[ErickMontreal]

The Brick heads to Moncton

a furniture, appliance and electronics retailer not yet in New Brunswick - will anchor the new 250,000-square foot Mapleton Power Centre development.

Joe Ramia, president of Rank Incorporated, the property holding company that has rights to extend The Brick franchise in Atlantic Canada, happily confirmed the news yesterday.

He said he's pleased to move the business into uncharted territory.

"This will be the first store in New Brunswick and that will be kind of an anchor for the market. We hope to offer something that will be different than what's being offered in the market - a good product at a fantastic price," he said.

The Brick is a full-service home furnishing retailer that offers furniture, electronics, home office, mattresses, appliances and clearance items.

The store is the first retailer to publicly confirm its interest in Moncton's newest shopping centre. With about 250,000 square feet, The Brick won't be the last.

Patrick Gillespie, president of Ashford Investments, said the new project is close to having commitments for its entire square footage, about 20 or so tenants.

"I think the first group of folks will be open for business before Christmas 2007. If they can't get open before October or November, then they'll be open by March," he said.

The development will be divided among three major offerings: fashions and apparel, home furnishings and home decorating, and restaurants and service stores.

Another retailer rumoured to be considering the move to the Mapleton Power Centre is Linens 'n Things, a home decorating giant recently made more popular by Nate Berkus, an interior decorator regularly featured on Oprah Winfrey.

Kevin Green, president of Toronto-based Verdiroc Development Corp., a partner in the project, said the location is perfect for a new retail node with Costco, Home Depot and Wal-Mart anchoring the other three corners.

"This lends itself to a great shopping district where people can get whatever they need at all times," he said.

"Moncton is a growing city with solid planning principles and it's just a good place to invest."

He declined comment on the other tenants, but said the centre would certainly provide Metro Moncton residents and shoppers from the region with unique fashion offerings.

Construction can begin on the new power centre as soon as crews level the property. With the ground frozen solid under a blanket of snow, it will likely be a few weeks before crews are able to dig up the property and spread the earth around.

When its completed, the project will likely be in the $45-million range, Gillespie said.

"It's a good-sized project. Right now the demand for the fashion stuff is so high, that's what we're juggling. We might limit the restaurants because of the demand by retailers," he said.

The project is so good in fact, it has netted capital from KingSett Capital, a private equity fund focused entirely on real estate in Canada.

Scott Coates, vice-president real estate finance, said the project was a great way to expand its business into Atlantic Canada.

"There's a couple of reasons we like it. One is the location. It's the perfect location for retail use. You're going to have a tremendous amount of traffic. The other reason is we'd like to be doing more in eastern Canada and this is sort of our getting our toes wet down there. We'd like to continue to invest more money in the area," he said.