The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[mmmatt]

I would agree with MonctonRad...I watched a recent council meeting in which council was presented with the tourism report from Rod Cunningham (very good news report BTW)...and afterward they discussed why we probably wont see new hotel construction for the next couple years. Rod said that the hotel boom Moncton saw in the last few years has never happened in Atlantic Canada before that he is aware of...(Halagonians: Im talking PER CAPITA here :P) and he said that we are doing very well, but its tough to keep vacancy low when you have a flood of new rooms introduced. I'm sure it would have been mentioned if they knew of a new hotel going up downtown.

[Lrdevlop]

@MonctonRad,

My sources are pretty good, although it comes from 3 person far (I know someone who knows the cousin of the developper)...

And mmmat,

You might be right as I have not heard anything from the city or from anyone else, but we can always hope! ;)

Also, does anyone have an idea on what could be those concrete pads with rods for?

[pierremoncton]

I drove by and noticed the concrete pads this morning. It's not exactly at King-Main; it's a bit east of that, just where condos are expected to be built.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Thanks pierre, that's probably it. We also know that Valmond Robichaud plans on starting construction next year, so that fits.

---------------------------------------------------------------

And in other news, my informant Deep Throat has sent me a couple of interesting tidbits of information:

First, the church on St. George that sold (Wesley Memorial United Church) will be demolished to make way for an apartment building. The original buyer intended to convert the existing building but plans fell apart. The new buyer is going to tear it down. Pros and cons to both, I suppose.

Secondly, while Sobeys is unlikely to construct a Magnetic Hill location anytime soon, they DO own a large tract of land via their Empire real estate holding company along Mountain Road just east of the Magnetic Hill Home Hardware....not sure if many are aware of this.

- I'm a bit sad to see Wesley United Church torn down. It's a little non descript in appearance on the outside, but the sanctuary is actually quite nice and the church hall is not that old. It will be a loss.

- Interesting to hear that Sobeys actually owns the land next to the Magnetic Hill Home Hardware. This does lend credence to the rumour of a store out there, but perhaps it won't be built for several years.

[JasonL-Moncton]

They are "tearing down" the Wesley church...arrrgh! :yuck:

Stupid developers...I really am disgusted by some of these guys and their close minded way of thinking. Let's tear down a beautiful, standing structure, that has some culture to it, to erect a "ratbox" for the rats to live so we can suck in globs of money to build more rat boxes...:hell:

I was in Fredericton on the weekend and saw this beautiful old school that had been converted into condos, four stories, gorgeous wrought iron balconies, all brick and stone, gorgeous stone entrance...why, oh why must this city turn into a vinyl siding paradise? :slob:

JL

PS> sorry for the rant but that really pisses me off.

[Lrdevlop]

:previous:

If it's a standard building with only 4 storey and with vinyl siding (like we are used to see lately)....... :slob: :hell: :yuck: ...I will not be happy! :haha:

just where condos are expected to be built.

Right! I forgot about that developpement. I do wish it will turn out like the renders that were posted here a couple of months ago.

[mmmatt]

:previous:

If it's a standard building with only 4 storey and with vinyl siding (like we are used to see lately)....... :slob: :hell: :yuck: ...I will not be happy! :haha:



We have actually seen some really nice ones lately (Royal Oaks Condos, nice brick one on Lewisville Rd., Gauvin Estates, and the new 7 floor one Killam is building nearby from this site...) I vaguely remember the city banning vinyl siding on apartment buildings a while back...I haven't seen one with vinyl in a while, they have all been wood or brick lately.

The problem with this building is that it was church, and unlike the building in Fredericton that Jason mentioned (which I love as well BTW) it is not really easily converted into many common things ie apartments or office space. DancEast is an exception because they can use a former sanctuary as stage space etc. Also while I will be sad to see it go, it is far from a heritage building, we are not talking about the cathedral or Moncton High here by any stretch. Heres hoping it will be a nice development that will compliment the steadily improving area!

:previous:

Right! I forgot about that developpement. I do wish it will turn out like the renders that were posted here a couple of months ago.

I passed by what I think you are talking about today (two small concrete stumps with rebar poking out?) It looks to me like the base for a sign...a billboard perhaps. The condo site is on the lot further east which currently hosts two billboards.

[MonctonRad]

Regarding Wesley Memorial United Church, it would have been difficult to convert to apartments or condos and would have required really extensive renovations. I can understand a developer starting from scratch, but it will really be sad to see it go. I used to attend that church.

I hope that the city will place strict conditions on the developer for this project. This is a prominent corner and deserves a substantial building with good quality building materials. Hopefully the building will be just as nice as the proposed Killam project further down St. George. If Wesley has to go, it deserves to be replaced by a building with some class and substance. Ground floor retail would be a definite bonus! :yes:

I think a major story here is the accelerating densification of the downtown of the city, especially around St. George Street. As more and more people choose to live in this neighbourhood, this will encourage more neighbourhood services and perhaps specialty shops and quality restaurants.

I'm beginning to have high hopes for St. George. Perhaps it will become Moncton's second Main Street after all. :tup:

[pierremoncton]

Re Wesley Church: There are so many decrepit eyesores on and around St George St that I assume would be much cheaper to purchase and demolish (the church's assessment is $1.2MM). That bakery shack by the old fire station, JD's garage... and I started looking through Google Maps to refresh my memory and realized there are too many that look like crap to list them all (though many host successful businesses).

Maybe this will lead to some protests akin to the tree cutting outrage a while back. mmmatt is right in saying it's not a heritage property (I checked), but perhaps the city ought to consider adding a few more buildings to the bylaw before others disappear.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Yes, well I'm sure one of the reasons that the Wesley property would have been attractive to a developer is that it occupies a substantial footprint and therefore allows a substantial development without the delay and uncertainty caused by trying to consolidate a bunch of adjacent properties. This really is a ready made development site.

The size of this property actually makes me optimistic for a substantial development, hopefully brick and steel, underground parking, at least 6-8 stories and with ground floor retail.

Only time will tell however.....

[pierremoncton]

You're probably right.

I just found the listing: http://www.remaxnb.ca/listings.asp?id=5111

Though it's assessed at $1.2 million, it's "for sale" (not marked as sold yet) for $495k.

It's listed as being 120 years old, so I'm surprised that it's not protected by the heritage bylaw.

[NBNYer]

Re Wesley Church: There are so many decrepit eyesores on and around St George St that I assume would be much cheaper to purchase and demolish (the church's assessment is $1.2MM). That bakery shack by the old fire station, JD's garage... and I started looking through Google Maps to refresh my memory and realized there are too many that look like crap to list them all (though many host successful businesses).

Maybe this will lead to some protests akin to the tree cutting outrage a while back. mmmatt is right in saying it's not a heritage property (I checked), but perhaps the city ought to consider adding a few more buildings to the bylaw before others disappear.

:previous:

Yes, well I'm sure one of the reasons that the Wesley property would have been attractive to a developer is that it occupies a substantial footprint and therefore allows a substantial development without the delay and uncertainty caused by trying to consolidate a bunch of adjacent properties. This really is a ready made development site.
.

I think there are few hints that this might be a substantial development (ie, larger than the ubiquitous, vinyl-sided, cheap, 4 story boxes). 1. The cost of the property and the added expense of tearing down a substantial building for the purpose of rent/condo would require a larger return on investment, therefore: more units, higher quality. 2. another large development (Killam prop.) nearby suggests that it has likely now become profitable to go larger in that area of the city. 3. Given the location; ground floor retail would not surprise me, just as is planned at the killam property development.

[C_Boy]

Minacs to add employees
Published Friday December 2nd, 2011
A3Times & Transcript Staff


A global business solutions company with a call centre based in Riverview announced they will be hiring 150 new employees.

With the result and growth in scope of work as Aditya Birla Minacs, subsidiary of Aditya Birla Nuvo, further deepens these client relationships, the company now plans to add another 150 employees at its delivery centre in Moncton well into the new year.

Minacs has especially developed the Moncton centre as a banking centre of excellence, drawing on over 10 years of partnerships with several banks, especially in the retail baking space. The solutions delivered from this location include not only voice-based customer relationship management services, but also back office processing for banking clients.

There are already over 700 people working there.

[ErickMontreal]

:: Cobalt Properties -Dieppe::

7-story Office/Retail

http://www.cobaltproperties.ca/files/Champlain_St_Dieppe_NB.pdf

[MonctonRad]

:: Cobalt Properties -Dieppe::

7-story Office/Retail

http://www.cobaltproperties.ca/files/Champlain_St_Dieppe_NB.pdf

Thanks for the link Erick, glad to see you still popping in from time to time. :)

This is kind of an odd location for a seven storey office/commercial building. It's right behind the Irving on Champlain St. across from the mall.

I presume this is just a proposal, but if it ever gets built, this could serve as an impetus to further extending and improving Paul St. to the south of Champlain.....

[mylesmalley]

That's an interesting location for that type of development, but not really that surprising. Cobalt Properties is the real-estate arm of Irving Oil, IIRC. That's prime real estate which they likely already own. I expect it would require some adjustments to Paul Street, because it's only two-way until up to just before the end of the gas station parking lot.

If it actually happens soon, It'd be Dieppe's tallest building. Looks like the condos on Gauvin won't hold the crown for all that long!

[JasonL-Moncton]

You're probably right.

I just found the listing: http://www.remaxnb.ca/listings.asp?id=5111

Though it's assessed at $1.2 million, it's "for sale" (not marked as sold yet) for $495k.

It's listed as being 120 years old, so I'm surprised that it's not protected by the heritage bylaw.

If it truly is 120 years old...it should be, I thought. What's the parameters for a heritage property?

[MonctonRad]

If it truly is 120 years old...it should be, I thought. What's the parameters for a heritage property?

There coincidentally is an article on Wesley Memorial United Church in today's T&T. This has nothing to do with the building's impending demise. I don't think the paper has discovered this fact yet.

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/lifetimes/article/1460547

The congregation was founded and the original church building was constructed on that site in 1891 (120 years ago).

The current church was constructed in 1928 (89 years ago). It's interesting to note that Northrup Frye himself laid some of the brickwork. :)

The church hall was added in 1955.

[pierremoncton]

If it truly is 120 years old...it should be, I thought. What's the parameters for a heritage property?

