The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[Franco401]

Originally Posted by sailor734

So is it considered "normal" to rent apartments and have them occupied while the building is still under construction?.....or is this a abnormality?

I know it happened for the micro boutique apartments in Fredericton that were only recently finished. Balcony doors were boarded shut until everything outside was done.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

I can’t imagine it would be economically feasible to wait until everything complete in this difficult construction industry atmosphere. Probably be 2 years without badly needed rent. Who knows maybe they are offered a credit

I guess I can see that. This project has moved extremely slowly and I'm told by a person who is in a position to know that it is wildly over the original budget.

[JakeNB]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

I can’t imagine it would be economically feasible to wait until everything complete in this difficult construction industry atmosphere. Probably be 2 years without badly needed rent. Who knows maybe they are offered a credit

Don't they require an occupancy permit? How could they get one with egress boarded up? Sounds like the building inspector and/or fire marshals are MIA

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by JakeNB

Don't they require an occupancy permit? How could they get one with egress boarded up? Sounds like the building inspector and/or fire marshals are MIA

That was what got me wondering. I mean, it's one thing to have tenants move in while crews are putting a few finishing touches on public areas or handling punch list items needing correction but this is major construction still going on.

[adamuptownsj]

Originally Posted by JakeNB

Don't they require an occupancy permit? How could they get one with egress boarded up? Sounds like the building inspector and/or fire marshals are MIA

As long as a window meets minimum egress size and is unobstructed, access to the balconies is irrelevant.

SJ might be sloppily managed, but come on, serious developers aren't ducking the fire martial and illegally moving people in to unsafe construction sites. No permit, no occupancy.

[britsy]

Thank you Adam

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

As long as a window meets minimum egress size and is unobstructed, access to the balconies is irrelevant.

SJ might be sloppily managed, but come on, serious developers aren't ducking the fire martial and illegally moving people in to unsafe construction sites. No permit, no occupancy.

I can understand that. I guess I was just surprised officialdom would allow occupancy in a building that still had significant construction going on.

[DyAm00394]

City council has APPROVED the new Ball Hockey facility proposed for 1660 Manawagonish Road during tonight’s public hearing. Despite there being too many concerns from the nearby residents with the location, lack of consultation, the lounge portion of the facility, hours of operation, traffic and safety, parking, and sound impacts.

Some takeaways from the public hearing:

- Overall, the residents are in favour of this facility but if was in a different area like commercial or light industrial zones.

- The applicant was present to try to answer some questions and concerns.

- He said that the lounge is only operational during the ball hockey hours of operation, (which is roughly 5:30pm-10:30pm, 11pm if overtime). The lounge will operate similarly to like the Curling Club.

- And currently there isn’t tournaments planned. (The other facility he runs in Quebec only has 1 tournament a year).

- The SJ facility is only 3 on 3, (not 5 on 5), which is only 14 players per surface, so he thinks the 80 parking spots isn’t going to be an issue.

- Also brought up was that tailgating won’t be an issue like some residents were concerned about. They will be enforcing people not to be hanging around after hours.

- Council put forward a motion of an amendment to a condition that will now require a post construction sound monitoring study once the facility is operational and determine if sound mitigation measures are warranted. Should the measures be warranted based on the study, that these measures be implemented at the proponent’s expense. The study will also be at the proponent’s expense and both the city and the proponent together will be selecting a qualified firm to conduct the study.

[RR Drummer]

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

City council has APPROVED the new Ball Hockey facility proposed for 1660 Manawagonish Road during tonight’s public hearing. Despite there being too many concerns from the nearby residents with the location, lack of consultation, the lounge portion of the facility, hours of operation, traffic and safety, parking, and sound impacts.

Some takeaways from the public hearing:

- Overall, the residents are in favour of this facility but if was in a different area like commercial or light industrial zones.

- The applicant was present to try to answer some questions and concerns.

- He said that the lounge is only operational during the ball hockey hours of operation, (which is roughly 5:30pm-10:30pm, 11pm if overtime). The lounge will operate similarly to like the Curling Club.

- And currently there isn’t tournaments planned. (The other facility he runs in Quebec only has 1 tournament a year).

- The SJ facility is only 3 on 3, (not 5 on 5), which is only 14 players per surface, so he thinks the 80 parking spots isn’t going to be an issue.

- Also brought up was that tailgating won’t be an issue like some residents were concerned about. They will be enforcing people not to be hanging around after hours.

- Council put forward a motion of an amendment to a condition that will now require a post construction sound monitoring study once the facility is operational and determine if sound mitigation measures are warranted. Should the measures be warranted based on the study, that these measures be implemented at the proponent’s expense. The study will also be at the proponent’s expense and both the city and the proponent together will be selecting a qualified firm to conduct the study.

I don’t live in the neighborhood however if I did I could see myself accepting this as passed. I hope this is a great success.

