[Moncton] Junction Urban Village | Mixed Residential Commercial Urban Development

[adamuptownsj]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Indeed. Parcel "E" has been entirely cleaned up. There is now a gravel parking lot on a portion of Parcel "D". It appears it is being used by tradespeople (probably the ones finishing up the new neurology clinic in Tannery Pace South).

I predict that the Junction Urban Village will be moribund (in terms of future construction) for the next 1-3 years.

Why don't they sell D or E? I'm sure they could find a buyer. Also, I could have sworn there was a plan for the southwest corner (https://paol-efel.snb.ca/paol.html?v...n&pan=06658071 and adjacent) that wasn't just overflow parking... but then again you can't fit much here unless you acquired the CN-owned lot east of Jonathan Creek and north of the railway (https://paol-efel.snb.ca/paol.html?v...n&pan=06573394).

On that subject, is CN as difficult to acquire land from as DoD, ports, and Irvings? I can see why they want to hang on to the gigantic lot east of Rallye Motors, but the segment across the creek does them no good.

[MonctonGoldenTri]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

Why don't they sell D or E? I'm sure they could find a buyer. Also, I could have sworn there was a plan for the southwest corner (https://paol-efel.snb.ca/paol.html?v...n&pan=06658071 and adjacent) that wasn't just overflow parking... but then again you can't fit much here unless you acquired the CN-owned lot east of Jonathan Creek and north of the railway (https://paol-efel.snb.ca/paol.html?v...n&pan=06573394).

On that subject, is CN as difficult to acquire land from as DoD, ports, and Irvings? I can see why they want to hang on to the gigantic lot east of Rallye Motors, but the segment across the creek does them no good.

From what I understand they purchased the land/houses next E, perhaps they're waiting for the lease to renew. They will likely demolish those homes/buildings to make room for either larger building or multiple buildings.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

Why don't they sell D or E? I'm sure they could find a buyer. Also, I could have sworn there was a plan for the southwest corner (https://paol-efel.snb.ca/paol.html?v...n&pan=06658071 and adjacent) that wasn't just overflow parking... but then again you can't fit much here unless you acquired the CN-owned lot east of Jonathan Creek and north of the railway (https://paol-efel.snb.ca/paol.html?v...n&pan=06573394).

On that subject, is CN as difficult to acquire land from as DoD, ports, and Irvings? I can see why they want to hang on to the gigantic lot east of Rallye Motors, but the segment across the creek does them no good.

A while back, The Junction had a listing with commercial realtor Cushman & Wakefield. Regarding the undeveloped land, it was listed for lease, build-to-suit, or for sale. The listing was active for quite a while but obviously there were no suitable offers at that time.

I have to think that Westmount Developments would have had conditions on what could be built there in order to maintain the quality and image of the overall development.

I do think that it was a good move by the developer to try to accelerate the pace of the project, considering that they purchased the land a way back in 2014. It would be great if we could see a capable developer come on board and start construction of another building in the Junction Urban Village. Next spring lot D would be great.

But I must agree with MonctonRad - I just don't think we'll see any new construction here for some time.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

The Moncton Freshii, (located at 200 Ivan Rand Dr East), has posted online today that they are permanently closing effective July 14, 2024.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/FreshiiNewB...nNfu5TCQGssvkl

Reposted from the Retail thread.

I am not surprised by this at all. While the ground level commercial/retail at the Junction Village is of very high quality, it is more suited to commercial office space, services, destination retail, or traditional sit down restaurants than it is for high volume low margin food retailers (QSR) like Freshii. I'm surprised that Yuzu Sushi reopened there.

The only type of food option I can see working there is a conventional coffee shop (catering to residents), or, a destination restaurant. It is just too far removed from the core of the downtown to generate any spontaneous walk-in traffic.

I am gratified that the Junction Village is as successful as it is in leasing their commercial/retail space. I wish them well. I just think there are certain market sectors which would not thrive there.

[BlackYear]

I am not even close of being surprised of them closing. I saw nobody inside the previous Main/Bostford location when they were there and a move to a more isolated location was baffling. I'm going to go ahead and guess the current Harvest food place at Main/Bostford is next to close. I like fresh salads but have no plans on paying an arm & a leg for one. Just don't understand this concept in a small town like Moncton.