Fittingly, there's an article in the T&T on the church today: Construction began on Wesley Memorial in 1891 (http://www.canadaeast.com/rss/article/1460547)

The last sentence reads: Today the future of the Wesley Memorial Church building is under discussion and it is available for new development.

The heritage bylaw is available here (http://www.moncton.ca/Assets/Residents+English/By-Laws/Z-1102+-+Heritage+By-law.pdf) and lists all designated properties, but it doesn't state guidelines, so I assume that the city just hand-picked them.

EDIT: I was too slow to post. MonctonRad beats me to it and corrects me on the age of the building at the same time!

--

Cobalt Properties is the real-estate arm of Irving Oil, IIRC. That's prime real estate which they likely already own. I expect it would require some adjustments to Paul Street, because it's only two-way until up to just before the end of the gas station parking lot.

110,000 sq ft is 1/3 the space of Blue Cross, where 1,200 people work. So an extra ~400 workers (plus visitors) at Champlain/Paul... I think there's already enough congestion as is. Moncton and Dieppe should really be pushing public transpo.

Would an expansion of Paul St east of Champlain really be an option anyway? First, it's all marshland, and, second, it would only connect back to Acadie via Virginia (which is very narrow -- not even room for sidewalks), where southbound turns (from the east) are disallowed due to heavy traffic.

[mmmatt]

:: Cobalt Properties -Dieppe::

7-story Office/Retail

http://www.cobaltproperties.ca/files/Champlain_St_Dieppe_NB.pdf

I Will echo and say that is a very odd location for this type of construction...I would much rather it be on Assomption blvd, downtown Dieppe or even closer to Chateau Moncton (like on the corner of King and Main for example) but hey its 7 floors, I'm not gonna complain no matter where it is!

It makes sense that Irving would want to capitalize on this unused land...and for the time being I will place this into the "most likely wont happen for a few years" pile. Not to be a downer but the pdf has no renders and makes it sound like a "build to suit" type of property aka if a company approaches and wants some space they will build it for them.

Perhaps in 30 years the high density "main street" will continue all the way from Vaughn Harvey to Downtown Dieppe...we can dream!

[q12]

Brunswick News to charge for online content

December 2, 2011 - 6:23pm By BRETT BUNDALE Business Reporter

Brunswick News Inc., the Irving-owned news chain with a near-monopoly on print media in New Brunswick, is slated to launch a revamped website Monday that will charge users for content.

The publishing company will put the online edition of its 19 newspapers — 10 French-language weeklies, six English-language weeklies and three English-language dailies — behind a pay wall.

Rob Warner, editor-in-chief of Brunswick News, said all news content will now come at a cost to readers.

“It will differ from other pay walls, which allow a certain number of stories to be read by individuals,” he said in an interview from Saint John on Friday.

“It’s a hard pay wall, and beyond that I can’t say too much.

Read more here:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/38844-brunswick-news-charge-online-content

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Well that's unfortunate.

This means that in the future when something interesting is spotted in the paper, instead of copying it here and/or providing a link, we will be paraphrasing and making statements such as "I read in the T&T today that...."

The information will still get out but risks being a little less accurate in the translation and will be a lot less rich. I guess I'll have to browse News91.9 and CBC.ca more often.....

I really don't think this will make any money for Brunswick News. I buy the paper at the newsstand every day and would be rather disinclined to also pay for an online subscription. I'm sure most people would be like me. Why pay for the same thing twice?

I feel sorry for ex-pats who keep in touch with what's going on at home by reading online. :(

[porchmouse]

A few weeks ago there was discussion about UPS offering direct delivery services here in Moncton and Halifax and we were speculating what that would look like moving forward as far as jobs are concerned.

As someone who regularly checks out the various job sites, all I can say is here we go....

Yesterday the following positions were posted for UPS in Moncton:
On Car Supervisor, Feed Supervisor, Package Handler, Automotive Fleet Supervisor, TSG Technician, Security Associate, and Hub Supervisor.

Check it out below. Great news for Moncton!
http://www.eluta.ca/search?order=rank&q=&l=moncton

Cheers,

[MonctonRad]

Well, given the little missive that q12 gleefully posted on our thread, this will likely be the last direct quote from the sleuth to be posted on here for some time....

Starbucks poised to expand Metro Moncton empire?

A certain shopaholic sherlock of your spymaster's acquaintance says there's news of special interest to coffee-loving columnist Brian Cormier and others of like mind, especially those who adore complicated coffee orders.

Overheard by Mall Rat at a nearby shopping mecca is a plot brewing to establish several new Starbucks outlets in the Metro area right smartly. Word has it the left coast-based worldwide coffee octopus is spreading its tasty tentacles in at least three directions from its coffee capital around the Champlain Place/Crystal Palace complex, which is currently home to Metro's only two outlets. The Rat says the first tentacle will land somewhere in the neighbourhood of Trinity Power Centre and all three new locations will be free-standing shops.

Let my people go

More news on the mall front comes from hard-working store clerk Exodus, who predicts shoppers will soon notice a mass departure of locally owned and operated stores from Champlain Place because the giant mall now wants to deal exclusively with national chains.

Your spymaster sent out an APB on this one, however, and got mixed if not downright confusing results. Business-like blabbermouth Bean Counter says it's true some local stores are indeed leaving but are not actually being cast out of Eden; rather a long-standing 'local store subsidy' offered by CP is either ending or being altered this year, which means rents might be going up, which means some businesses are going down the road. Spy Central now seeks input on who they are, and where they're going.

All things bright

But some local stores at CP are not only hanging in but moving deeper, if we are to believe a report from Crow's Nest, who says her favourite store in all the world has big plans at Champlain. What on Earth - which features the jewelry of many a Maritime artist such as famed Fredericton-based artisan Trudy Gallagher - has been on an exodus of its own in recent years having moved from a kiosk near CP's food court to similar digs near the Wal-Mart entrance. Now, says our bird with an eye for all things sparkly, Ms. Gallagher and the gang have done so well that What on Earth is looking to move from the kiosk into regular store space. Your spymaster wrings his hands with woe, blessed as he is with an all-female cast at home who share our snitch's taste for the shinier things in life and keeps him plenty broke at Christmastime.

personal notes:

- three new Starbucks. Well, that is interesting. I wonder where they will go? The Sleuth alludes to the power centre area. One of the buildings in the map of the Mapleton Centre development had a drive-thru. I imagine that this would be it. As for the other two, I imagine one downtown would be a given. My vote would be for the empty lot where the bikers successfully set off their fire bomb a decade ago. We know that the developer has something in the works for that spot. As for the last one, that's more debatable but I have thought in the past that drowsy gamblers out at the casino at Magnetic Hill might like some high end java in order to keep themselves juiced.
- I'm not surprised that Champlain would end their local store subsidy. There are national retailers lined up for space at the mall. It will be interesting to see who is waiting in the wings (Banana Republic & Victorias Secret anyone?). It will be interesting to also see where the local retailers decamp to.

[q12]

New Brunswick only province to see negative job growth

Published Saturday December 3rd, 2011

By CODI WILSON
Canadaeast News Service

The latest employment rates released by Statistics Canada on Friday reveal New Brunswick is the only province to experience negative growth since the employment trough in July 2009.

The province has experienced an employment decline of 8,000 or 2.3 per cent since the trough.

New Brunswick's unemployment rate rose to 9.8 per cent in November, up from 9.4 in October.

The most significant loss of employment in November was in Quebec, which lost approximately 31,000 jobs, and Saskatchewan.

New Brunswick lost 1,700 jobs in November, with the hardest hit in the manufacturing sector, with a loss of 1,100.

Read more here: http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/gleaner/article/1461066

Here is another article that doesn't paint a very good economic picture for New Brunswick unfortunately. Seems like an odd time to try and force people to pay to read the news online.

[MonctonRad]

As usual q12, you are a purveyor of negative news to this thread (and any thread connected to NB). If I didn't know any better, I would think you had something against us. :)

[mylesmalley]

Maybe we shouldn't be so damn quick to break out the pitch forks and bullhorns when potential new industries come to town.

There, I said it.

[MonctonRad]

Maybe we shouldn't be so damn quick to break out the pitch forks and bullhorns when potential new industries come to town.

There, I said it.

Are we referring to hydrofracking? :haha:

[q12]

As usual q12, you are a purveyor of negative news to this thread (and any thread connected to NB). If I didn't know any better, I would think you had something against us. :)

I just found that on the New Brunswick news service website and thought it was relevant. As you stated this weekend would probably be your last chance to post online news from that service. ;)

On a positive note about Starbucks, I would really enjoy a drive-thru location easily accessed from the Trans-Canada Highway when travelling through the Moncton area. :tup:

[mylesmalley]

Are we referring to hydrofracking? :haha:

Hydrofracking doesn't even scratch the surface. We've decided we don't want to take anything out of the ground. We've decided we don't want to actually build anything. We say we like tourists, but we don't actually mean it. We say we want jobs but we never stop criticizing every action of some companies, both internal and external. We say we want the government to do a better job of economic development, but nothing they is ever actually good enough. We want highways and hospitals and community colleges in every two-bit town but nobody wants to pay for it. We complain we're stuck in dying industries but that it isn't fair for us to have to change. We work hard until something potentially big comes along and then we're content to sit back and let the world take care of us.

Before someone thinks it, I'm not saying we should burn the land and boil the sea to squeeze out every penny of natural resources. But this province is full of smart people. Where are the innovators standing up and saying that we can learn from the mistakes of others and try something new? Do we hate change and progress so much that we're willing to drag the people who want to climb higher back down so that we can all be miserable together?

Don't think I'm being alarmist, either. We're already in godawful financial straights and we haven't even begun to feel the real effects of the baby boom. Every month we get more news like that latest jobs report. Sometimes they say we're improving, but if you actually look into them, I daresay 100 jobs at Starbucks don't replace 100 jobs at a manufacturing company. But who's gonna do something about it? Certainly not us. Thats the government and corporations jobs. But oh wait, we hate the government and damn the fat cats!

[JHikka]

Maybe we shouldn't be so damn quick to break out the pitch forks and bullhorns when potential new industries come to town.


Pretty much this.

Don't think I'm being alarmist, either. We're already in godawful financial straights and we haven't even begun to feel the real effects of the baby boom. Every month we get more news like that latest jobs report. Sometimes they say we're improving, but if you actually look into them, I daresay 100 jobs at Starbucks don't replace 100 jobs at a manufacturing company.