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by RR Drummer

I don’t live in the neighborhood however if I did I could see myself accepting this as passed. I hope this is a great success.

I really don’t see what the fuss is from area residents. They make it sound like it’s being built right in a residential neighborhood. Manawagonish is a mix - right in that immediate vicinity is the animal hospital, UNIFOR, a motel and few seconds away Pumpkin Patch farm market. The land itself was institutional with a large brick building formerly occupying it. If we get this built along with the new Tennis Centre at UNBSJ, that will put us up near top of list for recreational facilities.

[darkharbour]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

I really don’t see what the fuss is from area residents. They make it sound like it’s being built right in a residential neighborhood. Manawagonish is a mix - right in that immediate vicinity is the animal hospital, UNIFOR, a motel and few seconds away Pumpkin Patch farm market. The land itself was institutional with a large brick building formerly occupying it. If we get this built along with the new Tennis Centre at UNBSJ, that will put us up near top of list for recreational facilities.

I agree, when I first heard about the controversy around the project I assumed it was in the middle of a residential subdivision, but that part of Manawagonish has always been mixed-use. Everything you said, plus it was the main route into the city from the West at one point and lined with motels, restaurants, businesses, etc.

[DyAm00394]

During this week’s Port Podcast episode, Monica Adair from Acre Architects was a guest speaker. They mentioned that the Port, the city and Acre Architects are working together on exciting projects. Specifically mentioning the waterfront. During their talk they couldn’t give too much detail about the project, but they are highly alluding to Long Wharf. They mentioned creating a buffer space between the port (industrial area) and the residential/commercial area on the other side of the waterfront that’s accessible for residents and tourists. They say this is a 5-15 year vision.

So this sounds a lot like the big mixed-use neighborhood that’s envisioned in the city’s Central Peninsula Secondary Plan.

They also mentioned the Long Wharf Landing Project, (which is separate from the hinted project Acre Architects is evolved with), that they begun this year. Building a new breakwater and opening up the space to the public to be able walk on and off the breakwater. They hope to have this project completed by the end of this cruise ship season.

https://youtu.be/vR_TjJ_VtTk?si=75SMtHIOS77LggtS

[NB_ExistsToo]

Originally Posted by darkharbour

I agree, when I first heard about the controversy around the project I assumed it was in the middle of a residential subdivision, but that part of Manawagonish has always been mixed-use. Everything you said, plus it was the main route into the city from the West at one point and lined with motels, restaurants, businesses, etc.

The only legitimate complaints I see is the hours of operation, unlike many other businesses, operational hours only occur at times when people are typically home (this should only really be a potential issue for the immediate homes adjacent to the property) and maybe lighting issues. Also, overflow parking, which if it becomes a problem, will flow into the community side streets, as there's no legal parking anywhere nearby.

I'm not sure how they argue this is ruining the neighbourhood, when a couple years ago there was a vacant brick structure (old schoolhouse??) in the exact location.

[cdnguys]

[IMG] [/IMG]

[cdnguys]

Looking at Labour Force survey for August 2023. If you follow the population figures from census to current based on survey, Saint John’s population should be around 139,125.
15 years behind Moncton but so glad moving in the right direction.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

[IMG] [/IMG]

I have to chuckle everytime I read this project name. Add 15+ floors and you can call it "tower"......... delusions of grandeur perhaps?

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by sailor734

I have to chuckle everytime I read this project name. Add 15+ floors and you can call it "tower"......... delusions of grandeur perhaps?

Technically a tower is just any structure that is taller than it’s width at its base, usually by a significant margin so it does “qualify” as a tower just barely. Realistically though, point taken - maybe Aquarius Place would sound better

[sailor734]

I'm still curious about developments like this happening in Millidgeville, the KV, east Saint John and the westside. Aren't they counterproductive If we are trying to correct the downsides of the urban sprawl the came post WW II and move more towards urban densification and less car dependence?

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by sailor734

I'm still curious about developments like this happening in Millidgeville, the KV, east Saint John and the westside. Aren't they counterproductive If we are trying to correct the downsides of the urban sprawl the came post WW II and move more towards urban densification and less car dependence?

Agree for the most part. In my dream scenario for west side they'd start trying to build around Church / Main street. That small corridor already is walkable with shops. Why not try to infill and densify that area.

Although I've thought they should be trying to infill the same type of buildings that stretch all the way down Canterbury and Prince William to Lower Cove loop.

Hopefully with more population the city will strive to densify core areas.

Although the Aquarius building is a good location for an urban sprawled apartment complex. Also dominates the skyline coming south towards west side on the highway.

[darkharbour]

Developments on existing serviced streets are good overall IMO, especially when they are in proximity to neighbourhood essentials like groceries, transit, etc. because they reduce driving dependance rather than increase it. The more "towers" like these that we put into places in Millidgeville off University Ave, or the Golden Mile, or Ellerdale out East, without adding streets or new water and utilities, the better the city's return on service costs will be.