tuesday June 2nd, 2009

Donation of piece of Capitol Theatre parking lot contingent on project getting provincial/federal support
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff

Another step was taken last night in a now seven-year-old dream of turning downtown Moncton's Central United Church into a community peace centre that would bring several community organizations together under one roof.

Moncton's city council voted unanimously last night -- councillors Steven Boyce and René Pepsi Landry were absent -- to donate a piece of its municipal parking lot behind the Capitol Theatre to the project.

The land is necessary for a new wing that would be attached to the church and its manse.

The donation is contingent on the organizers receiving the $4.4 million of provincial and federal money they need for the renovations. If the project fails to materialize for some reason, the city will retain its land.

The city will lose about $79,000 in parking revenues each year because of the move, but with an estimated assessment value of about $7.9 million, the completed building will generate annual tax revenues of either $46,482 per year if the community peace Centre project qualifies for a 65 per cent assessment reduction under the Assessment Act or $127,106 per year if it qualifies for a 35 per cent reduction.

As well, giving up the piece of the parking lot should save about $200,000 from the city's plans to upgrade and repave the Capitol Theatre/Seymour Street lot.

The agreement makes it clear the city assumes no responsibility for providing parking for the peace centre. Though they all supported the project, councillors Kathryn Barnes, Nancy Hoar and Brian Hicks all expressed various concerns the move will lead one day to things like pressure on council to expand the city parking garage on Church Street and Alma, with Hicks noting that something in the realm of $200,000 could quickly turn into an expense in the realm of $3 million.

As well, Barnes said, "I am concerned the federal and provincial funds will go to this project to the detriment of some of our proposed city projects."

On the other hand, the six service organizations that would be moving into the building already contribute about $6.5 million to the local economy, serve over 18,000 clients per year, and employ about 200 people, who would be now working in and contributing to the economy of the downtown core. The project also preserves a downtown heritage structure and 750 seat performance space.

[ErickMontreal]

Here is the architect's rendition of the proposed integrated Health and Medical Research Centre. Pierre Gallant of Architects4 says LEED certification for this building is desireable. The synergy potential is there.

http://monctonguide.com/architects4.jpg

Refreshings to see that. I have to say that's one of the nicest projects I have seen here in a while.

Congratulation to Architects4 and George-Dumont as well.

[MonctonRad]

Kiwanis Park overhaul will create 'premier' ballpark
Published Tuesday June 2nd, 2009

Cost of renovations estimated at $2 million
BY JAMIE ROSS
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

The multimillion-dollar makeover for Kiwanis Park set to begin later this summer will transform it into a premier ballpark in eastern Canada, a city official says.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=304092&size=500x0
RON WARD/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT

Kiwanis Park is set to become the premier ballpark in eastern Canada. "It gives us probably the best field in Atlantic Canada," said Rod Higgins, assistant general manager with the City of Moncton recreation, parks, tourism and culture department. "We would have the potential, with this ball park, to pursue higher-level baseball."

Once complete, Higgins says, Kiwanis Park will be able to host national and international competition.

The field will undergo major changes beginning in July and the project should be wrapped up by November.

As it stands, Kiwanis field is in need of major work to its infrastructure, Higgins said, and will get the overhaul it needs, including new lights, seating, and a backstop.

"All the basic infrastructure are well past their life-cycle," he said, noting the lights at the field are nearly 30 years old.

The field will also get a new bullpen, an artificial turf infield and a new grass outfield, solving a drainage problem last year that caused a number of games to be cancelled because of pooled water.

As well, a new clubhouse for washrooms, dressing rooms and a baseball Wall of Fame will be built.

Higgins estimates the total cost for renovations $2 million.

Moncton Mets general manager Greg Lawlor said he's taken a look at the drafts for the proposed changes, and he likes what he sees.

"It's going to give them the opportunity to go after world-class events, no question," he said. "There's nobody else around that can compete with that."

Lawlor said Kiwanis Park will resemble a professional ball field, especially with the artificial turf, which will allow players to field the ball on a true bounce rather than it potentially hitting a rock.

The renovations have forced the Mets to relocate to Harold Page Field in Riverview until next season.

Given what he's seen of the plans, Lawlor believes it will be worth the wait.

"We're exited that we have the chance to play in that (field) next year, it will be special, and the team is excited," he said, although players have yet to see the plans. "It's going to be a nice place to spend Sunday evening watching baseball."

Higgins said the field will add to an already vivacious baseball scene in Moncton that draws numerous people to the city in the summer months.

"Last August there were three different tournaments going on at the recreational level, representing 30 out-of-town teams," Higgins said, estimating that weekend brought between 800-1,000 people to the city. "If you're doing that every weekend, it would really start to add to your sports tourism and your economy."

The renovations represent the last money to be spent on sports facilities from the city's capital budget, Higgins said.

Personal note: The city has quietly been building up quite an impressive inventory of sporting and recreational facilities over the last number of years. This includes the Tim Hortons 4-Ice Centre, The Dundee Sports Dome, The CN Sportsplex, the Harold Page softball complex, a refurbished Rocky Stone Field, The Crossman/Kay Community Centre, and the new World Track & Field Stadium. Now all we need is the new downtown arena! :D

[MonctonRad]

We have a new contributor to the Moncton thread that we should welcome. He goes by the handle of Monctonian.

Monctonian has posted a promotional video about Moncton's smart city bid elsewhere in SSP. This is the link:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=169947

It's pretty well done!

Welcome Monctonian :tup:

[mmmatt]

http://monctonguide.com/architects4.jpg

first off welcome to the forum Monctonian! You have already made some very impressive posts :)

Wow what an awesome project!! Really great looking building I must say, one of the best in recent years for sure. The area around the Dumont hospital is a nice little urban enclave in the city with several large buildings ranging from 4-6 floors, this building will continue this tradition and also add a fresh modern feel. Nice to see there was a real effort here to make a first class building, hopefully we will see more similar development in the future...a future police station could have a similar look perhaps. Imagine a building like this filling up where the old (crappy) station is along with the lot next to it...that would be nice :)

[JasonL-Moncton]

That new building looks fantastic and if they are going after LEED certification that's even better!

JL

[bam63]

If this one gets built " crossing my fingers" it would be my pick for nicest building in the city hands down.
Beautiful transitions from panels to glass to brick.Hurry up and build it:cheers:

[MonctonRad]

General observations & news:

- Smitty's restaurant has now opened in the old St. Huberts location on Mountain Rd.
- Lids is opening tomorrow in Champlain Place.
- Work on the fourth floor of the Casino NB hotel is now well underway, I wonder if this will be franchised to any particular hotel chain?

[MonctonRad]

Lead editorial from today's T&T

Aging Coliseum needs replacing
Published Thursday June 4th, 2009

Country music superstar Brad Paisley has backed out of a planned concert at the Moncton Coliseum Sept. 1 because the ceiling is too low to accommodate either of his two stages, one of which is intended for facilities that can't handle the full-size "A" stage he has, yet another in a long list of entertainers who have bypassed the city because of the aging and inadequate Coliseum facility. Cirque du Soleil wanted to put on five shows this summer as well, but instead had to move them, for the same reason, to Saint John.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=305276&size=500x0

Every one of those six shows were virtually certain to have sold out and brought considerable spin-off economic benefits to Metro Moncton. City councillors, take note: while Moncton may be at the top of the heap when it comes to big outdoor shows in summer, we've already got a negative reputation for indoor shows because the Coliseum simply isn't adequate anymore. And the problem is getting worse as artists strive to put on ever better shows.

This is precisely why Moncton desperately needs a modern multi-purpose entertainment and convention centre -- a Metro Centre -- and as soon as the city can possibly arrange it. If Moncton wishes to remain the shopping and entertainment hub of the Maritimes (and the two go hand-in-hand; what better than to do a day of shopping and cap it off with a big show?), then there is no other logical choice than to build a facility that will accommodate modern shows today and well into the future. To include other elements such as convention capability, a hockey rink surface, and other amenities, including shops and restaurants will merely help it be more self-sustaining.

We understand that the consultant's report on such a multi-purpose centre being done for the city is virtually complete now and will be presented to Moncton City Council by the middle of June. All indications are that an incredibly thorough job has been done with it, laying out precisely what would be needed and various options as well as costs.

Barring the report stating that this simply isn't feasible and would be a significant burden rather than asset to the city, Moncton City Council very much needs to find a way to make such a new multi-use sports-entertainment-convention complex a reality and one that will serve the city well for many decades. It is time to move quickly.

So, it sounds like the consultants report will be released within the next two weeks. It will be interesting to see what it says and how specific it will be about the size, location and features that should be included in any new downtown arena.

I can hardly wait. This project potentially is the most important single development in the recent history of the city. It could really define the character and style of downtown Moncton more than anything else.