I tried saying something similar in the SJ thread and got chased out. :haha: We can all agree that retail stores are good additions, but they can't be used to replace heavy industry. We can sit around and pat each other on the back for being innovative and creative but at the end of the day we need to open our eyes and realize where this province is heading and what we need to do to alleviate our current problems. As one of the oldest provinces in Canada, we're going to feel the pinch of the baby boom difficulty more than others.

[macas539]

I agree 100% on our economic situation. Every time the government of this province tries to come up with a way to make us some money and potentially improve the province's financial status, all the NIMBYS come out of the woodwork ready to tar and feather whatever industry is trying to set up shop here out of town. Case and point hydrofracking and shale gas. There is a huge potential for the province to actualy make some money off this. But because of misinformation and hearsay about the potential risks everyone is up in arms about it.

People here just need to give new things a chance. If A broken economy is what New Brunswickers want, then keep on opposing change and solutions that seem different. But if NB Stays on this course the financial situation here is only going to worsen and people will start to leave the province in search of better opportunities. Is it really any wonder NB can't really attract that many newcomers? Who wants to live in a broken "have not" province when you dont have to?

Just my two cents...

[mylesmalley]

My last post had an awfully negative tone. I don't want to give the impression that I think we're a sinking ship. There are some real bright spots in this province and some great things happening. It just kills me to see a province with so much potential for greatness languishing away because of our propensity to bite at every hand that tries to help us up.

[riverviewer]

Perhaps keeping New Brunswick as a pristine haven province will pay-off in the future when industry has destroyed all other ecosystems. Until then though, everyone must accept that our hospitals and schools, though better than many in the world, will be worse off than other provinces.

[MonctonRad]

As usual, the proper course of action probably resides in the middle ground.

regarding hydrofracking, there is certainly a lot of uninformed hysteria out there amongst the general populace about this practice. It is a generally safe procedure. Despite this, horror stories do exist. They should be taken into consideration.

On the radio this morning, I listened to some fellow who demanded an absolute guarantee from the gas industry representative that his well water would not be contaminated. Of course the representative could not give this guarantee, catastrophes do happen despite the best intentions of everyone involved.

It would be a bit like a patient demanding an absolute guarantee from me that nothing will go wrong when I do a lumbar myelogram on him. I have done well over a thousand myelograms in my career and to my knowledge have never had a significant adverse event, but anytime you stick a needle into somebodies spinal canal there is some risk. There is even the risk that I could paralyse someone. The risk is small, it has never happened to any of my patients, but the risk is there and thus an absolute guarantee cannot be issued. To give such a guarantee would risk medicolegal consequences. You therefore have to explain the risks of the procedure and also the risks of not doing the procedure and then let the patient make the decision. Most people are reasonable and rationale and understanding.

Unfortunately, a lot of the antifrackers are unreasonable and hysteric. There is nothing that you can say or do to appease them. Even if the risk was one in a million of anything going wrong, the risk would still be too high. Unreasonable people such as this should be ignored.

Nevertheless, you have to manage risk and benefit. To decrease the risk, I propose that initial shale gas development occur only in uninhabited or low population density areas of the province, well away from towns and agricultural areas. This would allow the gas industry to prove the safety of their practices and might help to settle the nerves of the citizenry. Let's roll this thing out slowly.

There's no question that the province needs the money but gas prices right now are rock bottom, mostly because shale gas development elsewhere in the continent has flooded the market. Perhaps it would be wiser to hold off on full bore exploitation of this resource until the market price for natural gas has recovered somewhat.

In the meantime, lets carry on with development of low risk areas of reserve so that we can get some monies into the provincial coffers and prove to the citizenry that not everyone in the gas industry has cloven hooves, forked tails and pointed ears. :)

[mylesmalley]

You're absolutely right, MonctonRad. My point is that we're foolish to at least not try new things, but we certainly can be and need to be smart about whatever we do.

As for expecting an absolute guarantee... there's just no such thing. I'm sure you get this type of thing all the time, MonctonRad, but it seems humans have an incredibly bad sense of scale and proportion. We'll worry when someone tells us there's a 1% risk of complications, but we don't worry ten times as much when the risk is 10%. Which brings me back to my earlier point about how dire our financial situation is.

I honestly don't think most people realize the scale of the problem here. As evidence, I like to point out that the number of articles about MLA pensions and salaries seem to outnumber deficit-related ones ten to one. Now I'm not taking a position on that issue because it's far too complicated and tangential to this post, but it's a good comparison. If we cut back on salaries and pensions for MLAs, we might save $2-3 million a year. But that's less than 1% of the total deficit. I understand people are angry, but where's the proportional anger or determination to find fixes for the much larger problem? People just seem to have a natural tendency to blow things out of proportion.

Taking it back to fracking, it won't fix all our problems. Not even close. But if we can be intelligent about it and go about it in the right way, it would be a good first start.

[mylesmalley]

Perhaps keeping New Brunswick as a pristine haven province will pay-off in the future when industry has destroyed all other ecosystems. Until then though, everyone must accept that our hospitals and schools, though better than many in the world, will be worse off than other provinces.

That's a tricky stand to take.

If we're currently a 'pristine' place, how do we do it and still heavily clearcut forests, mine in the north and south, have ports, airports and a refinery. Hell, we have cities that eat up a couple hundred acres of land a year just in their own growth. We love highways. We're happy to have the major transportation sector we have. And lest we forget agriculture.

[pierremoncton]

Unfortunately, a lot of the antifrackers are unreasonable and hysteric. There is nothing that you can say or do to appease them. Even if the risk was one in a million of anything going wrong, the risk would still be too high. Unreasonable people such as this should be ignored.


I don't think that's fair. You wouldn't force an epidural or myelogram on someone who refuses it, even if the patient understands that the risk is negligible. When it comes to shared resources, we can't really ignore those who vehemently oppose this type of development, even if the risk is small, especially when they're the ones who live nearby and would be the ones most-impacted by any bad turn of events.

Thankfully, you've never had to deal with a mistake that cost someone's life (or equivalent), and you hopefully never will have to. I'm sure you'd regret it, even if it happened only once. But it does happen to some people, so you explain the risks and show them a waiver, and you wait until they sign it, or you move on. I'm sure that BP never wished for nor expected the oil spill a couple of years ago (and that's just one amongst many), but the ones who have to deal with the real consequences are not the executives; they're regular folk.

John Doe might be aware that windfalls for the province (and perhaps himself directly if he sells some of his land) are great if we proceed with fracking, but if he feels that the infinitesimal risk is not worth the potential profit, that neither makes him crazy nor does it invalidate his opinion.

Personally, I'd rather not see fracking here, but I'm not strongly opposed to it. What does concern me is that some out-of-province company comes here, tests without proper permission from Sussex and the province, all in order to save $60,000. So what happens when they stand to lose a few million dollars just to cover some other low-risk technicality? Nothing the first couple of times, and no-one notices. Then something bad happens, they pick up their shit and disappear, John Doe's life is upside-down, and taxpayers are stuck with the clean-up bill.

What does our environment minister does about the Sussex thing? He barks and pretends to care, then quietly submits the file to the RCMP to get it off his desk and avoid actually having to bite. Some people might be opposed to this type of development no matter what, but I think that, at this point, we can neither trust the province to regulate this properly, nor can the companies be trusted to comply.

I'm a Green-voting, bike-riding veganish liberal commie pinko, so, by default, I'm always idealistically opposed to anything that messes up flowers and ant hills. But even from a more realistic, practical viewpoint, I oppose fracking (for the time being) partly due to ignorance, but mostly due to a lack of trust in our government, in the industry, and in the all-prevailing privatized-profit, socialized-risk scheme. We may be nuts, but we live here and pay taxes too (at least I do -- who knows about those other hippies).

By the way, I'm not angered by your comment; just adding my own long-winded thoughts.

[MonctonRad]

I'm a Green-voting, bike-riding veganish liberal commie pinko, so, by default, I'm always idealistically opposed to anything that messes up flowers and ant hills. But even from a more realistic, practical viewpoint, I oppose fracking (for the time being) partly due to ignorance, but mostly due to a lack of trust in our government, in the industry, and in the all-prevailing privatized-profit, socialized-risk scheme. We may be nuts, but we live here and pay taxes too (at least I do -- who knows about those other hippies).

By the way, I'm not angered by your comment; just adding my own long-winded thoughts.

No offence taken. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and should have the freedom to express it. :)

I always thought you were slightly to the left of me on the political spectrum. :D

Let's see....

You - Green voting
Me - a natural Tory (but a red one), I did vote Green once as a protest vote.

You - Bike riding
Me - I do own a bike but I really like my BMW.

You - Veganish
Me - definite omnivore, although I really don't eat much red meat. I find Cafe Calactus interesting.

You - liberal commie pinko
Me - I think you exagerate too much. :haha:

[MonctonRad]

Well, q12's deadline has come and there is no hard paywall on the T&T site yet.... :)

Abridged from today's T&T
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1461296

Peace Centre tenants move in
Published Monday December 5th, 2011

Non-profit organizations have new opportunities to collaborate
By Eric Lewis
Times & Transcript Staff

The Community Peace Centre might not be complete yet, but many of its anchor tenants have moved in over the last few weeks and more are gearing up for a move between now and February.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=720183&size=500x0
VIKTOR PIVOVAROV/TIMES & TRANSCR
This will be the future atrium connecting the new building to the church.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=720185&size=500x0
VIKTOR PIVOVAROV/TIMES & TRANSCR
This photo shows part of the rear of the complex.

The downtown Moncton centre, which is connected to Central United Church at the corner of Queen and Church streets, will house many of the city's key non-profit organizations all under one roof, providing Moncton with a one-stop shop for community services.

"We're starting our eighth year of developing this concept for the community," said Annette Vautour-MacKay, chair of the Community Peace Centre board of directors, "and we believe that being under one roof will assist the people that we serve and the community at large to access services more readily and to learn more about the work that we do in the community, that we are the social fabric of the community."

Vautour-MacKay, who is also executive director of the Volunteer Centre of Southeastern New Brunswick, said having many non-profits under one roof will allow for more collaboration between them and for finding efficiencies in providing services.

There is still work to be done, but the centre is beginning to bustle with activity.

The project, which received a land donation from the city and from Central United Church, along with grants from the federal and provincial governments, will cost more than $9 million when all is said and done.

