[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[MonctonRad]

Lots of job postings for Katch Seafood & Pizza Bank (not Pizza Girls). They must be reopening on Main Street.

[drewber]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Lots of job postings for Katch Seafood & Pizza Bank (not Pizza Girls). They must be reopening on Main Street.

Did they close down? I just called the phone number and they answered "pizza girls"

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by drewber

Did they close down? I just called the phone number and they answered "pizza girls"

I just assumed. The location on Main Street looked closed (at least on the outside) - always dark and never any customers.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The Vien Dong restaurant on Main Street has been sold (apparently to Red Satay), and, may be rebranded as such.

New signage for Red Satay is now on this building.

Downtown was pretty lively this evening. I was at Rib Fest on the riverfront, but, afterward, I drove down Main Street, and all the patios were packed, and there were crowds on the street. It almost felt like a pre-pandemic summer evening. I loved it!

[MonctonRad]

They are now excavating for Building Five of the Franklyn Yards development. This developer really knows what's he's doing. Progress is impressively rapid.

[habs33]

Better access to live performances after summer renos at Moncton's Capitol Theatre

Accessibility changes will make theatre more inclusive, improving washroom access and removing other barriers

[jonny golden]

Looks like a big underground project on Main Street going on - from the subway area eastward. More of the necessary sub grade work the city has to do downtown to support all the new residential units under construction, and yet to come (Ashford).

I just wonder when we'll see phase one - next summer? The Assumption parking lot is also torn up and being worked on.

[MonctonRad]

Franklin Yards current status:


Infinity Aerials photo

Now completed excavation for building five (of nine). The assembly line continues........

[MonctonRad]

Reposted from the main Moncton thread:

Mayor Dawn Arnold's Facebook summary of today's city council meeting:

Big Public Session of Moncton City Council today — at the Avenir Centre (Council chambers are being renovated)!

We began with two quick public presentations on active transportation and Senior’s programming, followed by a Codiac RCMP presentation by Inspector Jonathan White.

From there, we went right into Planning Matters, including:
*an introduction to amending the conditional rezoning at Eastgate Village
*an introduction to a new zoning application at 4 Curry Street
*the public hearing for the rezoning at 1187 Shediac Road
*the public hearing for the rezoning at 54 Maplewood

From past Private Sessions we approved trail easements on Humprey’s Brook Trail, agreed to invest $620,000 for a roundabout on Marriott Drive, the signing of a 5-year contract with PAW (People for Animal Wellbeing) and the exercising of our option to repurchase land from Galco Atlantic Investments Network Ltd. For $1M.

In Reports from Administration, we:
*agreed to have administration include a position in our 2025 budgeting process for a new “Community Development Officer” to assist with Seniors programming and also agreed to contribute $49,000 to the Branch 6 Royal Canadian Legion for the provision of Senior’s activities February-August 2024
*approved our “Community Grant Policy”
*made minor administrative changes to ourf “Dangerous and Unsightly Premises and Property” bylaw to include recently annexed areas
*approved a contract for St. George Street Improvement Plan (Alta Planning + Design Canada Inc.=$164,836)
*agreed to award a contract for property management services at City Hall (Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions Canada=$621,396)
*agreed to award the contract for a new cold storage dome at our Operations Centre (Quantum Construction Maritime’s Ltd=$1.5M)
*agreed to award a tender for the supply and delivery of crushed stone, sand and aggregate (Grey Rock Materials Inc.=$192,264)
*awarded a contract for trail upgrades (Modern Construction=$1.4M)
*awarded a contract for traffic calming upgrades on Twin Oaks Drive (Modern Construction=$742,503)

The Galco news is interesting. This signals the death of the plan to build this apartment building on the SW corner of Robinson and Queen downtown.



It is as we have been expecting for the last year of so.

[jonny golden]

I just hope another developer comes along and eliminates this asphalt eyesore. I'm pretty sure the city will offer the property up for sale instead of sitting on it, or keeping it as a parking lot. More people downtown, tax revenue etc.

[MonctonRad]

I imagine you are correct.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I imagine you are correct.

Well here we go. CBC story published this morning. The city wants to see this property developed!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-b...anor-1.7264288

[MonctonRad]

Aucoin said the city aims to issue a request for proposal for the purchase and sale of the land, with similar conditions to those Galco had.

This development of this lot will have an outsized effect on the appearances of the downtown core given it's location (especially if it has some height). I am not surprised the city is eager to see it redeveloped.

[josh_cat_eyes]

Lots of potential suitors, Ashford, Lafford, Icon, Heritage, Entreprises Mapoma Ltee (millennium Boulevard developer) but which one is best suited to do this development right now.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by josh_cat_eyes

Lots of potential suitors, Ashford, Lafford, Icon, Heritage, Entreprises Mapoma Ltee (millennium Boulevard developer) but which one is best suited to do this development right now.

Ashford could be a strong possibility.

They purchased the Assomption property 5 years ago, and have been planning a major multi-phase project on this land. They've been waiting on the infrastructure projects to be completed in order to commence their work, but haven't been sitting idle.

They've completed 2 new apartment buildings so far, and are currently building another one (1st of 2) on Lorentz Drive. The two finished buildings are in the downtown core, so this Robinson Street location seems like it would be a good match for them.

[MonctonGoldenTri]

8+ storey would be nice, I hope the city sets a minimum restriction to 8-10 storey when they sell the land.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by MonctonGoldenTri

8+ storey would be nice, I hope the city sets a minimum restriction to 8-10 storey when they sell the land.

Galco had a 6 floor building planned, but couldn't make the numbers work. Maybe a 7-8 floor building would make the project financially viable.

The lot itself is challenging, but the city really wants to see it developed. It's one of the best just off Main Street locations, being right in the heart of the downtown. It would really enhance the neighbourhood.

[Monctoncore]

I don’t want Ashford to purchase any more property until they start something on the Assumption area. They are collecting lots, but so far they have 3 they have focused on one of which is Lorentz, the other two are completed. Then they have a large portfolio of buildings they own, including Assumption Building. I’d like to see them do develop what they have before they buy more.

[MonctonGoldenTri]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

Galco had a 6 floor building planned, but couldn't make the numbers work. Maybe a 7-8 floor building would make the project financially viable.

The lot itself is challenging, but the city really wants to see it developed. It's one of the best just off Main Street locations, being right in the heart of the downtown. It would really enhance the neighbourhood.

Ideally you would desire a 2-3 storey podium to minimize pedestrian noise on the weekends to drown out the night life noise in that area. I can't imagine living on the first or second floor on the weekend unless they properly soundproof the building. At the same time this building could be used to enhance our downtown night life, something similar to FiveFive on queen street with a resto/pub setup.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by Monctoncore

I don’t want Ashford to purchase any more property until they start something on the Assumption area. They are collecting lots, but so far they have 3 they have focused on one of which is Lorentz, the other two are completed. Then they have a large portfolio of buildings they own, including Assumption Building. I’d like to see them do develop what they have before they buy more.

They seem to be well organized and efficient at putting up buildings while waiting for the underground services to be upgraded behind the Assomption building.

Depending on what & when the first phase is, could Ashford work on both that and a Robinson Street building at the same time? And who knows if they'd even be interested in acquiring this extra property.

But whatever happens, developing that parking lot will be a big improvement to the downtown.