[gehrhardt]

Published Friday June 5th, 2009
A1
BY ALAN COCHRANE
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

A $12-million investment from the federal and provincial governments will turn Atlantic Baptist University's dream of a $24-million expansion into a reality and help the Moncton university become a major player in post-secondary education in this province, university officials say.

"We had agreed with the federal and provincial governments that if they put up the $12 million we would ensure that we found a matching amount and we're quite confident that is well on its way," Ed Barrett, chairman of ABU's Future Foundations fundraising campaign, said yesterday.

Barrett and others at ABU were all smiles as federal Industry Minister Tony Clement and provincial Post-Secondary Education Minister Donald Arsenault announced that the federal and provincial governments would each contribute $6 million toward Atlantic Baptist University. The money will go directly toward the first phase of a $24-million expansion project at the university, located on the Gorge Road in Moncton.

The ceremony at ABU was just a small part of big load of money for post-secondary education announced yesterday. In total, New Brunswick is receiving $49 million. Of that, $36.8 million is going to universities and $12.25 million will go to the community college system.

L'Université de Moncton received $24 million yesterday and Arsenault said there will be many more announcements in the coming days as the funding is spread out to schools around the province.

The federal money comes from the Harper government's Knowledge Infrastructure Program, a two-year, $2-billion economic stimulus measure to support infrastructure enhancement at Canadian post-secondary institutions, and the Regional Development Corporation.

Clement said the KIP program will serve the dual goal of pumping money into the economy and creating short-term jobs while at the same time providing real classrooms, labs and other infrastructure that will benefit students, communities and the entire country in the future.

"This initiative to renew Canada's college and university infrastructure will provide a significant short-term economic stimulus and put many people to work, while also strengthening Canada's position as a world leader in science and technology for the benefit of all Canadians," Clement said.

Barrett was speaking on behalf of ABU president Brian MacArthur, who was out of the city and could not be present. He said having $12 million from the federal and provincial governments will make it easier to knock on the doors of businesses and the community looking for donations for the university.

The overall expansion project at ABU will take about $24 million. The first phase is the academic building with new lecture halls, classrooms and labs and was the only part of the expansion that qualifies for federal/provincial funding. The second phase is an apartment/residence complex for students. The third phase is a new athletic facility.

With funding for phase one now in hand, there was talk of starting construction as early as this summer.

Barrett said the expansion is timely because ABU is already beyond its capacity with about 800 students. He also hopes it will help the university find its niche among the older schools like UNB, St. Thomas and Mount Allison.

"This university already has about 50 per cent more students than it was built for. We have more students that want to come, but you want to make sure the student experience is positive, so we're already overloaded.

"The addition gives us the capacity to add by 50 per cent again, which will take us to around 1,200 students. So the plan is to grow to that over the next five years.

"I am a very strong believer that we need to support post-secondary institutions in New Brunswick, UNB, Mount Allison and St. Thomas. Every one attracts students for their own particular reasons, and it's important that New Brunswick satisfy all those reasons so the students will stay at home."

Atlantic Baptist University offers degree programs in arts, business administration, education and science. Yesterday's announcement in the university's foyer was welcomed with cheers and applause by students, members of the board, alumni and local politicians. Moncton MLAs John Betts, Joan MacAlpine-Stiles and Chris Collins were all praised for helping to push the need for funding the expansion with officials in Fredericton and Ottawa.

Clement said funding post-secondary education is the smart thing to do.

"I think there is somebody working in a garage or lab somewhere that could create the next Amazon or the next EBay, or something that will be of great value to society," he said following the presentation. "That's what's happening in Canada. We are great innovators, we are great inventors. We continue to bring products to market that make a difference in people's lives and that's what this is all about."

This is going to be a good sized project and it's nice to see they are getting some government support.

[gehrhardt]

As an addition to my post above, according to the T&T (I didn't feel like copying the whole thing over, since the content was almost the same as above) :)

"UdeM will be modernizing its faculty of science, with almost $19 million alloted for the Moncton campus. It also plans to build a new building dedicated to health and science technology.

"It is going to be a 30,000-square-foot building focusing a lot of health sciences, things like nutrition," said Fontaine."

Has anyone heard about this or seen any renders?

[ErickMontreal]

As an addition to my post above, according to the T&T (I didn't feel like copying the whole thing over, since the content was almost the same as above) :)

"UdeM will be modernizing its faculty of science, with almost $19 million alloted for the Moncton campus. It also plans to build a new building dedicated to health and science technology.

"It is going to be a 30,000-square-foot building focusing a lot of health sciences, things like nutrition," said Fontaine."

Has anyone heard about this or seen any renders?

Awesome, two new buildings in roughly the same area, that's a good week!

UDeM is the only french speaking university outside Québec (in Canada) and about 35% of the New-Brunswick is labeled as french speaking, hence that was well-needed. Furthermore, hopefully it might even bring in some more students from afar.

[MonctonRad]

To expound on the above:

Planned academic/research construction projects in the Moncton metropolitan area now include:

Universite de Moncton
- New nutritional & life sciences building ($19M)
- World Track & Field Stadium ($20M)

Hopital Georges-L Dumont
- New integrated health and medical research centre ($24M)

Atlantic Baptist University
- New academic building (Faculty of Education)
- Second residence
- New athletic centre (total $24M)

NBCC Moncton
- renovations and expansion ($20M)

Not too shabby at all.
:banana: :banana: :banana:

[ErickMontreal]

To expound on the above:

Planned academic/research construction projects in the Moncton metropolitan area now include:

Universite de Moncton
- New nutritional & life sciences building ($19M)
- World Track & Field Stadium ($20M)

Hopital Georges-L Dumont
- New integrated health and medical research centre ($24M)

Atlantic Baptist University
- New academic building (Faculty of Education)
- Second residence
- New athletic centre (total $24M)

NBCC Moncton
- renovations and expansion ($20M)

Not too shabby at all.
:banana: :banana: :banana:

You summed it up well, good job.

Education is a key of success, frow now on Moncton is well poised in that specific matter.

From my standpoint, on every sides Moncton has a bright future.

[ErickMontreal]

Non-stop flights from Moncton to Cancun

June 05, 2009 - 10:08 am
By: News 91.9 Staff

CALGARY, AB - The sun and sand of Cancun, Mexico will soon be just a non-stop flight away for travellers in Greater Moncton.

Westjet has announced it will offer seasonal non-stop flights between Moncton and Cancun next winter.

Introductory fares will start at $225 (excluding taxes and surcharges).

The five-hour flight will be offered Saturdays starting January 9th

[ErickMontreal]

I truly wanted to know what was the Estimates of population of Greater Moncton, I paid couple bucks for that, you just have to say thanks. :haha:

Estimates of population by census metropolitan areas
CANSIM - Results : Table 051-0046

Moncton, New Brunswick [13305]; Both sexes; All ages (persons)

:: Annual ::

2006 :: 129,514

2007 :: 130,571

2008 :: 132,160

Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM table 051-0046

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Thanks......

So, for 2009 we should be slightly over 133,000. :tup:

[ErickMontreal]

:previous:

Thanks......

So, for 2009 we should be slightly over 133,000. :tup:

Yeah good assumption here.

BTW you did not have to say thanks, I was joking around. :haha:

[MonctonRad]

Casino construction on track
Published Friday June 5th, 2009

Facility will create about 400 jobs with hiring to begin in six months
BY ALAN COCHRANE
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

Construction of the $90-million hotel, casino and convention centre is moving along on schedule thanks to a good building season and should be ready for an official opening about a year from now.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=306081&size=700x0
RON WARD/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT
The casino should be ready for an official opening about a year from now.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=306082&size=700x0
RON WARD/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT
Construction of the $90-million hotel, casino and convention centre is moving along on schedule thanks to a good building season.

"Everything is on schedule for the spring 2010 opening," Kathy Beaman, a spokeswoman for the Sonco Group of Halifax, said yesterday. "It's looking different every day and making progress thanks to the great weather."

A specific date for the opening has not yet been set.

The new casino complex is under construction on Mountain Road near Magnetic Hill, with three separate buildings -- the casino, a 128-room hotel and palladium -- taking shape simultaneously.

Sonco is a private company working under contract with the provincial government to finance, design, build and operate the casino, which will be the first of its kind in New Brunswick.

Finance minister Victor Boudreau has said the casino is expected to generate about $50 million a year in revenues, and the province will get a 50 per cent cut of that, or $25 million.

When complete, the casino will have 600 slot machines, 20 game tables, 8 poker tables, a high limit room, food/beverage facilities including the Stage Bar; a 128-room hotel, and the Palladium, a multi-purpose entertainment venue/convention facility.

It is expected the facility will need approximately 400 full-time and part time employees and officials have said about 99 per cent of them will be hired locally.

Beaman said hiring will likely begin in about six months. She said many prospective employees have already submitted their resumes through the company's website at www.casinonb.ca, and these are being catalogued for future consideration. It is likely the facility will hold a job fair to take more applications for positions available in the casino, hotel, restaurant, bar, and entertainment complex.