When completed, the centre will house a total of 80,000-square feet of office and community space. The interior of the building, while still under construction, is a fascinating mix of old and new - much of one outside stone wall of Central United Church is inside the peace centre, blending older construction with a modern build.

Vautour-MacKay is quick to point out that since the church is a heritage building, the centre had to be carefully planned and constructed to meet various requirements.

On the ground floor will eventually be a year-round garden and out back will be a play area to be shared by the on-site daycare kids and children of parents taking courses through the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area.

There will be a cafeteria and catering service, along with a teaching kitchen that will provide employment to people who have barriers that keep them from getting jobs.

[JasonL-Moncton]

Brunswick News to charge for online content

December 2, 2011 - 6:23pm By BRETT BUNDALE Business Reporter

Brunswick News Inc., the Irving-owned news chain with a near-monopoly on print media in New Brunswick, is slated to launch a revamped website Monday that will charge users for content.

The publishing company will put the online edition of its 19 newspapers — 10 French-language weeklies, six English-language weeklies and three English-language dailies — behind a pay wall.

Rob Warner, editor-in-chief of Brunswick News, said all news content will now come at a cost to readers.

“It will differ from other pay walls, which allow a certain number of stories to be read by individuals,” he said in an interview from Saint John on Friday.

“It’s a hard pay wall, and beyond that I can’t say too much.

Read more here:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/38844-brunswick-news-charge-online-content

Well...guess that's the end of reading CanadaEast for me...(take note Brunswick News)...this will very likely drive their readership down even further, unfortunate.

[NBNYer]

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=720185&size=500x0
VIKTOR PIVOVAROV/TIMES & TRANSCR
This photo shows part of the rear of the complex.


the atrium is nice, but that sure is some ugly cladding :yuck:

Hope the street side isn't like this...is it?

[OliverD]

Hydrofracking doesn't even scratch the surface. We've decided we don't want to take anything out of the ground. We've decided we don't want to actually build anything. We say we like tourists, but we don't actually mean it. We say we want jobs but we never stop criticizing every action of some companies, both internal and external. We say we want the government to do a better job of economic development, but nothing they is ever actually good enough. We want highways and hospitals and community colleges in every two-bit town but nobody wants to pay for it. We complain we're stuck in dying industries but that it isn't fair for us to have to change. We work hard until something potentially big comes along and then we're content to sit back and let the world take care of us.

Before someone thinks it, I'm not saying we should burn the land and boil the sea to squeeze out every penny of natural resources. But this province is full of smart people. Where are the innovators standing up and saying that we can learn from the mistakes of others and try something new? Do we hate change and progress so much that we're willing to drag the people who want to climb higher back down so that we can all be miserable together?

Don't think I'm being alarmist, either. We're already in godawful financial straights and we haven't even begun to feel the real effects of the baby boom. Every month we get more news like that latest jobs report. Sometimes they say we're improving, but if you actually look into them, I daresay 100 jobs at Starbucks don't replace 100 jobs at a manufacturing company. But who's gonna do something about it? Certainly not us. Thats the government and corporations jobs. But oh wait, we hate the government and damn the fat cats!

Agree 100%; I couldn't have said it better myself. There's two things I've noticed about most New Brunswickers in the 12 years I've lived here:

- A defeatist attitude about our economic plight and little willingness to stray from the status quo.
- A deep-seated distrust if not hatred of the major corporations in New Brunswick

These attitudes are incredibly destructive and certainly contribute to the perception that some western Canadians have of NB as a backwater province. We can't be shocked that some people think of us this way.

[OliverD]

I don't think that's fair. You wouldn't force an epidural or myelogram on someone who refuses it, even if the patient understands that the risk is negligible. When it comes to shared resources, we can't really ignore those who vehemently oppose this type of development, even if the risk is small, especially when they're the ones who live nearby and would be the ones most-impacted by any bad turn of events.

The problem is, I am willing to bet that the majority of people that are against fracking are not adequately informed about the issue.

[jimmyjack]

Don't think I'm being alarmist, either. We're already in godawful financial straights and we haven't even begun to feel the real effects of the baby boom.

I wonder if the $5+ BILLION that could have been generated from an NB Power sale would help with this?

Jimmy


p.s. I was told over a year ago, by someone who actually works with Robert on a daily basis, that Irving has purchased Highfield Square. Anyone else heard this?

[Lrdevlop]

:previous:

I did hear that rumor several times and it was previously discussed here a couple of times. I checked Crombie REIT (the company who owns or used to own the Highfield square) website and for the Highfield, it says that they manage it. If you look at another of their propriety for example Vaughan Harvey Plaza, it says: owned and managed by Crombie REIT. Like I said, the: owned by Crombie REIT is not present on the Highfield Square's page. So I suppose it might have been sold.

[JHikka]

p.s. I was told over a year ago, by someone who actually works with Robert on a daily basis, that Irving has purchased Highfield Square. Anyone else heard this?

Would this have anything to do re:Wildcats?

[MonctonRad]

the atrium is nice, but that sure is some ugly cladding :yuck:

Hope the street side isn't like this...is it?

Sadly they used the same cladding on the front of the Peace Centre. :(.

The best that can be said is that the front of the building looks slightly less utilitarian than the back. I suppose that, when you consider that this was a relatively inexpensive ($9M) project that was built without really high architectural expectations, it could have turned out worse.....

-----------------------------------------------------------

In other news, I was down in Sackville today and snapped a couple of pictures of their new town hall complex, which is now nearing completion.

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z411/MonctonRad/Snapbucket/Moncton%20Construction%202011/b94da040.jpg

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z411/MonctonRad/Snapbucket/Moncton%20Construction%202011/402df33b.jpg

This is a surprisingly sharp looking building given the fact that the town is not quite 6,000 people (of course Mount Allison University would contribute significantly to the tax base).

The town hall complex will include the civic offices, town and regional RCMP and the fire hall. I believe the town library will also be in the complex.

[mylesmalley]

The Peace Centre isn't a gorgeous building, but it does the job. I've been through a couple times and seen the conceptual plans and they're doing a great job integrating it with the church. Bear in mind that the tenants are all non-profits, charities and social-development-type government agencies, so they wouldn't exactly be in the market for triple-A commercial real estate.

Considering the value of in-filling that block on the aesthetic of that part of downtown and the benefit to the community of having all of these services located in one central location, I don't mind it being a little drab.

[MonctonRad]

Northrup Frye Fest plans sculpture of literary icon
CBC News Posted: Dec 5, 2011 11:27 AM AT
Last Updated: Dec 5, 2011 5:10 PM AT

Dawn Arnold said a bronze sculpture of Northrup Frye will help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the literary giant's birth. The Northrup Frye Literary Festival is planning to create a bronze sculpture of the Moncton-born literary giant. Heritage Canada has awarded the festival with $25,000 to help with the project.

Arnold said the project is going ahead even though more money still needs to be raised.

It will be a life-size piece of public art, depicting Frye sitting on a park bench, reading a book.

“The vision is that he'd be sitting there, people, visitors will come to our town and get their picture taken beside him, kids can climb on his head,” Arnold said.

“I mean it would be a solid, enduring presence.”

The Frye Festival is accepting tenders for the sculpture until Dec. 21 and it hopes to unveil the sculpture by next July.

Arnold said the project is important to honouring one of the city’s most famous citizens.

“I just really believe that public art is vital to living in a community, it makes it livable and enhances it in so many ways,” Arnold said.

“So I feel very confident that Monctonians will step up and help us out with this because you know he was a very famous Monctonian.”

personal note - on the CBC Radio interview this morning, Dawn Arnold mentioned that the statue would be situated someplace close to the Moncton Public Library. This is a good news item. Moncton needs more public art! :tup:

[mylesmalley]

I was thinking about that statue today, and it reminded me of all the monuments around Parliament Hill. Wouldn't it be neat to have the park along the river adorned with statues or other pieces of public art? We've already got a few things... the fountain at Bore Park, the Cenotaph, those weird guillotine things just on the Dieppe side of Halls Creek. It would be cool to have statues and other things fairly regularly spaced from the walking bridge to the Press Club.

[JasonL-Moncton]

Just had lunch at Montana's and there is a crazy amount of activity going on at the new Mapleton retail 'expansion'. The building backing on to Mapleton the walls are actually being erected today, the floor/footings have all been redone, and that massive mound of dirt that was next to the Wheeler off ramp is completely gone (and more).

:tup:

[MonctonRad]

from today's T&T
http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/transcript/article/1461943

Upturn in activity boosts Major Drilling results
Published Wednesday December 7th, 2011
by codi wilson
Telegraph-journal

Major Drilling Group's second quarter results show record quarterly revenue and solid demand for fiscal 2012.

At the end of the fiscal quarter on Oct. 31, Moncton-based Major Drilling revenue increased 65 per cent to $213.9 million, up from $127.8 million at the end of the same quarter last year.

Net income increased to $31.6 million from $11.3 million.

"Despite the current economic environment, our industry has not shown signs of a slowdown to this point," Francis McGuire, president and CEO of Major Drilling, said during a conference call. "Most commodity prices are at relatively high levels while many of our customers are in a much better financial position than they were three years ago."

McGuire noted that he expects continued growth despite entering into what is often the weakest quarter of the year.

"Mining and exploration companies shut down, often for extended periods over the holiday season," he said. "Weather can also play an important role in affecting operations during this period and beyond.

"Typically, revenue can be reduced by a third because of these factors. Margins are also affected as we mobilize crews in and out for the holidays and as we carry out our annual repair schedules," McGuire said.

"Looking at the balance of fiscal 2012, assuming that customers continue with their stated plans, we should see continuing growth. Our ongoing efforts for training and recruitment should allow our global utilization rates to continue to improve as each month goes by and as we add more drillers."

Recruitment and training remains to be the company's greatest challenge, the CEO said.

"The shortage of experienced drill crews will put added pressure on labour costs and productivity as well," he said.

"Our biggest operational challenge continues to be the shortage of labour."

Michael Mills, a chartered financial analyst with Beacon Securities Ltd., said the company's quarter was better than he had forecast.

"It was a very strong quarter," Mills said. "It was the best quarter they have ever had in terms of sales and earnings."

"It really reflects the strength of the entire sector right now. Major is certainly benefitting from the acquisition of Bradley Group."