[jonny golden]

Yeah, there are certain business types that just won't work in a setting like The Junction, as there's little to no walk up foot traffic. Even with a third apartment building and the tenants across the street in the tomato building, it'd still be challenging for a place like Freshii to survive.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by BlackYear

I am not even close of being surprised of them closing. I saw nobody inside the previous Main/Bostford location when they were there and a move to a more isolated location was baffling. I'm going to go ahead and guess the current Harvest food place at Main/Bostford is next to close. I like fresh salads but have no plans on paying an arm & a leg for one. Just don't understand this concept in a small town like Moncton.

There simply is not enough workers downtown at the moment to support these types of places. You need a steady flow of workers coming in on a daily basis. Medavie still has about 90% of their staff at home. In 5-10 years we'll have a much more solid foundation of people living downtown and perhaps working as well but we aren't quite there yet.

[jonny golden]

I know it's not likely to happen, but it would be great if a chunk of the Sobey's parking lot across the street could be developed. It would pretty much fill in that VH & Main intersection if a building could be constructed on the corner.

A lot of that sea of asphalt is unused, and usually sits empty. But again, I don't think we'll see it happen.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by lirette

There simply is not enough workers downtown at the moment to support these types of places. You need a steady flow of workers coming in on a daily basis. Medavie still has about 90% of their staff at home. In 5-10 years we'll have a much more solid foundation of people living downtown and perhaps working as well but we aren't quite there yet.

Good point. If we aren't going back to thousands of downtown office workers we need to replace them with thousands of downtown residents.

[MonctonRad]

There is a replacement for Freshii already!!!

Banh Mi Bready will specialize in Vietnamese cuisine, including Vietnamese subs (that's novel).



Menu: https://www.banhmibready.ca/menus

I give this place a better chance of surviving than Freshii. The menu looks interesting, and, I could see people making a special trip here to try it out (something I doubt happened very often with Freshii).

[MonctonRad]

Signage has already been installed. I think they are open.

This probably takes the record for the speediest business turnover in Moncton history.

I wonder if the Olympics inspired them.

[jonny golden]

From St. Bernard's thread:

The Bank of Canada is expected to announce its 3rd consecutive interest rate cut today at 11:00 AM ADT. I know it's only one component of these major developments, but 1/4 of 1% is a lot when you're talking about a multi million dollar project.

There are 2 more announcements to come this year, and it's expected that we'll see two more rate cuts. So Ritchie delaying the project for a year could have been influenced (at least partially) by the rates.

I wonder how much interest rates have affected the construction schedule of The Junction urban village?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

From St. Bernard's thread:



I wonder how much interest rates have affected the construction schedule of The Junction urban village?

This is a good point. It might speed up some projects.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

This is a good point. It might speed up some projects.

I hope you're right, and I think it will. The way the rates have come down, (.25% today!) the projects in the pipeline will look better financially next spring. Especially if we get the predicted two more reductions this year. Not to mention that there are further reductions possible before the next construction season starts in 2025.

Bank of Canada interest rate announcements 2025:

Wednesday, January 29
Wednesday, March 12
Wednesday, April 16
Wednesday, June 4
Wednesday, July 30
Wednesday, September 17
Wednesday, October 29
Wednesday, December 10

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

I wonder how much interest rates have affected the construction schedule of The Junction urban village?

Thinking on this further, this makes the most sense as to why construction on the Junction Urban Village has stalled.

I mean, otherwise, the Junction has been a remarkable success. The existing buildings were fully leased (on the residential side) before construction was completed. As for the commercial space, there is only one vacant CRU in the entire development. The whole Junction Village has been built to exacting standards, is centrally located and by all reports is very popular with the tenants. Any new buildings in this development should commensurately lease very quickly as well. There are no red flags.

The only explanation why construction has stalled has to be because of economic considerations, most likely the high interest rates. Now that rates are coming down, perhaps we will see construction begin again next year.

[jonny golden]

Thinking on this further, this makes the most sense as to why construction on the Junction Urban Village has stalled.

I agree with you, especially after reading the financial news article today around interest rates. The Bank of Canada feels that the rate cuts haven't had the desired economic effect so far, and that further reductions could continue all the way into the middle of next year. There is even a strong possibility that we might see a .50% cut (instead of the typical .25%) somewhere along the way.

The principals behind the Junction development would be very aware of this, and when you're talking about multi millions of dollars, interest rates can make a huge difference.

I just wonder if the cost of money over the next 6 - 8 months drops significantly, could they take advantage of that, and go with a more significant building along Main Street? I still think some type of 55 Queen configuration would be a home run for the Junction developers.

I also think the interest rate climate may be why the St. Bernard's developers have temporarily delayed their project. And Ashford is just biding their time watching the city do their infrastructure work while the rates continue to tumble. Next year could be a biggie for Moncton!