The Palladium will have seating for about 1,500 people, and will be available for live performances, shows, wedding receptions, banquets and many other functions. It is being built with room dividers so it can host different sized functions.

Last year, Sonco president Michael Novak promised the casino operators would make significant contributions to arts, culture and the community of Metro Moncton.

[curious]

Any news on any new stores opening on Main st. It is so blah down there. A lot of store fronts are vacant.

[rocyn]

Any word on when they are expected to break ground and actually build something at the location of the new north end school that is supposedly going to open in September 2010? I have my doubts this project will be completed when promised.

[MonctonRad]

Any news on any new stores opening on Main st. It is so blah down there. A lot of store fronts are vacant.

Just imagine how hopping downtown would have been if the casino had been built down there; combined with a convention centre and a possible new downtown arena. That would have helped to give downtown the critical mass it needs to prosper.

Moncton has to be the most decentralized city in the region. We have two hospitals, two universities, and two community colleges but they are spread all over the city. In Halifax, they have four universities on the penninsula and both major hospitals. This helps to provide the density that the downtown needs to flourish. We just can't duplicate that atmosphere here in Moncton.

It is so sad. There are 5,000 employees at TMH and GDH alone. Just imagine the economic impact this would have on the downtown every day if they worked within walking distance of Main St. :(

[MonctonRad]

Any word on when they are expected to break ground and actually build something at the location of the new north end school that is supposedly going to open in September 2010? I have my doubts this project will be completed when promised.

I have no new information. There have been no announced delays as far as I know but one would think that tenders would have to be issued shortly if it is to completed on time. Does anyone else have any ideas?

[mmmatt]

I truly wanted to know what was the Estimates of population of Greater Moncton, I paid couple bucks for that, you just have to say thanks. :haha:

Estimates of population by census metropolitan areas
CANSIM - Results : Table 051-0046

Moncton, New Brunswick [13305]; Both sexes; All ages (persons)

:: Annual ::

2006 :: 129,514

2007 :: 130,571

2008 :: 132,160

Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM table 051-0046

Wow, thanks for getting that info Erick! :) Looks like we are still doing very well with our growth (as we all know already...but this kind of info helps to make it feel more concrete).

[mmmatt]

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=306082&size=700x0


Wow! The casino looks massive! I really need to get up there and take some pics soon.

[MonctonRad]

did anybody notice that they are starting to build some optician office in front of the veterans residence.(near beausejour curling club)

This post is from several pages back. I tried to correct Jerry because I thought he was mistaken and the construction site was really for the new Jehovah's Witnesses church.

I was in fact the one mistaken (sorry Jerry).....There are actually two adjacent construction sites on War Veteran's Avenue:
1- the new Jehovah's Witnesses church.
2- a new Laser Eye surgery centre.

The area around Vaughn Harvey Boulevard continues to slowly infill.... Another 10-15 years and the CN Shops and CFB Moncton properties will only be a distant memory of a previous and different industrial past.

[MonctonRad]

from "the Sleuth"......

The momentum to build a new downtown Metro Centre is building . . . and not just in Metro Moncton.

While Moncton City Council awaits presentation later this month of a long-awaited consultant's report into the centre's feasibility, the same consultants presented a similar plan to the good folks of Charlottetown earlier this week. IBI Consultants were also hired by Charlottetown City Council to study a replacement for the city's Civic Centre. The conclusion: the 19-year-old building in Charlottetown is hopelessly outdated (with 3,717 seats). IBI is suggesting the city proceed with a 5,000-seat building as soon as possible.

So if a 19-year-old civic centre with luxury boxes in Charlottetown is hopelessly outdated, just what must the consultants think about the nearly 40-year-old Moncton Coliseum? Whether you love Brad Paisley or not, his decision to cancel a Moncton show because of the Coliseum's inadequacies should send a strong message to any remaining naysayers about the Moncton Metro Centre project. And if IBI is proposing a 5,000-seat centre for Charlottetown, Sleuth has to wonder just how many seats the same consultants think more prosperous Moncton can handle?

All will be revealed within the next two weeks and this old gumshoe hears IBI really did their homework to present a plan that is both exciting and viable.

[ErickMontreal]

from "the Sleuth"......

And if IBI is proposing a 5,000-seat centre for Charlottetown, Sleuth has to wonder just how many seats the same consultants think more prosperous Moncton can handle?

I guess they could propose something ranging between 11 000 and 13 000 seats and convention center and retail/commercial space attached to it.

[ErickMontreal]

A third electronic billboard (bigger than the two first) appeared in the Metro, that's the second one in Dieppe. This one is located along Paul street close from the overpass.

[mylesmalley]

Man, you go to Toronto for a week and you miss an entire week full of announcements!

Health offices - love the look. love the height. love the location.
casino - looking good. it's very impressive when coming down the offramp from the TCH eastbound.
Post-Secondary - fantastic news!
population estimates - kudos to erick for taking one for the team! they're quite a bit higher than i was expecting them to be.

[ErickMontreal]

Moncton reports new jobs in May
Statistics Canada's monthly job report shows labour force increased by 3.5 per cent

Published Saturday June 6th, 2009
D2
By Nick Moore
Times & Transcript Staff

More people were working in Moncton last month compared to the same time last year, according to monthly job figures released yesterday by Statistics Canada.

As such, Metro's reputation as a regional leader in job growth may be why there was an increase to the area's population, and also might be a reason for the area's unemployment rate going up, says Kevin Silliker, the City of Moncton's business development officer.

"People are here looking for work," he said. "They know that this is the economic engine of New Brunswick, so they're moving here for the employment opportunities."

The figures say Moncton's unemployment rate ticked up 1.2 percentage points year-to-year, to be recorded at 6.8 per cent in May, up from 5.6 per cent recorded in May 2008.

At the same time, the city's labour force jumped year-to-year by 3.5 per cent to show 78,300 working in the area last month, compared to 74,800 working in May 2008.

Silliker said a slight increase in the area's unemployment rate isn't anything to panic about, and was likely caused by people who had just arrived in the area looking for work when survey was taken.

Silliker said most of Moncton's economic growth last month was in the construction industry as well as information technology and administration sectors.

For New Brunswick, the unemployment rate was 8.8 per cent last month, up 0.1 per cent year-to-year. The province's labour force stood at 400,600 in May, up by 2,800 compared to May 2008.

In a statement, Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Donald Arseneault said the province recorded the nation's smallest year-to-year increase in unemployment rates last month.

Provincially, the strongest industrial growth was found in agriculture, education services and construction.

While most areas of the province saw an increase in job growth, significant job losses were recorded in the northeast and central portions of the province.

Nationally, Canada's unemployment rate rose to 8.4 per cent in May from eight per cent the previous month.

____________________________________________________________________________________


Dieppe building permits worth 5.8 million $ in May

DIEPPE, N.B. – Statistics from the Building Inspection Department of the City of Dieppe show that building permits worth $5.8 million were issued during the month of May.

The City issued a total of 110 permits of which 105 were for residential construction for a value of $5.6 million dollars and 4 were commercial endeavours for a value of slightly more than $225,000.

Since January, the municipality has issued 212 permits worth more than $19 million.

“We are experiencing quite a good building start this year and it seems that the residential sector is in the forefront of activity, said Dieppe Mayor, Jean LeBlanc. Growth is continuing in Dieppe and we are anticipating some building activity in the general area of the airport.”

[ErickMontreal]

I think something going on in the Subway Block, there is a contractor sign ( Construction Avant-Garde ) within two of the vacant space.

[JasonL-Moncton]

A third electronic billboard (bigger than the two first) appeared in the Metro, that's the second one in Dieppe. This one is located along Paul street close from the overpass.

Lord I hate these things...they are so distracting, not a 'plus' in my mind.

JL

[gehrhardt]

Has anyone heard any more on the proposed Microtel hotel by the Magnetic Hill McDonald's?

I was driving by yesterday and the sign was gone. That thing had been there for over a year. I wonder if the US economy has caused them to cancel their plans? :(

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

There has also been no activity at the Motel 6 building site this spring. the Rice Construction trailer is still on site but it makes you wonder what is going on......

[MonctonRad]

Official Statistics Canada 2008 CMA Population Estimates

Halifax.................394,600
St. John's.............185,700
Moncton...............132,200
Saint John.............125,800

Predictions:

By the 2011 census, Halifax will have a CMA population of over 400,000.......and we will never hear the end of it from them!

Moncton will continue with strong growth and will likely have a CMA population exceeding 135,000.

Saint John will see accelerating growth but will not be able to catch up with Moncton. I suggest a CMA population 0f 130,000.

This information was gleaned from elsewhere on this site and not directly from Statistics Canada.

[sonbob115]

Hi all, I am a new member of forum :banana:

fiscalite assurance vie (http://fiscaliteassurancevie.org/)

[mylesmalley]

Hi Sonbob115! Welcome to the forums!