Major Drilling acquired Bradley Group, a drilling company based in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., at the end of September for $80 million.

Mills predicts that Major Drilling could be taking in a billion dollars annually by the end of fiscal 2013.

"(It) would make them a pretty illustrious company in terms of Atlantic Canadian companies that do north of a billion dollars in revenue," he said.

personal note - If Major Drilling is on the verge of becoming a billion dollar company, they really need to build a new office building and world HQ downtown!! :)

[Mattyyy]

I noticed that there's a decent amount of survey work going on today on Robinson - from the corner of Robinson/Main all the way down to Oulton's. Considering the condition of the street perhaps there are some future development plans, or of course this may just be regular survey work.. :)

[JasonL-Moncton]

This is sad...we don't need developers like this...

Gagnon said he doesn't want to disturb wildlife, but he has to control the environment on his land.

"That's my land, I'm responsible, I've done what I have to do," he said. "And if they don't like it, that's no problem to me."

"Maybe next year a bunch of beavers will come in and start again and I will have to do the same thing. That's what I'm prepared to do because I have to."

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1461922

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/05/11/nb-wetland-protection.html

http://country94news.blogspot.com/2011/05/coon-blasts-blaney-over-wetlands.html

I understand he had to 'protect' his interests, but there have to be better ways...

[MonctonRad]

I noticed that there's a decent amount of survey work going on today on Robinson - from the corner of Robinson/Main all the way down to Oulton's. Considering the condition of the street perhaps there are some future development plans, or of course this may just be regular survey work.. :)

Well, considering that Oulton's is building a new campus up on the corner of Flanders Court and War Veteran Avenue, there might be something afoot.....

[JasonL-Moncton]

Apparently there is a "Japanese Restaurant" moving in to the vacant location across from the Marriott (front of the Pump House Building) according to the building permit in the window.

JL

[MonctonRad]

Apparently there is a "Japanese Restaurant" moving in to the vacant location across from the Marriott (front of the Pump House Building) according to the building permit in the window.

JL

It's good to see this space getting filled up. :tup:

There are already a couple of Sushi restaurants downtown. Would this be a non-Sushi Japanese restaurant? :)

Also, there are a couple of Vietnamese restaurants in town and more Chinese restaurants than you can shake a stick at. How about a Korean restaurant. Is there any such thing as Korean cuisine? With a growing Korean community in the city, this would seem a natural thing to see happening here. Why not? Inquiring minds want to know.......

[mmmatt]

Apparently there is a "Japanese Restaurant" moving in to the vacant location across from the Marriott (front of the Pump House Building) according to the building permit in the window.

JL

That would be awesome! I don't think we have a Japanese restaurant currently do we? Also that location is very visible and has been vacant for a while (Im guessing because its quite large for the typical main street tenant)...woule be nice to see it filled!

[JHikka]

How about a Korean restaurant. Is there any such thing as Korean cuisine? With a growing Korean community in the city, this would seem a natural thing to see happening here. Why not? Inquiring minds want to know.......

There's a Korean restaurant in Quispamsis, and a smaller one in City Market in Saint John. I actually like Korean much more than Vietnamese, Thai or Japanese. To each their own, though. It will only be a matter of time until there is one in the Moncton area. :tup:

[Dec72011]

There's a Korean restaurant in Quispamsis, and a smaller one in City Market in Saint John. I actually like Korean much more than Vietnamese, Thai or Japanese. To each their own, though. It will only be a matter of time until there is one in the Moncton area. :tup:

Hi all. I've read the forum for years.

There is Korean restaurant on St. George next to the Laundromat (bar).

[JHikka]

Hi all. I've read the forum for years.

There is Korean restaurant on St. George next to the Laundromat (bar).

Welcome to the forum!

Well there you go MonctonRad, Korean restaurant in Moncton! :haha:

[Steelcowboy]

I noticed some construction that has started at the end of the lane by Hyundai, CAT and St. Hubert's. Anyone know what's going on?

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

I don't know anything first hand, but somebody on the forum mentioned that Sira (the same people who own all the apartment buildings in Mapleton Village) is building another apartment complex in this location

BTW, welcome to the forum Dec72011, I didn't know we already had Korean food in the city. Don't be shy about giving your input around here, especially if you have any juicy rumours. :)

[Taeolas]

Brunswick News to charge for online content

December 2, 2011 - 6:23pm By BRETT BUNDALE Business Reporter

Brunswick News Inc., the Irving-owned news chain with a near-monopoly on print media in New Brunswick, is slated to launch a revamped website Monday that will charge users for content.

The publishing company will put the online edition of its 19 newspapers — 10 French-language weeklies, six English-language weeklies and three English-language dailies — behind a pay wall.

Rob Warner, editor-in-chief of Brunswick News, said all news content will now come at a cost to readers.

“It will differ from other pay walls, which allow a certain number of stories to be read by individuals,” he said in an interview from Saint John on Friday.

“It’s a hard pay wall, and beyond that I can’t say too much.

Read more here:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/38844-brunswick-news-charge-online-content

They haven't done the turnover yet for whatever reason (maybe they're waiting until the New Year now or something?). But I did see an article about the 'successes' of paywalls in today's Gleaner news feed, so I suspect they're planting the idea in people's minds.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

I saw something more on this recently. Unfortunately they are still planning on enacting their nefarious plans. The new startup date is at the end of the month. :(

This pisses me off. As I said before, I buy the T&T at the newsstand almost every day and have no intention to also pay for online access. To pay for the same thing twice would be pure foolishness. :hell:

Bruncor won't make any money off of this. I doubt there would be more than a thousand people in the entire province that would pay for online content. In addition, they will scare their online advertisers away and end up losing that revenue source, so they might just end up losing money on this venture.

The news will still get out. Instead of copying, pasting and attributing, we will just post something along the lines of "So, I read in the newspaper today that......"

It won't be as polished and perhaps not quite as accurate, but the news will still get out.

The one thing I will miss most will be the ability to post pictures from the newspaper website. They can be very informative, especially for ex-pats who don't get a chance to come back to the city much. I guess I'll have to get a little busier with my cellphone camera! :cool:

[NBNYer]

The one thing I will miss most will be the ability to post pictures from the newspaper website. They can be very informative, especially for ex-pats who don't get a chance to come back to the city much. I guess I'll have to get a little busier with my cellphone camera! :cool:

Yes please keep it up MonctonRad, very appreciated! :tup:

[porchmouse]

You are correct. My mother lives in the Sira complex on Mapleton and supposedly Sira is building two new 100 unit apartment buildings, both to include underground parking. Date of completion unknown at this time. We've been trying to figure out if and where there will be an extension to these complexes, ie. will there be a connection from Hopper Street. Wonderful - more traffic in Moncton North (please note sarcasm). :)

I noticed some construction that has started at the end of the lane by Hyundai, CAT and St. Hubert's. Anyone know what's going on?

:previous:

I don't know anything first hand, but somebody on the forum mentioned that Sira (the same people who own all the apartment buildings in Mapleton Village) is building another apartment complex in this location

[C_Boy]

From the City's website. . .

Public Private Partnership (PPP) Canada rejects Moncton’s Downtown Centre funding request

December 8, 2011

MONCTON – Despite a lengthy and demanding application process to fulfill Public Private Partnership (PPP) Canada’s requirements, the federal Crown Corporation has rejected the City of Moncton’s funding request for a new downtown multi-purpose sports and entertainment centre. Since June 2010, the City has been working with PPP Canada to complete their application process. Throughout this timeframe, the City has met all of PPP Canada’s extensive information requirements, eligibility criteria and deadlines. All told, the City has spent approximately $100,000 to date on its application and devoted more than 3000 hours of senior staff and Council time to the process.

“On behalf of all Monctonians, I am extremely disappointed with this turn of events. We worked in good faith with PPP Canada throughout their process and did everything we were asked,” said Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc. “This project—and all the benefits it will bring to our city and our downtown—is one of Council’s top priorities. As we move forward, we need to consider alternative funding options and determine an appropriate course of action. We will, of course, continue to work with the Federal government and other partners to bring this project to fruition.”

In the past, the City has had success with its own public-private agreements, including the water treatment facility, City Hall and the 4-Ice Centre. The City has developed a tremendous amount of expertise in this area that will be helpful as it looks at other funding options for this project.

“A new downtown multi-purpose sports and entertainment centre will benefit Greater Moncton, as well as the Provincial and Federal governments,” says Mayor LeBlanc. “I know that a Moncton Downtown Centre was a key election priority for MP Robert Goguen. Now more than ever, we need his continued support and work to ensure that the Federal government remains a partner on this project.”

“At the same time, we must re-focus and look for opportunities to engage more fully the private sector and the Provincial government in this project. Clearly now, to make this project viable, we’re going to need more private sector and NB government support,” noted the Mayor. “We are very close to finalizing an option agreement associated with acquiring Council’s preferred site. We will be presenting the citizens of Moncton with a conceptual rendering of the proposed Downtown Centre and a detailed accounting of the project as soon as that option agreement is in place.”

“At the provincial level, we are encouraged by Premier Alward’s sustained and unwavering support for this project and look forward to continued discussions and negotiations in that respect,” added Mayor LeBlanc. “I want to thank Premier Alward and his government for their continued support for this important project.”

“I know this is a significant setback, but we will rise to the challenge like we have on many other occasions,” he said. “We are not giving up—this project is far too important. Together with our stakeholders and community, we will find a made-in-Moncton solution.”

[JasonL-Moncton]

This is sad...we don't need developers like this...



http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1461922

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/05/11/nb-wetland-protection.html

http://country94news.blogspot.com/2011/05/coon-blasts-blaney-over-wetlands.html

I understand he had to 'protect' his interests, but there have to be better ways...

Photos by Ann LeBreton on Facebook Petitcodiac Riverkeeper page...

From this (see the beaver house right in the middle?):

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/378376_10150402804872231_668162230_8754593_1671199190_n.jpg

To this:

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/389380_10150402808722231_668162230_8754597_514100637_n.jpg

Less than 2 feet of water...

:koko: :shrug:

[pierremoncton]

Bruncor won't make any money off of this. I doubt there would be more than a thousand people in the entire province that would pay for online content. In addition, they will scare their online advertisers away and end up losing that revenue source, so they might just end up losing money on this venture.


I'm fairly certain they had a paywall years ago when they first went online, but anyone with a paper subscription could get a free login. Until a couple of years ago, I wasn't paying attention to their site because I thought they still had it up. It's only by reading this forum that I realized it was open again.