[Jerry556]

they were moving dirt around on the proposed condo/apartment towers near vaugh harvey(near the office building thats going up on the corner of vaugh harvey and main), dose anyone know if they are actually starting excavation or???? kose the last house is still standing(tax purpose)

[mylesmalley]

I don't know if they have council approval for anything yet. Not at that property at least.

[JasonL-Moncton]

I noticed some movement on the "Mapleton" this morning, and excavator was working near the buildings that have already been erected...

[ErickMontreal]

Moncton's long-suffering St. George Street looks for rejuvenation

Last Updated: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 | 12:06 PM AT
CBC News

Officials with Downtown Moncton are launching a campaign to promote the St. George Street area.

Once a hub of shops, restaurants and businesses, the area has faced the loss of several establishments and suffered from security concerns and crime in the last couple of decades.

But the street's fortunes could be changing as new apartments are going up and some businesses are setting up shop.

"Our major challenge on St. George Street is to bring people out onto the street, not just during the working hours when people are going back and forth to work, but also in the evenings with the cafés, restaurants and the small bars,... a little more retail to get families out on the street," said Lawrence Forbes, the newly elected president of the Downtown Moncton board of directors.

The main objective now is to put services in place to help draw people back to the area, Forbes said.

"In the '90s and '80s we had the malls, we had the power centres. People are congregating again to our downtowns, so we have to take that opportunity," said Daniel Allain, executive director of Downtown Moncton. "There's a trend out there all across North America that people are coming back to downtown."

Downtown Moncton will also introduce a new festival designed specifically for St. George Street. Details will be announced later this month.

[mylesmalley]

Dammit Erick! you beat me by 1 minute

[MonctonRad]

They are presently working on the fifth floor of the casino hotel, along it's north side adjacent to Mountain Road.

This is starting to look like an impressively large building (and complex). The adjacent retaining wall adds to the impression of height for the hotel........makes it seem more like seven storeys.

[ErickMontreal]

Myles and Myself took some pics tonight :

:: Ashford Office ::
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3373/3614874549_a6effe4588_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2450/3615689074_51666694ba_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3607/3614863751_0f4c546039_b.jpg

:: Valmond Robichaud ::
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3603/3614849621_2dab6fb1d4_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3347/3614853237_b8a03cdc20_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2435/3615675220_1242ecc9bf_b.jpg

:: Bella Casa - Riverview ::
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3659/3615766304_3940fc3939_b.jpg

:: Federal Building ::
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3360/3615646154_bdee0c2353_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3341/3615661324_b77fa7530d_b.jpg

:: Random pics ::

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2446/3615653902_bac79a6407_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2454/3615696482_f8f6d8e0ac_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3332/3615700264_88882fe69c_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3614/3615703868_e57b10f430_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3340/3615657606_6f8aeb5405_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3388/3614931321_05654e8197_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3314/3614951447_a3aacf316a_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3654/3615758966_b8f04df000_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2426/3615762578_894ac9ed95_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2429/3615774150_366ecafed9_b.jpg

[Jerry556]

hey, myles, next time you guys meet up, i would be interested on tagging along if its alright?

[Smevo]

Nice shots Erick. I'll be interested to see the Ashford Office building as it progresses (that's the one on the corner of Vaughn Harvey and Main, right...across from Sobeys?). It's a very slim possibility, but I'm hoping I have the chance while I'm in Fredericton to slip over and check the progress of things in Moncton (excuse...Magic Mountain trip). :cool:

Edit: Oh yeah, you should post those shots on the Atlantic Construction Photos thread, Erick. ;)

[mmmatt]

Nice pics guys! Thanks for posting :)

[ErickMontreal]

Smevo and mmmatt, thanks for the comments.

[ErickMontreal]

Urban apartment occupancy rates climb
Report Northern cities seeing more vacancies, Edmundston posts one of highest rates in province

Published Thursday June 11th, 2009
B1
John Shmuel
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

Apartment units in New Brunswick's largest urban centres are filling up quickly, according to a new report released Wednesday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.


‘The rental market is tighter now than it was even two years ago, and it continues to stay fairly tight,’ says Donald Hazen, manager of Hazen Investments Ltd.

Vacancy rates for New Brunswick’s three largest cities hovered around the provincial average of 4.7 per cent.

New Brunswick's urban centres recorded an average apartment vacancy rate of 4.7 per cent in spring, down from 5.3 per cent during the same time last year. Smaller urban areas however, especially in the north, showed vacancy rates above the provincial average.

Dale Noseworthy, director of investor relations for Killam Properties Inc., which operates rental properties throughout Atlantic Canada, said Killam's holdings in New Brunswick reflect the new data.

"We've had some strong improvements," said Noseworthy. "I noticed in the CMHC report that certainly the bigger centres have seen the improvements, and that's where we own. So we have seen some positive trending and continue to have strong occupancy levels."

Killam's vacancy rate for the end of March 2009 was three per cent according to Noseworthy, compared to 6.6 per cent last year. Noseworthy, however, attributes the higher number last year to new property acquisitions.

The report also showed that cities in the north, including Campbellton, Edmundston and Bathurst, saw their vacancies go up. Edmundston posted one of the highest vacancy rates in the province at 9.2 per cent.

Claude Gautreau, senior market analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, said some of the figures for smaller urban centres weren't necessarily reflective of long-term growth in vacancies.

Gautreau said that because there are fewer rental units in smaller cities, any vacancies can skew numbers much more than vacancies in larger cities.

"Obviously if you have a fluctuation either up or down, it's going to create a fluctuation in the vacancy rate that can appear like there is a large change, when in reality it hasn't changed that much," he said.

Vacancy rates for New Brunswick's three largest cities hovered around the provincial average of 4.7 per cent.

Both Moncton and Saint John posted vacancy rates of 4.1 per cent and 4 per cent. Fredericton saw a vacancy rate of 5.3 per cent, a decrease of 0.5 per cent from 2008.

Donald Hazen, manager of Hazen Investments Ltd., said the vacancy numbers reflected his company's experiences in Saint John.

"The rental market is tighter now than it was even two years ago, and it continues to stay fairly tight," he said.

As vacancies have gone down, rental prices have increased compared to last year. In Fredericton and Moncton, the average price for a two-bedroom apartment was $712 and $673 respectively in April; last year, average rates for those same rental units would have been $696 in Fredericton and $665 in Moncton.

Saint John's average rental rate for a two-bedroom apartment sat at $643 in April, much closer to the provincial average of $653. Rates in smaller urban centres varied between $463 and $524.

Rather than attribute the increase in rent to lower vacancies, Gautreau said the numbers reflect an increase in utility costs and normal inflation.

Hazen said in the interim his company is benefiting from the robust rental market.

"We're always better off when we're full," he said.
_________________________________________________________________________________


Moncton is down from 5,5 % to 4,1%, a decrease of 1,4%.

http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/corp/nero/nere/2009/2009-06-10-0815.cfm

[MonctonRad]

MHS future still in doubt
Published Thursday June 11th, 2009

Repair costs could be lower than expected, but is school district pushing to replace building instead?
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff

Could the price tag to fix Moncton High School, said by the Province of New Brunswick to be anywhere from $48 million to $60 million, actually be as low as $15 million -- or even less?

Did the staff of School District 2 recommend to its elected District Education Council that the council ask the province to build a new school to replace Moncton High, or is the option of restoring the existing heritage building still on the table as well?

Will the DEC be rushed this year into making its wish list for provincial infrastructure money early this year, and will it affect the decision-making on Moncton High School?

This week's monthly meeting of the District Education Council has raised all of those questions.

Here's a look at some of the answers.

First of all, Tuesday night's public meeting of the council began with a closed door discussion between the council and District 2 staff and members of Moncton's Heritage Preservation Review Board. Both the chairman of the DEC and chairwoman of the heritage board couldn't recall precisely who initiated the decision to hold the decision in-camera, but Harry Doyle and Beverly Barrett said there was value in having the informal discussion in private. Doyle told the Times & Transcript yesterday however, that he believed members of the heritage board should speak freely about the discussions, and Barrett did just that yesterday afternoon.

(While it was decided yesterday there was nothing to hide about the meeting, the routine secrecy the District Education Council had vowed in February it would try to get away from was still very much in evidence on Tuesday. When a Times & Transcript reporter erroneously entered the meeting room for the 7 p.m. start of the public meeting Tuesday night, he was promptly told by District 2 superintendent Karen Branscombe the meeting was still in its in-camera portion and he was asked to leave).

At any rate, the City of Moncton's heritage board, comprised of private citizens with a range of experience in development, heritage, planning and architecture, brought Jim Bezanson along as they met with DEC members for the first time to express concerns about the future of Moncton High.

Bezanson, a heritage development officer for the City of Saint John and the owner of a number of Saint John heritage properties, is recognized nationwide as an authority on heritage building preservation.

Following a resolution of Moncton city council in February asking that the "provincial government take all reasonable steps to protect, preserve and restore Moncton High School and to establish a public consultation process in order to gather community input on the future of Moncton High School," Moncton's board decided to foot the bill to have Bezanson review the two previous reports on the structural integrity of Moncton High. Besides studying the Algee Report and the Lawrence Report, Bezanson visited the high school to do some analysis of his own.

While neither he nor the heritage board filed a written report or made a formal presentation Tuesday night, the message to the DEC was necessary repairs could actually be done with the latest preservation techniques for somewhere in the vicinity of $15 million.

Asked by a reporter yesterday if that low figure was "an absolute best-case scenario," Barrett noted the figures floated by the provincial government so far "have been absolute worst-case scenarios," based on pulling everything apart. Barrett said Bezanson is suggesting in many cases that might not be necessary. His sampling of windows at the school for instance found only about 15 per cent of them might need replacing. The original report on the building assumes complete replacement. As well, the heritage board argues removal of all the asbestos in the building is not absolutely necessary, as asbestos is a hazard when humans have the opportunity to inhale the fibres, rather than when it is locked inside walls.

"We wanted to let them know there were other alternatives (to replacing MHS with a new school)," Barrett said. "If you just pause a minute and get the proper people, heritage preservation is not as complicated and expensive as people expect."

The question is will the District Education Council get a minute to pause?

If precisely what was said in private session is subject to the recall of participants rather than a reporter's careful note-taking, what was being said in public session Tuesday night was not much more clear.

One thing, however, was clear and was reported in the Times & Transcript yesterday. The Department of Education has suddenly departed from established practice and is now asking District Education Councils around the province to submit their "wish list" of their top three school infrastructure priorities to the minister by June 30 instead of the typical September deadline.

The first District 2's DEC heard of this was at Tuesday's meeting, already nine days into June. As reported in yesterday's Times & Transcript, both Doyle and District 2's director of finance, administration and communications, Aubrey Kirkpatrick, expressed dissatisfaction with that.

Also previously reported, Superintendent Karen Branscombe said the new deadline was a challenge, but one the council had to meet.

"They're going to go forward at the department and we want to make sure District 2 is still on their list," she said. "My worry is we've seen districts not get money. Even though you feel rushed, we feel comfortable telling you that these are the major projects."

What wasn't reported yesterday and still remained unclear 24 hours later was what exactly district staff recommended to the DEC.

It was clear from the public discussion that Moncton High was number one on the list, but the district's precise recommendation was unclear. What appeared to be a two or three-page document from District 2 staff was given to the members of the DEC, but not shared with the news media. It apparently gave the staff's recommendation in writing and the Times & Transcript has learned the recommendation makes no mention of upgrading the current Moncton High School. Instead it explicitly recommends replacing the school with a new building.

Public comments made by council member Mary Laltoo at the meeting seemed to suggest in retrospect the information the Times & Transcript received the following day is correct, but the conversation of the council strayed into other areas and the significance of her words Tuesday was not immediately obvious.

Kirkpatrick, in meetings in Fredericton yesterday, was reached by e-mail seeking confirmation or denial about the district's recommendation, but he referred the question to Doyle, who was also in Fredericton for the same meetings.

Doyle adamantly denied either the discussion or the DEC's opinion on the MHS issue saw abandoning the current heritage structure as a fait accompli.

A spokeswoman from the Department of Education said last night it was understood that some DECs in the province might have been caught off guard by the change, which she said will allow the department to start its own five year planning earlier, and suggested there would be some flexibility.

So......it would appear that DEC is being rushed into making a decision, perhaps without all the facts, and will be recommending an entirely new school be built. It sounds to me that decisions are being made behind closed doors at the highest levels and that the choice to tear down MHS has already been made. This could become a huge political hot potato.

[mylesmalley]

I think the best thing for all involved would be for a replacement school to be built. Move the students to a new location so that the current MHS can be gutted and renovated into offices or apartments.

...Although something tells me the MHS will be taking a back seat to the now burnt, Burnt Church School.

[mylesmalley]

Moncton High report off the table
Published Friday June 12th, 2009

District recommendation to replace historic school withdrawn for now
A1
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff


A document recommending that Moncton High School be torn down and replaced with a new building has been shelved.

The School District 2 Education Council has asked its staff to go "back to the drawing board" in considering options for the future of the historic building.

A copy of the original document, obtained by the Times & Transcript, makes it clear that district staff was recommending construction of a new school with no consideration for preserving the heritage building that has served the area for 74 years.

Ultimately, the decision on what to ask of Education Minister Kelly Lamrock will be the education council's to make, but any final recommendation of the district's professional staff is likely to carry significant weight with the elected volunteer council.

Yesterday, School District 2 declined to release the document presented to the council Tuesday because the matter has been sent back to the district by council chairman Harry Doyle.

The document was circulated at a public meeting Tuesday night and discussed publicly. It was not distributed to the public, however, so this week the Times & Transcript asked for a copy of the document.

District 2 Superintendent Karen Branscombe issued a statement late yesterday afternoon saying the document would not be released to the news media because it no longer represents the district staff's final recommendation.

"Based on the reaction of the Council, a presentation that was made to Council that same night which provided more information and questions for all of us to consider, and on the advice of the District Education Council Chair, Harry Doyle, the original document presented has been removed from the table," she wrote.

Whatever the ultimate recommendation will be, the one that had been on the table Tuesday made no reference to pursuing a course of action that might preserve the heritage building or even a part of it.

Referring to reports on the high school completed over the winter by an architect and engineer, the withdrawn document reads, "the professionals have estimated the refurbishment and modernization will cost a minimum of $48,000,000. The Council must now decide what to recommend to the Minister of Education regarding the future of this school. From a fiscal and pedagogical view point, the Senior Administration team is recommending a new school for the future students of Moncton High School. We recommend the Minister fast track the building of a new school for opening in September 2011."

Coincidentally, the District Education Council heard Tuesday night from an expert hired by the City of Moncton's Heritage Preservation Review Board arguing the work necessary to preserve the building could actually cost less than a third of the $48-million figure put forward. Another less expensive compromise solution was forwarded by the parent school support committee in February that would have seen parts of the school preserved with other parts replaced by a modern structure, but that possibility was not addressed in the report released Tuesday.

The new staff recommendation is likely to come at a meeting in July.

"Mr. Doyle has asked me to have staff go back to the drawing board and review our facility options," Branscombe wrote yesterday, in declining to provide the document requested by the newspaper. "More information and options will be presented to the Council at their next public meeting. It will then be up to the Council to make the final recommendations to the Department of Education."

____________________________________
Moncton High report off the table
Published Friday June 12th, 2009


District recommendation to replace historic school withdrawn for now
A1
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff

A document recommending that Moncton High School be torn down and replaced with a new building has been shelved.

The School District 2 Education Council has asked its staff to go "back to the drawing board" in considering options for the future of the historic building.

A copy of the original document, obtained by the Times & Transcript, makes it clear that district staff was recommending construction of a new school with no consideration for preserving the heritage building that has served the area for 74 years.

Ultimately, the decision on what to ask of Education Minister Kelly Lamrock will be the education council's to make, but any final recommendation of the district's professional staff is likely to carry significant weight with the elected volunteer council.

Yesterday, School District 2 declined to release the document presented to the council Tuesday because the matter has been sent back to the district by council chairman Harry Doyle.

The document was circulated at a public meeting Tuesday night and discussed publicly. It was not distributed to the public, however, so this week the Times & Transcript asked for a copy of the document.

District 2 Superintendent Karen Branscombe issued a statement late yesterday afternoon saying the document would not be released to the news media because it no longer represents the district staff's final recommendation.

"Based on the reaction of the Council, a presentation that was made to Council that same night which provided more information and questions for all of us to consider, and on the advice of the District Education Council Chair, Harry Doyle, the original document presented has been removed from the table," she wrote.

Whatever the ultimate recommendation will be, the one that had been on the table Tuesday made no reference to pursuing a course of action that might preserve the heritage building or even a part of it.

Referring to reports on the high school completed over the winter by an architect and engineer, the withdrawn document reads, "the professionals have estimated the refurbishment and modernization will cost a minimum of $48,000,000. The Council must now decide what to recommend to the Minister of Education regarding the future of this school. From a fiscal and pedagogical view point, the Senior Administration team is recommending a new school for the future students of Moncton High School. We recommend the Minister fast track the building of a new school for opening in September 2011."

Coincidentally, the District Education Council heard Tuesday night from an expert hired by the City of Moncton's Heritage Preservation Review Board arguing the work necessary to preserve the building could actually cost less than a third of the $48-million figure put forward. Another less expensive compromise solution was forwarded by the parent school support committee in February that would have seen parts of the school preserved with other parts replaced by a modern structure, but that possibility was not addressed in the report released Tuesday.

The new staff recommendation is likely to come at a meeting in July.