People like you who already subscribe won't want to pay twice. And people like me who don't subscribe won't start paying now. Hard to sell ads with no readers. They're just repeating the same mistake.

[Nashe]

Photos by Ann LeBreton on Facebook Petitcodiac Riverkeeper page...Wow, that was a huge... pond. I can see why people might have become concerned about it encroaching on those back yards...

[MonctonRad]

From the City's website. . .

Public Private Partnership (PPP) Canada rejects Moncton’s Downtown Centre funding request

December 8, 2011

MONCTON – Despite a lengthy and demanding application process to fulfill Public Private Partnership (PPP) Canada’s requirements, the federal Crown Corporation has rejected the City of Moncton’s funding request for a new downtown multi-purpose sports and entertainment centre. Since June 2010, the City has been working with PPP Canada to complete their application process. Throughout this timeframe, the City has met all of PPP Canada’s extensive information requirements, eligibility criteria and deadlines. All told, the City has spent approximately $100,000 to date on its application and devoted more than 3000 hours of senior staff and Council time to the process.

“We must re-focus and look for opportunities to engage more fully the private sector and the Provincial government in this project. Clearly now, to make this project viable, we’re going to need more private sector and NB government support,” noted the Mayor. “We are very close to finalizing an option agreement associated with acquiring Council’s preferred site. We will be presenting the citizens of Moncton with a conceptual rendering of the proposed Downtown Centre and a detailed accounting of the project as soon as that option agreement is in place.”

“I know this is a significant setback, but we will rise to the challenge like we have on many other occasions,” he said. “We are not giving up—this project is far too important. Together with our stakeholders and community, we will find a made-in-Moncton solution.”

This is terrible news. Despite the brave face the mayor is placing on this, it's hard to imagine this project moving forward without a federal contribution, $25M would be hard to replace from either provincial or private sources.

This is false economy on the part of the feds. It is easy to just say "no" and point to this as evidence of fiscal responsibility and prudence on the part of those who control the public purse. In reality, some projects such as this one would be significant catalysts to economic growth which would cause improved tax revenues down the road. This should be considered an investment in the future! Instead, we risk stagnation and poor growth potential, leading to decreased tax revenue and increased costs due to higher unemployment and social welfare costs. Not all public spending is bad!!!

Despite the bleak outlook, the city should still press ahead with optioning their preferred site for the events centre and should release their conceptual drawings. They might still be able to shame the feds into doing something for us.

I do believe that Premier Alward is supportive of this project and I think he will provide significant financial support but with the current near insolvency of the province, he can't just replace the federal contribution.

As far as private partners are concerned, this would depend on what the centre might be used for. Private partners of course are interested in making profit (or at least not losing money). Robert Irving might be a significant partner, especially given his interest in the Wildcats and companies like Molson/Coors could be involved in paying for naming rights. Again, it will be difficult to make up for the loss of federal funding.

This is extremely bad news indeed!! :( :hell: :(

[MonctonRad]

I wonder when the coliseum was built 40 years ago, how was the project funded.......

Was it entirely a civic project? Was there any provincial or federal involvement at the time?

This information might be germaine to the current situation. If the coliseum was principally a civic project, perhaps the new events centre could be too. You would just have to have a good business case and the proper private partners.

[riverviewer]

Wow, that was a huge... pond. I can see why people might have become concerned about it encroaching on those back yards...

Did the beavers have a permit? Was that area zoned for pond? Did the beavers complete their environmental assessment? Did they apply for a variance for excess water? If they illegally dammed that waterway will they pay for damages?

[mylesmalley]

There's some work being done behind the Champlain/Paul Irving on that lot Cobalt Properties supposedly wants to develop. Looks as though they're just levelling the lot. Hard to say what the purpose for it is. They might just be expanding the gas station parking lot, although it's odd that it would be done this late in the year since the asphalt plants are closed/closing.

[pierremoncton]

Wow, that was a huge... pond. I can see why people might have become concerned about it encroaching on those back yards...

The only person concerned, at least according to the T&T article that JasonL linked, is the developer. The three residents who were interviewed were all appalled by what he did.

Did the beavers have a permit? Was that area zoned for pond? Did the beavers complete their environmental assessment? Did they apply for a variance for excess water? If they illegally dammed that waterway will they pay for damages?

I don't understand the point you're trying to make. [Edit: This wording may seem to be confrontational but it's not. Can you clarify your position?] If there's a real threat to existing homes and infrastructure, then I can understand why something would be done to prevent problems, but, in all fairness, I didn't find the T&T article to be really clear.

What I want to say is that wetlands and wildlife should be protected, lest we become a sterile concrete and vinyl city.

[riverviewer]

I don't understand the point you're trying to make.
What I want to say is that wetlands and wildlife should be protected, lest we become a sterile concrete and vinyl city.

The point I was making is that the beavers will have a hard time living within city limits. They cannot apply for a permit to build their dams. They can't get a survey done to be sure the height of their dams is within acceptable limits. They just build and hope they don't get caught.

While I do agree wetlands should be protected, I must ask whether all beaver created ponds to be considered wetlands even if there was no wetland before the beavers built their dam?

:shrug:

[Nashe]

I grew up in rural Kent county, and saw lots of cases where beaver "projects" encroached and/or impacted on livelihoods and human construction. Sometimes they were left as-is (as in the case of when they flooded old gravel pits and the like) but sometimes they were dealth with (trapped/relocated/killed) in order to maintain the land. Yeah, they're fuzzy and kinda cute and hardworking, but they CAN be just pests, sometimes. If a bunch of hornets move in on my property and construct a huge nest, I don't automatically assume that they have the right to be there.

I don't think for a second that EVERY beaver (...or nuthatch, or pangdolin, or marmoset...) habitat that runs afoul of ours should be destroyed. However, in some cases, the decision is made by property owners to maintain what they have.

It's certainly not a crime in this case, as far as I can tell. I personally would have been more apt to try to relocate them, but to be frank, not many people WANT a troop of industrious beavers living near them, for this very reason.

[MonctonRad]

From today's T&T


Still hope for events centre
Published Saturday December 10th, 2011

MP says failure to secure federal funding doesn't mean other chances won't come up in future

Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe Member of Parliament Robert Goguen said no one should give up on the idea of building a downtown events centre in Moncton just because it failed to meet the changed criteria of a program administered by the federal crown Corporation PPP Canada.

It was simply a case of too many applications coming into the program, not a question of merit.

At least one Canadian media report in recent days suggested the federal fund has about $1.2 billion in it but has received applications totalling about $24 billion.

Goguen said he couldn't talk numbers, but the program had indeed proved very popular. He noted communities across the country, including places like Edmonton, Iqaluit and Saint Catharines, Ont., not to mention Gatineau and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's hometown Calgary, all got disappointing news from the arm's-length independent funding body in recent days.

"It's not about saying no to something that wouldn't work. We know the geography. We know that Moncton can be an entertainment centre."

Goguen also said he shared the oft-repeated view of Premier David Alward, who spoke in support of the centre in the legislature yesterday under questioning from Moncton East MLA Chris Collins, that supporting events infrastructure in Moncton isn't just economic development, but also something that offers direct return on investment through recouping HST from the economic activity Moncton events generate.

He said the events centre will remain a priority for him as long as it remains a priority for Moncton.

Goguen also said federal funding programs historically come and go and he predicted that would continue once his government had a better chance to see what the impacts on Canada might be from the current European economic crisis.

The president of Downtown Moncton Centre-Ville Incorporated says he's not discouraged by news the city's long-sought downtown events centre has been rejected for federal funding this week. Nor does he think failing to get money from the Crown corporation Public Private Partnerships Canada closes the door on federal money forever.

"This is a large, complex project and it's very unusual for large projects to not have federal help. If you look at Harbour Station, the YMCA in Fredericton, the KC Irving Centre in Bathurst, even the new rink in Bouctouche, they have all been supported by the public sector," Louis Leger said yesterday morning.

"We have a federal representative on the government side of the house and I personally have a lot of confidence in Robert Goguen," he said.

"I'm also confident we as a city can figure it out. We have a lot of dedicated people on this. We just have to work harder, because it's so important to our city."

Meanwhile, is it a case of really lousy timing, or does Nova Scotia's largest urban centre have some hope for federal assistance that New Brunswick's largest urban centre lacks?

Just as the City of Moncton this week has been told they will receive no money towards the building of their long-sought downtown events centre, apparently because the federal government has decided it will no longer fund sports infrastructure under its PPP Canada fund, the City of Halifax has received a three-month extension to get funding for a new stadium that would help host the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup - not to mention one day compete for events with the Stade Moncton 2010 Stadium.

As reported by several Halifax media outlets, Soccer Canada has granted the grace period, and Mayor Peter Kelly has said he will be actively pursuing both Nova Scotia's provincial government and the federal government.

Personal note - The newspaper is trying to turn this into a Moncton vs Halifax thing. The tenor of their editorial today and one of the items in the "sleuth" was similar. I will refrain from doing the same thing here. If anything, this is equally bad news for Halifax. The feds have turned down funding for a number of sports facilities recently, including in Gatineau and noteably in Harper's home town of Calgary. Since Soccer Canada only gave Halifax a three month extension on their bid, I think it will be difficult for them to get all their ducks in a row in time.

The events centre may not be dead, but I think any hope of having it open by 2015 are out the window. It will take time to replace the federal funding or to seek federal funding from a different source. If any additional federal funding is forthcoming, it likely wouldn't be announced until close to the next federal election date. As such, I doubt that we will see a new events centre in the city until 2018 at the very earliest. By that time, the cost of the centre will likely have risen to at least $120M!!

[BlackYear]

Personal note -

As such, I doubt that we will see a new events centre in the city until 2018 at the very earliest. By that time, the cost of the centre will likely have risen to at least $120M!!

A couple of years ago, it was a proposed project of about $80M. Today, it's a $100M project. 2018 will most likely be in the range of $150M. Almost double what the original project was called for.

As a middle aged resident guy, who has been living in the downtown area all of his walking days on earth, I suddenly don't feel so good. Will I ever see this downtown events centre come to true life before I'm put in a box six feet under?

I suppose never say never. I asked myself the same question many years ago about a casino in Moncton. I guess there's still some hope.