"Mr. Doyle has asked me to have staff go back to the drawing board and review our facility options," Branscombe wrote yesterday, in declining to provide the document requested by the newspaper. "More information and options will be presented to the Council at their next public meeting. It will then be up to the Council to make the final recommendations to the Department of Education."



_________________
I was at the statCan event. There was a good turnout for a pretty dry presentation overall. Nothing really new came out of it though, as all this information has been available over time since the last census was released.

[mylesmalley]

Royal Court expansion nears completion
Published Thursday June 11th, 2009

Shannex spending more than $112 million on three retirement campuses in N.B.
C2
BY ALAN COCHRANE
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=309310&size=500x0
Alan Cochrane, Times and Transcript
A major expansion to Royal Court in Riverview -- including two new buildings and renovations to the existing residence to create a seniors' campus -- is nearing completion as it leads up to an official opening later this year.



ALAN COCHRANE/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT
Construction is ongoing at the site of Royal Court in Riverview, where a 60-suite special-care residence and 72-bed nursing home are taking shape. The new buildings will be joined by enclosed pedways and served by a common food service building. When complete, they will be able to house about 300 seniors requiring various levels of medical care.
"When complete, we will be able to accommodate about 300 seniors at this campus at different levels of care and as they age and require more care they will be able to stay on this campus," Jason Shannon, chief operating officer for the Halifax-based Shannex corporation, said yesterday.

The Riverview facility is one of three now under construction in New Brunswick that represent an investment of over $112 million. The others are in Fredericton and Quispamsis with openings scheduled over the next year.

The original Royal Court, located on Coverdale Road on the western edge of Riverview, has been in operation for more than 10 years as a retirement living residence. Under the current project, the original building is undergoing major renovations to become a 112-suite retirement residence. The additions include Canterbury Hall, a 60-suite special-care residence scheduled to open in September; and Monarch Hall, a 72-bed nursing care home scheduled to open in December.

Canterbury Hall and Monarch Hall are now taking shape with a small army of carpenters, equipment operators, drywallers, plumbers, painters, electricians and other tradesmen working together. Shannex estimates that more than 100 workers are now on site at the Riverview location and that could grow to 120 at the peak of construction. When complete, the three New Brunswick complexes will employ approximately 450 people.

The new buildings have a brick exterior with white trim and various roof pitches to give them the look of a comfortable resort as opposed to an institution. They will be linked together by enclosed pedways so people can move about without going outside. The grounds will be landscaped with seating areas and walking trails. A common food preparation area will service the entire complex.

Shannon said the concept of the seniors' campus is gaining in popularity mainly in the United States but also in Canada as a way of providing various levels of care for seniors as they grow older and require more medical attention and service from staff. There will be a variety of one bedroom and two-bedroom suites that allow for couples to live together or on their own. And if the couple has to be split up because of varying medical needs, they will still be able to live in the same complex.

Inside, the Canterbury Hall special-care residence is taking shape. During a tour yesterday, Shannex officials showed how the suites are designed for seniors with such features as low-height countertops, non-slip floors, grab bars mounted on the walls, shower stalls with seats and adjustable shower heads designed for people with limited mobility. Both floors of the residence will have gathering areas with a fireplace, dining rooms, food service areas, nursing stations for the staff, elevators, handrails and rest stops along the corridors. The corridors, built wide to accommodate wheelchair traffic, will be wired up with surveillance cameras and emergency buttons so residents will be able to call for assistance from virtually anywhere.

Shannon said the buildings are designed with all amenities with safety, comfort and limited mobility in mind. And while the complex will be on the high end of the rent scale for seniors, residents will be able to qualify for the same provincial government subsidies available at similar homes.

Staying in the special-care residence will cost anywhere from $2,800 to $4,000 per month, which Shannon says is a competitive rate with other similar homes that offer private bathrooms and other amenities.

The retirement residence will be 100 per cent private pay, since it is seniors' apartments, with prices ranging from $1,995 to $3,295 per month. Depending on the package, the monthly bill includes rent, meals, transportation, medical care and recreational activities offered there.

"It's not a building that everyone can afford, but the fact that it is fully booked before it is open indicates that we've done a good job and made it affordable for people."

Shannon said the complex will employ up to 160 people, including medical staff, administration, food service, housekeeping and other jobs.


____________________
Also, just heard that widening of the Mapleton Rd overpass begins next week, and will be completed a year from now. It will be six lanes wide from Carson Drive to Trinity, and 5 lanes from Trinity to the TCH (includes a centre turning lane). I'm not sure they are, but I hope they continue the median right across the bridge. Nice as the new Gunningsville crossing is, I'd have preferred to see the divider continued across to riverview for safety and aesthetic reasons.

I'm hoping they find some way to widen from Carson to Mountain soon though. It'll be weird driving up a two lane road, crossing an intersection and that road becoming a six lane highway.

[gehrhardt]

:previous:

Yeah, I drove from Home Depot out to the TCH yesterday. It's already partially torn up. They have already moved the Day & Ross entrance further away from the TCH, moved a lot of power lines, and cut down trees on the park side. It seems to be progressing well.

I also noticed some more activity at the new Mapleton power centre too (as JasonL said earlier) and the orthodontist clinic is looking great.

The sign has finally gone up on the new NB Liquor store in Salisbury. The shelves looked stocked last night, so it must be opening in the next few days. Good, my beer supply is getting low. :)

Also, one house is getting near completion and another foundation has been dug in the new huge subdivision in Salisbury we talked about 100 or more pages back. It's been a long wait for activity there, but things are finally looking up. :tup:

[mylesmalley]

Yeah, I noticed that as well. There was a pretty large crane on site moving stuff around about a week ago.

I'm no fan of sprawl, but it's good to see some money being spent in Salisbury. I expect it's only a matter of time before before the village becomes an important bedroom community with a lot of commuters for people who like the rural-but-close-to-town feel. You guys are closer to Moncton than Hampton is to Saint John, after all.

[mylesmalley]

Metro centre more than just a rink
Published Saturday June 13th, 2009
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/698336

London, Ont., offers advice on how we can make facility a success here
A1
BY brent mazerolle
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF


The John Labatt Centre in London, Ont., should be our model, period.

The long-awaited consultant's report on the feasibility of building a new regional civic centre in downtown Moncton will be presented to Moncton city council on Monday, and while it's not yet known what consultants IBI Group will recommend for the Hub City, the city would be wise to study the experience of the Ontario community.

That won't be entirely surprising for anyone who's been giving serious thought to the question of a metro centre for Moncton -- the same consultants looking at Metro Moncton's situation pointed to London's situation right from the beginning. IBI Group, led by project manager Jonathan Hack, did the initial feasibility study for London's civic centre and then did extensive work in making the facility a reality.

In fact, the City of London was one of the references IBI Group listed when it responded to Moncton's request for proposals to win the feasibility contract. Further, Hack made frequent mention of London's case when his team first came to Moncton back in February.

What is surprising, though, is the enthusiasm of the people on the ground in London. In the name of doing a reality check on the description of the Labatt Centre project found in IBI Group's initial proposal to the City of Moncton, the Times & Transcript made some calls to people whose very livelihoods depend on the rise and fall of downtown London.

We spoke to Victor Coté, the City of London's general manger of finance, Gerry Macartney, the CEO and general manager of the London Chamber of Commerce, and Janette MacDonald, the manager of Mainstreet London, a not-for-profit economic development organization very similar to Downtown Moncton Centre-Ville Inc.

They have reason to be excited. In 2007, prominent industry publications Venues Today and Billboard Magazine both declared the venue the busiest facility of its size in the world. The Labatt Centre sees 700,000 people pass through the turnstiles every year, about three times as many people as other Ontario venues draw.

The City of London footed $32 million of the building's $50-million price tag, and has the requisite debt to service, but while most such facilities run with operating deficits, the municipality receives about $500,000 each year from its share of the operation's profits.

The chamber of commerce's Macartney was asked what his membership thinks of the facility.

"To a person, they're thrilled. It's not just the economic impact. It's lifted the spirits of the whole community," Macartney said. "All those people who moaned and groaned (before the centre was built), you haven't heard a peep out of them."

Janette MacDonald reports, "even the naysayers now say, 'we were wrong.' I love hearing that," she says with a laugh.

For his part, the City of London's Coté said the key to the building's success was the extremely careful planning in the original design to make it a truly multi-purpose facility.

All three had a number of concrete suggestions for Moncton, should it decide to follow in London's footsteps. You will find those in a story accompanying this one.

[StormShadow]

Very encouraging to see that Moncton will likely use London's JLC as a model, great minds think alike.

now let's see if the report suggests a (the right) location- Highfield Square or the Hollis block and let's hope they go for a LEED certification

I can tell you for sure, one thing that makes the JLC so successful is that the city of London does not operate it. The city does have a say, but Global Spectrum (Philadelphia Flyers) runs it, and has the arena booked solid. It's in a great location, has a square of sorts adjacent to the farmer's market, and being downtown it has city transit running by it.

[mylesmalley]

The arena report is being presented today at tonight's city council meeting.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

I can't wait, this should be quite interesting.......

[JasonL-Moncton]

Has there been anything released about the report?

[mylesmalley]

Has there been anything released about the report?

Council sits at 4.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

So..........did anyone go to the council meeting?

[mylesmalley]

I'm very rarely that starved for entertainment. :D

[ErickMontreal]

Metro centre to make money: report
Expert says multi-use entertainment centre will revitalize downtown Moncton

Published Tuesday June 16th, 2009
A1
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff

The consultants tasked with assessing the feasibility of a new multi-use entertainment centre for downtown Moncton believe there is a sound case for such a project that, besides stimulating the regional economy, would turn a profit in its own right.

IBI Group's Jonathan Hack says his firm's estimates -- his report includes 88 pages of detailed financial data -- "are reasoned. They're not conservative. They're not aggressive."

He also emphasized the firm's research did not take a cookie cutter approach from similar studies it has done across North America and elsewhere, but rather focused on a Moncton-centric picture, using Moncton data and conditions.

And the picture that emerges for Moncton includes a 9,000-seat facility in the $75-million range, that cost shared with public and private partners which would be reasonably affordable for taxpayers.

And for those who argue that talk of price tags on projects like this focus on the construction but tend to forget operational costs, Hack has good news.

He says there is no reason the operation of a new facility should incur a deficit. In fact, IBI Group numbers estimate an operating revenue that could be as high as $650,000 per year. Deliberately pursuing a less rosy scenario, Hack's team imagined a scenario in which there would be a 20 per cent drop in attendance across the board at all events that might be held in such a facility. With that cut, the complex would still be looking at $378,000 in operating revenues each year.

"These things make money. If you don't make money, you're doing something wrong," says Hack, who led a similar study that laid the groundwork for the John Labatt Centre in London, Ont., which Billboard magazine has declared the most successful facility of its size in the world.

While Hack emphasized there's more to Metro Moncton building a Metro Centre than taking an approach based on the experience of the larger Ontario city, the fact is, "London is not an aberration. A number of other facilities make money too."

That's pretty encouraging given the Moncton Coliseum and Agrena complex is a money loser, requiring a subsidy of more than $1 million per year. As well, the previous two city councils spent years pursuing the idea of a standalone convention centre, an acknowledged "loss leader" for any community. A metro centre, by comparison, while incurring a debt to be serviced, would at least be able to pay its way and then some when it came to operations.

IBI Group's report also addresses a question on a lot of people's minds: What would happen to the Moncton Coliseum?

The answer is it would remain open and focus mostly on trade shows, needing a smaller civic subsidy because it would host less events and, especially important, get out of the expensive business of ice-making with aged equipment. It would keep its ice making capability however, for times when the extra ice surface might be needed, as was the case this year when a number of conflicts at the Coliseum meant its regular tenant Moncton Wildcats had to contest a number of playoff games at the inadequate J. Louis Levesque Arena. While IBI Group is not a design firm and was not hired to design a complex, its report does give some shape to what such a facility would be and look like.

It would first of all have the means to easily change configurations depending on the needs of an event. It would include retail and restaurant components that would be part of the downtown streetscape and serve a wider public day-to-day, rather than being buried inside a cavernous civic centre and focused on merely providing concessions during events. Similarly, there should be a civic square element on the grounds, so that it is truly part of an animated downtown, a welcoming place that feels open and inviting and is a centre of activity at any time, not just during events.

Ultimately, in a competitive world where people travel widely and have seen the best other communities have to offer, a facility like this -- that will become not just a gathering place but part of the region's overall identity -- has to be done right, Hack said. Money saved on cost-cutting half-measures is a false economy, especially since a successful downtown facility will spur private development that will pay the city handsomely in property taxes.

"In 10 years' time no one will look at the debt. They will look at the building," he said. "Spend the money. It makes all the difference."

Generally, he said, public dollars spent on such centres garner the investment of six times as many private development dollars. (In high-performing London, the return on investment has been 11 times greater).

"The building represents a good investment -- if it's downtown," he said, emphasizing it must be downtown. "We know that from other communities."

"The market is there for a larger facility," Hack said, particularly with the technological change in the music industry spurring growth in the concert business.

On the other hand, he says, "if you don't do anything, the existing market share will reduce."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dream of Peace Centre for Metro nears reality
Proponents say project would provide social services, spur redevelopment in the downtown

Published Tuesday June 16th, 2009
A6
BY ALAN COCHRANE
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF


It is designed to cater to many layers of society and become a new heart of the community as the Siegfried Janzen Peace Centre.

"The member organizations located here will provide services and bring them together so fewer clients fall between the cracks," LeBlanc sais. "It will also provide us with a better view of community needs and help us develop programs and services that are needed."

As director of Family Service Moncton, LeBlanc says people from all walks of life require counselling for marital problems, emotional problems, parenting issues and treatment of domestic violence. Family Service Moncton would be one of the six initial tenants of the Peace Centre.

Others include the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area (MAGMA), the United Way, the Volunteer Centre and the church congregation. These organizations provide a variety of services that assist about 18,000 people a year and LeBlanc says bringing them together in a renovated building should make it easier for people who need help to come knocking at the door.

"It takes a lot of strength for people to walk through the door and ask for help," LeBlanc said. "But they don't come looking for the counselling; they are looking for what the counselling will bring them. We want to bring peace to people's homes and, hopefully, bringing these agencies together under one umbrella will help the entire community and promote volunteerism, conflict resolution, mediation and help with immigration."

The peace centre idea has been in the works for several years and the dream appears to be getting closer to reality. The idea also takes pressure off a church congregation concerned about the future of the historic building and promises to become a catalyst for redevelopment of the downtown area around the Capitol Theatre.

The peace centre name pays tribute to Siegfried Janzen, a Ukrainian Mennonite whose family moved to Canada in 1927. He served in work camps during the Second World War and went to Europe to help refugees at the end of the war. After returning to Canada, he came to Petitcodiac and became interested in restorative justice while visiting Dorchester Penitentiary. He died in Moncton in 2005 at the age of 82 after dedicating himself to restorative justice, mediations, conflict resolution and developing peaceful living strategies.

Rev. Jim MacDonald of Central United Church says the concept of the Peace Centre is to give people hope, help and support in their time of need which will, in turn, help the city find its soul.

Support for the proposed Siegfried Janzen Peace Centre continues to grow and the people behind the project are hopeful that $4 million in funding from the municipal, provincial and federal governments will be approved soon so the project can begin.

"We've submitted all the application forms for funding and we're waiting for word. We haven't heard yet but there's a lot of support," LeBlanc said yesterday during a tour of the historic Central United Church.

Under the proposed plan, the church will be renovated and have a four-storey or five-storey office building added on the side. When complete, it will become home to several non-profit organizations that provide community services to people in need.

LeBlanc is confident that other non-profit service organizations will also lease space in the building. The congregation of Central United Church will continue to use the building for their own purposes and Sunday morning services.

The former church manse next door is now being renovated to house an outreach project for the homeless.

The project has already received glowing endorsements from the City of Moncton, the Capitol Theatre, Downtown Moncton Centre-Ville Inc., Enterprise Greater Moncton, Moncton MP Brian Murphy and other organizations.

The city recently contributed a piece of land, currently a parking lot, toward the project, which LeBlanc predicts will become a cornerstone of new development in the downtown area.

According to the business plan, the total value of the project is just over $13 million. The equity provided in the value of the church and land recently contributed by the city are valued at about $5.5 million. The estimated cost of construction and renovations is $8 million and the partner organizations have agreed to take out a $3.6-million mortgage to pay for part of the construction costs. That leaves $4,400,000 as a split contribution to be shared by the city, provincial and federal governments.

LeBlanc says the government money requested is minimal and a good investment considering what the community will get in return.

The peace centre will feature mainly office and client space for the member agencies but it will make use of the many rooms and facilities inside the historic stone church. The 750-seat sanctuary, which features ornate wood panelling, stained glass windows and a high vaulted ceiling for incredible acoustic properties, will be converted into a theatre that can be used for speeches, conferences and musical performances. The sanctuary is certainly the jewel of the old church with a unique horseshoe shape and wooden pews that actually follow the curve. It has two levels of seating and a balcony with no visible support beams to block the view or the flow of sound.

The church also has an institutional kitchen that could become a cafeteria, a gymnasium and many smaller rooms. Renovation plans include an elevator to make it wheelchair accessible.

Construction consultant Robert Nuttall says the building is an amazing blend of stone and wood built onto a cast iron frame that is held together with rivets. He says the church is very solid architecturally and it shouldn't take too much to bring it up to building codes required for a public building.

They are hoping to keep as much of the original work -- which includes beautiful hardwood floors, lots of oak, Douglas fir and many fixtures -- intact.