:pissed:

[macas539]

I heard a report in a radio newscast yesterday saying city officials would also consider other locations for an events centre for funding reasons. So that leads me to believe that if Moncton is ever able to fund this project in the future it could be built outside of the downtown core. Perhaps this would allow it to conform to some other regulations for other types of funding? If so that would really defeat the purpose of why Moncton needs this facility!

[JHikka]

The next federal election will be sometime in 2015. So, with possible campaigning in late 2014/early 2015, you might see the Feds tune on funding these sorts of projects change a bit, particularly if it's in an area which hasn't been too fond of Conservatives in recent elections. If that's the case, you may be promised money in 2014/2015, and by the time it will be built would be by 2019/2020 if they come through on their promise.

If Moncton is going to do this right the Arena has to be built Downtown. If it's built anywhere else it is just going to fracture the centre of the city, and confirm sprawl more and more. I don't see it viable to get less money to build an insufficient building outside of the Downtown. If you want a major upgrade it seems as though you're going to have to wait a while. If you start getting desperate and go cheap, you're going to end up with a short-term fix for a long-term issue.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Yes, the election will be in 2015.

The city will have a site chosen and a design approved though, and assuming provincial funding is on board, the last piece of the puzzle would be the federal contribution.

I would therefore presume they would break ground in 2016. The city has already stated it would take two years to build. I therefore remain confident on my prediction of 2018.

I would then be 61 years old (or dead in my grave). :(

[MonctonRad]

You are correct. My mother lives in the Sira complex on Mapleton and supposedly Sira is building two new 100 unit apartment buildings, both to include underground parking. Date of completion unknown at this time. We've been trying to figure out if and where there will be an extension to these complexes, ie. will there be a connection from Hopper Street. Wonderful - more traffic in Moncton North (please note sarcasm). :)

Interesting note about this. Sira was before the GMPDC in their November meeting, seeking a variance to allow construction of residential buildings in a suburban commercial zone. One of the things they were looking for was a variance to exceed the height requirements for that zone in order to allow for an "architectural feature" for these buildings.

I wonder what this means and what this architectural feature is. If porchmouse is correct and these are two 100 unit buildings, they could be of significant height. The fact that underground parking is planned means to me that these could be significant buildings and not just wood and vinyl siding.

[MonctonRad]

from the editorial page of today's T&T

Downtown events centre: more than just a rink
Published Tuesday December 13th, 2011
by alan cochrane
Times & transcript staff

OK, so the Grinchy bean counters in Ottawa have decided Moncton can't have money from their big jar of jellybeans for a downtown events centre. Yes it is a kick in the gut just before Christmas but as the mayor and our MP say, Moncton can't give up on the idea.

The city had been working on this project since June of 2010 with PPP Canada to complete their application process, meeting all of the information requirements, eligibility criteria and deadlines. The city says it has spent about $100,000 on the application for funding and devoted more than 3,000 hours of senior staff and council time to make it happen. But, as we reported last week, the application was rejected with the explanation that there were just too many hands in the jellybean jar - to the tune of $24 billion in applications for a pot of $1.2 billion.

Mayor George LeBlanc says the rejection comes just as the city was about to finalize the actual site for the multi-events centre and more details on what it would look like. Those are two big questions that - once answered - could help generate more interest and excitement about the project. He's determined to move forward and the idea still has the support of Premier David Alward and MP Robert Goguen. That's encouraging in these days of high deficits and cost-cutting by governments.

Moncton has been struggling to get a downtown events or convention centre off the ground for years, but at the same time seen a lot of movement on other projects like the casino and the four-ice centre. Moncton is already known as a centre for shopping, entertainment, special events, conventions and trade shows. A new multi-events centre in the downtown would put the city in a new league, but there are many questions to be answered.

The biggest question is the location. Several sites have been looked at, with most speculation being the area around the Highfield Square shopping centre or another spot along East Main Street closer to the traffic circle. Whatever the location, it will have to be a piece of land big enough to accommodate the centre and parking areas, with close links to highways to allow for traffic flow in and out of the facility before and after events.

The second big question is basically what the facility would look like and what it would include. Many people in Moncton have used the word "rink," which conjures up an idea of simply a big ice surface with seats. But this facility should be much more.

It seems to me that a downtown multi-events centre should be a place that is busy all the time, not just on days when there are hockey games or other big events. That means the "rink" would be simply the centre of a much larger facility that would include retailers, services, galleries and unique attractions surrounding it. It should be a place where people could go for lunch, get their hair cut, maybe go to the gym for a workout or do some shopping. It should also have some kind of unique attraction that would draw people from other areas. We already know that people come to Moncton from all over New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Nova Scotia to go shopping and visit attractions like the museum, the zoo, Magic Mountain and the skateboard park. The downtown events centre should have something unique as well so it draws people and generates income for itself.

Property developers and business owners have been watching the situation closely, hoping for a way to benefit from the centre. But they will only wait for so long.

Critics of the project say it would be too big, too expensive and too dependant on local folks to support. Indeed, it's hard to imagine how many big events could be staged that would attract a crowd of 10,000 people willing to shell out big bucks for tickets.

Look at the online schedule for the Coliseum for the next couple of months and you'll find the Canadian Figure Skating Championships, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, an NHL Oldtimers game, the Fish Canada Workboat Canada trade show, the Atlantic Motorcycle and ATV show and the big Gala Expo for prom dresses.

At the same time, Moncton is already missing out on some events because the Coliseum is too small and outdated to host them. When they added the agrena buildings to the Coliseum in the 1970s, there were concerns that they would never be used. Those buildings are now hosting trade shows and special events all through the year and promoters love them. The big roll-up doors and wide-open rooms of the agrena complex make it possible to display big trucks, boats, motor homes and heavy equipment during trade shows. The agrenas have also been dressed up for many other occasions.

At the same time, Moncton has benefitted from the construction of the Magnetic Hill Concert Site, the 2010 Stadium and the Casino, which have resulted in big concerts, CFL games, international sporting events and appearances by entertainers Monctonians never thought they'd see in their home town.

These events drive the economy. According to Ben Champoux, director of community business development for the City of Moncton, tourism is worth over $385 million a year to the city. Conventions are a big part of that but so are the attractions of the zoo, the theatres, the museum, sporting events and entertainment. Of that $385 million, accommodations account for $56 million. Restaurants and bar sales account for $73 million. Spending on sports, recreation and culture accounts for $25 million. Clothing sales are worth $67 million and fuel sales are worth $65 million.

"When you add it all up, that's big, that's significant," says Mr. Champoux.

We can't predict the future, but if Mayor LeBlanc and others who believe in the dream of a downtown multi-events centre want to make it a reality, they will need to generate more interest and excitement. We need to see the drawings, the plans, the 3-D models to get a better idea of what it could be like. It must also be economically viable and something that will become a centrepiece of the community that is busy all the time - something much more than just a rink.

* Alan Cochrane is an editor-at-large with the Times & Transcript. His column appears each Tuesday. He can be reached by e-mail at cochrana@timestranscript.com.

personal note:

- It is of paramount importance that, at this critical point in time, the city move forward with optioning their preferred site for the events centre and releasing the detailed renderings of the project. These moves would galvanize interest amongst the citizenry and would also provide impetus for other developers to look at potential projects in areas adjacent to the proposed events centre. This alone would provide a big boost to the downtown.

The events centre is absolutely critical for the future of the core. There is a lot of potential in downtown Moncton but this potential is mostly unrealized. The downtown core was on deaths door in the early 1990's and although projects like the Capitol Theatre, the Marriott Hotel, the new city hall complex and the new courthouse have helped, the recovery of the downtown area is certainly far from complete. The events centre is the single most important project in revitalizing the downtown. Mayor LeBlanc realizes this, Premier Alward realizes this and so does MP Robert Goguen.

- The province is still on board and federal funding will come in some form; if not for the arena then perhaps for other components of the facility. If for example there is a convention component to the proposal, then federal funding should be available for this. The feds are partially funding convention centres in Halifax and Charlottetown and also provided funding for the new convention centre in Fredericton. Given this, it would be difficult to deny similar funding for Moncton. Also, the feds have been big on funding public transit projects around the country. The new Codiac Transpo garage and HQ on Millenium Blvd was built because of federal funding. If a downtown transit terminal were included in the events centre, the feds might partially fund this as well. Who knows what cultural funding might also be available from the feds.

- Yes, this project will get built. Now is certainly not the time to let momentum flag. Now is the time to start building public support for this project so that construction can start at the earliest possible date. As John Paul Jones famously said "damn the torpedos, full speed ahead!!!" :yes:

[Mattyyy]

I 100% agree with MonctonRad. The city needs to amp up public interest for the project by announcing the building site and releasing detailed renderings. The Events Center is vital to our downtown and its future, and I'm sure the city can overcome this obstacle much more quickly than we would assume. :tup:

[josh_cat_eyes]

Why don't they start building it and force the feds to contribute. That's what they are doing in Quebec City. I am sure once they find the site and make all the plans and all that stuff it will be at least a year anyway. They can prepare the site and get everything ready and maybe by that time the Feds will be able to contribute. I am guessing it will be at least 2014 by that time. Maybe they can even get a small amount from the Feds in 2013 and a small amount in 2014. Spread out the cost. Just a thought.

[Mattyyy]

Why don't they start building it and force the feds to contribute. That's what they are doing in Quebec City. I am sure once they find the site and make all the plans and all that stuff it will be at least a year anyway. They can prepare the site and get everything ready and maybe by that time the Feds will be able to contribute. I am guessing it will be at least 2014 by that time. Maybe they can even get a small amount from the Feds in 2013 and a small amount in 2014. Spread out the cost. Just a thought.

If the only piece they are missing is the $25 million contribution from the Feds I don't see why they couldn't go ahead and start the project on time, and work on filling in the gap in the interim. Perhaps construction companies may not be willing to start such a massive project without the guarantee of funding?

[porchmouse]

I heard some interesting news tonight and wanted to pass it along. I'm not sure if anyone remembers P.I. Richard Meat Market that used to be in operation at 40 Milner Road. It was a great locally owned and operated meat market. My parents used to take me there when I was a kid when we lived in the neighbourhood. Don Richard passed away a few years back and the location was for sale (both the business and the beautiful home that was right next door).

I was told that the house will be turned into a new Cafe Archibald. Unsure of timeline or complete accuracy but given the look and feel of the house it makes complete sense, taking into consideration the atmosphere in both Cafe Archibald locations.