The plaque outside indicates Central Methodist Church was founded in 1847, destroyed by fire in 1914 and rebuilt in 1915. It became part of the United Church of Canada when Methodists, Presbyterians and others merged in 1925.

Take a walk through the church and you'll see fixtures, hinges, door handles, railings, stairs, iron fireplace grates and other details that date back to the time of the Titanic.

On a tour of the building yesterday, MacDonald showed off the many details in the historic property's parlours, activity rooms, gymnasium and kitchen. Up in the attic, the wooden support beams can be seen next to huge steel trusses reminiscent of the old Gunningsville Bridge that was built around the same time. The wooden beams are actually charred from a fire in the 1950s but Nuttall says they are structurally sound.

Down in the basement, there are huge steel support beams and trusses. Nuttall said consulting engineers who visited the church were astounded at the strength of construction.

LeBlanc says bringing the non-profit groups under one roof makes economic sense because they will be able to share resources, which means more of their money will go toward helping people instead of overhead. The Peace Centre itself would become a new body overseen by a board of directors.

The member agencies were looking for a place where they could all move in together and were considering a spot on John Street when they connected with the people of Central United Church, who wanted to turn their building back to the community. Totally renovating an existing building would have been cost-prohibitive so doing it with the church made more economic sense and provided a better location in the centre of downtown.

Design of the additional office building hasn't been finalized, but it will be a four-storey or five-story structure to be placed in the parking lot near the corner of Church and Queen Streets between the church and the Capitol Theatre.

Nuttall said the building will feature under-building parking, which is not to be confused with an underground parking garage. He said putting parking space on the ground level makes it parking-neutral.

There had been concerns that the city would lose nearly $40,000 a year from parking revenues, but LeBlanc said property tax revenues would make up for it. The church was actually leasing a piece of its property to the city for use as a parking lot and was prepared to reclaim it to allow the project to go ahead.

LeBlanc said the building will be connected to the church with a glass atrium that would incorporate environmentally friendly technology, provide green areas, a children's play area and form a cultural link with the 800-seat Capitol Theatre.

It also promises to bring new life to Oak Lane, an alley next to the Capitol that was renovated several years ago with the intention of making it into some kind of downtown market, but is rarely used for anything.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Gov't funds help create 300 new jobs at N.B. tech firm
PQA to create positions in Fredericton, Moncton offices over next three years

Published Tuesday June 16th, 2009
C2
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF
Source: Times & Transcript

FREDERICTON - The provincial government will announce support today for Professional Quality Assurance Ltd., resulting in the creation of 300 jobs.

The positions are in addition to the 91 employees who currently work in the company's Moncton and Fredericton offices.

PQA, founded in 1997, is an independent software quality assurance company with clients throughout North America and Europe. The company's head office is located in Fredericton with satellite offices in Moncton and Dartmouth, N.S.

The government assistance for 300 full-time permanent positions, to be created during the next three years, will pay for training, equipment and overall company expansion.

Further details of funding and the type of assistance being given by the province, as well as the number of jobs to be created in each office, will be announced today by Premier Shawn Graham.

The premier is expected to be joined at the announcement by acting Business New Brunswick Minister Jack Keir, who said the deal is an example of the government's goal to expand and maintain jobs in the province through successful companies.

Keir said today's announcement is good news for the province's entire IT sector.

"Anytime you get an IT company in the province that's expanding with that kind of growth, that quickly, it can only bode well for the entire IT sector," he said.

In 2003, PQA had $254,000 in revenues. By 2008, the company had more than $5 million in revenue, representing a 2,000 per cent increase within a five-year-period.

[gehrhardt]

OK, so let the arena proposals begin!! :banana:

[StormShadow]

I hope the city posts the entire report online to download.

9,000 seats- This is the right size for TODAY. But what about in 10-15 years? I still think 12,000 is what is needed for TOMORROW. 10-15 years ago, a new arena wasn't even on the table and 6,800 was adequate. A lot can happen in 10-15 years.

So far the rest of the report sounds....very predictable? I think we all knew this had to be downtown and there had to be a retail street level component. The building would actually turn a profit- well, no kidding! I'd like to download this thing to find out why it was 2 months late.

In my previous posts, I had said there should be a public square. Good, the reports says so too. At Highfield Sq. I would put it where all of the parking for the Bay is. Fountains, trees, a spot for the poeple who work downtown to take a break, ice skating in the winter. At the Hollis block, Bore Park is already across the street.

No mention of parking. Y'know, I hope this doesn't mean that we are in for another report just to choose a site. Get on with it already!!!!!

[JasonL-Moncton]

9000!?!? That's s-m-a-l-l! Has to be at least 12K for growth.

[mylesmalley]

Let's be realistic here, guys. I agree they probably could have gone for 10 or maybe 11, but there's really no justification yet for an arena that sits 15,000 people. And I'm as much a proponent for building for the future as the rest of you, but it'd be like building a ten lane highway to Saint John because it will be needed in 80 years.

A 9,000 seat stadium will give us significantly more wiggle room than the 6500 seat colliseum. It'll allow for the bigger shows, higher stages etc. And lest we forget that the city has invested heavily in building a number of large entertainment venues. As busy as this city can get, I don't know if we're big enough to justify that much capacity, even in the next 15 years.

I think a lot of people are overlooking optics here. A 15,000 seat stadium that's 40% empty during a hockey game looks embarrassing, however a 9,000 seater with 95% occupancy looks packed and prosperous. Obviously it's a tradeoff, but I think the size they're proposing should be more than adequate for the mid-term future.

Don't forget, there are only 133,000 people here.

[BlackYear]

And if it's built correctly, 9000 seats can be expanded to 11,000 during concerts.

Also, if they think smart and offer 9000 comfortable seats with plenty of leg and arm room, people will come. I avoid going to the Moncton Coliseum for that reason alone. And no, I'm not 6'2 and 275lbs. I'm just an average joe at 5'9.

[mmmatt]

"The building represents a good investment -- if it's downtown," he said, emphasizing it must be downtown. "We know that from other communities."



This sentence made it for me :) they know the score...where were they when the casino proposals were in play.

All in all I think the magic number would have been 10,000 but we will see.

Cant wait to see some proposals!

[MonctonRad]

I agree, 10,000 seats would have been a good size, but at 9,000 seats it will still be the largest facility in the province. I worry though that we will not be "building for the future". We can't go around building a new arena complex every 40 years because we keep on outgrowing it!

The proposal sounds quite positive. I'm a little disappointed that they didn't specify a location but I suppose that would have prejudiced negotiations for land acquisition.

The next several months should be quite interesting. Hopefully the city won't sit on this too long. It might be a whole lot more difficult getting money out of the feds next year!

[mylesmalley]

It might be a whole lot more difficult getting money out of the feds next year!

Contrary to what they're saying in the media, it's no easier to get money out of them now than before the recession hit.

While 80% of it may be 'allocated', I have it on good authority that only 5-7% of the $20bn in stimulus money has actually been spent.

[mylesmalley]

As for locations, I think the Hollis block could be a possibity, but there's no room for the requisite parking structure - unless this becomes a very tall stadium. Behind Assumption would be my choice, but I don't know if there'd be sufficient land there and the high water table might make building a suitable foundation impossible. The beaver lumber lot is big, but it's blighted by the Rogers building and I don't see that being torn down any time soon.

So I guess that more or less the Highfield property is where it's at. You've got ample room for a building, good access to major roads, and the area could use some investment.

[StormShadow]

I agree, 10,000 seats would have been a good size, but at 9,000 seats it will still be the largest facility in the province. I worry though that we will not be "building for the future". We can't go around building a new arena complex every 40 years because we keep on outgrowing it!

Nice post, you have a point. It isn't very "green" is it?

The proposal sounds quite positive. I'm a little disappointed that they didn't specify a location but I suppose that would have prejudiced negotiations for land acquisition.

It doesn't sound like the study addressed very much, why was it 2 months late? So far, there isn't anything groundbreaking to report. I'm really hoping that there is more to it that hasn't come out yet.

The next several months should be quite interesting. Hopefully the city won't sit on this too long. It might be a whole lot more difficult getting money out of the feds next year!

That's what worries me, is this Beaver Lumber part deux?

[mylesmalley]

I know they say they are, but I wonder wether our current council is proactive enough to actually go through with it. They don't exactly give off an aura of unbridled optimism.

[JasonL-Moncton]

I know they say they are, but I wonder wether our current council is proactive enough to actually go through with it. They don't exactly give off an aura of unbridled optimism.

"Most" of our current council are useless and would rather bicker over non-issues than get 'anything' done.

I hope they take the recommendation of 9000 as the 'base minimum' that a new venue should have.

I agree that 15K is a bit large...but go in the middle between 9K and 15K and hit maybe 12K. I firmly believe that a choice to go smaller will be full of regret in the years to come.

JL