It would be nice to see more restaurants in that area given there are a few businesses and not too many places to eat (ie. the Fairmont Reservations centre, Lounsbury's, Toyota, Industrial Park tenants, etc). Yes there is Subway and McD's but this would be a nice alternative for the area.

I could only find a super tiny photo online so take a look using Google Street view - 40 Milner Road, Moncton.

Cheers,

[David_99]

:previous:

Great news if true! I used to play in that house as a kid as I was a friend of the Richard's son. It's just as beautiful inside.

Great location choice! :tup:

[mylesmalley]

Not worth copying, but construction numbers for the city were released yesterday. Right around 275,000,000 so far this year for Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe.

[pierremoncton]

A note on the concrete pad at King-Main: it's just an electronic billboard. No hotel or condo yet.

[JasonL-Moncton]

I heard some interesting news tonight and wanted to pass it along. I'm not sure if anyone remembers P.I. Richard Meat Market that used to be in operation at 40 Milner Road. It was a great locally owned and operated meat market. My parents used to take me there when I was a kid when we lived in the neighbourhood. Don Richard passed away a few years back and the location was for sale (both the business and the beautiful home that was right next door).

I was told that the house will be turned into a new Cafe Archibald. Unsure of timeline or complete accuracy but given the look and feel of the house it makes complete sense, taking into consideration the atmosphere in both Cafe Archibald locations.

It would be nice to see more restaurants in that area given there are a few businesses and not too many places to eat (ie. the Fairmont Reservations centre, Lounsbury's, Toyota, Industrial Park tenants, etc). Yes there is Subway and McD's but this would be a nice alternative for the area.

I could only find a super tiny photo online so take a look using Google Street view - 40 Milner Road, Moncton.

Cheers,

Don't forget "Harry's Pizza" just opened next to Econolodge as well, same owner as Notre Dame Pizza in Notre Dame and the Harry's Pizza in the Moncton Market. Harry makes some yummy pizza...

Great news, if true, about Cafe Archibald. :tup:

[MonctonRad]

abridged from todays T&T

Four Schools to be Built in Metro

Construction of new facilities will begin in 2012, minister promises
By Aloma Jardine
Times & Transcript Staff

Construction of four new schools in Metro Moncton should begin next year.

Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Jody Carr tabled his department's $104-million 2012-2013 capital budget in the legislature yesterday.

In it, he announced four local projects will move from the design phase into construction in 2012, including the new Moncton High School, a new English-language K-8 school in Riverview, a new school to replace École Sainte-Bernadette in Moncton, and a new French-language K-8 school in Moncton's north end.

"It is good news," Carr says. "No matter what stage we are in, until people start seeing the building go up, they are still a little uncertain. I'm pleased that all four Moncton projects will be going ahead."

Carr expects planning and design work to be finalized over the winter months and construction to begin in the spring and summer.

All four schools were expected to open their doors to students in September 2013.

When asked if they would still be able to meet that target, Carr didn't say no, but he didn't give a firm yes either.

"Our commitment today is we are moving forward on these projects. With every project there are hurdles along the way. Our commitment is to build these in a timely fashion," Carr says.

The new Moncton High School is of particular concern. There hasn't been very much time to pull everything together to allow construction to go ahead.

Carr admits they have met a few stumbling blocks.

"There are always hurdles," he says. "We have been working with city officials on zoning and planning and all the issues that are required, but we are pushing forward to finish. Today what we've committed to is to move forward on the project and the school will be finished in a timely manner. There have been some issues with the city and some hurdles, but we will keep driving forward to have that school built."

The city wasn't particularly thrilled with the choice of locating the new high school at Royal Oaks, but Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc says they accept it is the province's call.

He says they are committed to making sure the school gets built as soon as possible.

"The number one issue is the welfare of these young students and that they have a safe and healthy learning environment," he says.

LeBlanc says the city is aware the province hopes to open the school within two years and says they have met several times with the province to point out some of the things that may stand in the way of that ambitious timeline.

For one thing, the parcel of land the school is to be constructed on needs to be rezoned in order for construction to go ahead.

LeBlanc says the province needs to provide the planning district commission with things like a traffic study and what infrastructure requirements there would be to support a school as well as the expected residential expansion a school will bring.

LeBlanc believes a deadline was set for today to have all that information submitted.

"It is my understanding that if they get all the information in... the deadline they've set for themselves is realistic," he says.

LeBlanc says there are also some significant infrastructure requirements that need to be addressed before construction can go ahead, things like extending water and sewer lines to the site, improving the road and building sidewalks.

"We want to make sure the taxpayers of Moncton aren't left carrying an unfair expense," he says. "Both (the Department of Supply and Services and the Department of Education) have assured me on more than one occasion that they won't let that happen."

The city is understandably hesitant after being left to cover those expenses when the new Northrop Frye School was built. LeBlanc says the city had to shift the priorities in its capital works budget in order to service the school. He says they don't want to be stuck in that position again.

LeBlanc says the city has had several discussions with the ministers of both departments to outline their concerns.

"The province has been very open to contributing to the costs of what needs to go there," he says, though no details have been hammered out.

"I think it is important that if the province is fair with the city in terms of assisting with the infrastructure costs that are out there, that would help the process along."

District 2 Education Council chairman Harry Doyle says he hasn't heard anything about a potential delay in construction, but says he wouldn't be surprised by such a turn of events.

"When I look at the extent of the project and we are just getting things organized in terms of lands, I would be lying if I told you I would be surprised by that," he says.

He would, however, be surprised if the Riverview school project didn't open in 2013. He says the school was originally scheduled to open in 2012, but when the new government took over they pushed the project back by a year.

"I would be very surprised and disappointed it they didn't manage (2013)," he says. "In Riverview the population is just going crazy in Riverview east. We really are on the wall."

Carr re-iterated the government's commitment to preserve the current Moncton High School building on Church Street during his speech yesterday.

District 1 Education Council chairman Ernest Thibodeau says they are happy to have it confirmed the new French-language school in Moncton north and a replacement for École Sainte-Bernadette are going ahead.

"We expected those projects would continue, but nothing was really sure," he says. Thibodeau says Sainte-Bernadette and the new school are still both expected to open in September 2013.

"If they wouldn't open for those times, it would be very problematic in Moncton," he says. "It is already overcrowded."

Thibodeau says the architectural plans for Sainte-Bernadette are in the works and the last he heard for Moncton north was that a tender had been put out to hire an architect.

[Renus]

I heard some interesting news tonight and wanted to pass it along. I'm not sure if anyone remembers P.I. Richard Meat Market that used to be in operation at 40 Milner Road. It was a great locally owned and operated meat market. My parents used to take me there when I was a kid when we lived in the neighbourhood. Don Richard passed away a few years back and the location was for sale (both the business and the beautiful home that was right next door).

I was told that the house will be turned into a new Cafe Archibald. Unsure of timeline or complete accuracy but given the look and feel of the house it makes complete sense, taking into consideration the atmosphere in both Cafe Archibald locations.

It would be nice to see more restaurants in that area given there are a few businesses and not too many places to eat (ie. the Fairmont Reservations centre, Lounsbury's, Toyota, Industrial Park tenants, etc). Yes there is Subway and McD's but this would be a nice alternative for the area.

I could only find a super tiny photo online so take a look using Google Street view - 40 Milner Road, Moncton.

Cheers,

:previous: Just wanted to pass along a little bit more on this. This property was actually bought by a good friend of mine. The house is currently being renovated for a residential rental property for now and not a Cafe Archibald. The old Meat Shop behind the house is also available for rent. It's an awesome spot to re-open a butcher shop as it's all setup and ready to go.

I've been an avid reader of this forum It's nice to see that the city is booming and will hopefully continue to do so ....

[porchmouse]

:previous: Just wanted to pass along a little bit more on this. This property was actually bought by a good friend of mine. The house is currently being renovated for a residential rental property for now and not a Cafe Archibald. The old Meat Shop behind the house is also available for rent. It's an awesome spot to re-open a butcher shop as it's all setup and ready to go.

I've been an avid reader of this forum It's nice to see that the city is booming and will hopefully continue to do so ....

Ahhhh sorry for the misinformation. Thanks for the clarification. I'm going to go yell at the person who relayed this info (j/k).

Cheers,

[MonctonRad]

Welcome to the forums Renus, don't be shy about making some input to the proceedings. :)

A quick observation about the new francophone school in the north end. Given it's location next to the new roundabout at Ryan/Horsman, I would expect that the city will fast-track the widening, curbing and sidewalk construction on Ryan between Horsman and Evergreen this summer. I also expect we will see the extension of Twin Oaks to the roundabout this summer as well, especially since this will border the new school property.

There will also have to be extensive roadwork in preparation for the new Moncton High School and for the new K-8 anglophone school in east Riverview.

[David_99]

There will also have to be extensive roadwork in preparation for the new Moncton High School...

They have their work cut out for them as that is one dangerous road right now for pedestrians. It's as if there's no speed limits once you cross the TCH overpass. Just the other day driving to Irishtown Nature Park, the car infront of me stopped to turn into their driveway. I slowed and stopped behind them and without skipping a beat, the truck behind me and the van behind him very nearly took the ditch going around me (as if I were just a pothole) on the shoulder, going 90 easily.

[macas539]

They have their work cut out for them as that is one dangerous road right now for pedestrians. It's as if there's no speed limits once you cross the TCH overpass. Just the other day driving to Irishtown Nature Park, the car infront of me stopped to turn into their driveway. I slowed and stopped behind them and without skipping a beat, the truck behind me and the van behind him very nearly took the ditch going around me (as if I were just a pothole) on the shoulder, going 90 easily.

You're right about the speeding on that road! I used to have a friend who lived out that way and I dreaded driving north of the TCH on that road. People tailgate when you're doing the speed limit and pass on solid lines. I remember one time a car passed me and five other cars in front of me on a double line one summer evening a few years ago. Apparently speed limits are not enforceable north of the TCH. If the RCMP want to catch speeders they should have a bunch of cruisers on that road all day. And road/weather conditions make no difference either there could be 4 inches of ice and drivers would still do 110km/h in a 70 zone on that road!

I don't know what the city will do to calm traffic but something will need to be worked out quickly before that new high school opens. Otherwise that is just a disaster waiting to happen!