[Saint John, NB] 99 King Street | 13 storeys | Under Construction

[KnoxfordGuy]

I love how the lawn was extended from Kings Square on to Charlotte street. Looks great.

[905er]

This is a very unattractive new building.. I hope the finished product will look better than the renderings, because as it stands it looks like an upside down chest of drawers. I'm assuming those are the most up to date renders..

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by 905er

This is a very unattractive new building.. I hope the finished product will look better than the renderings, because as it stands it looks like an upside down chest of drawers. I'm assuming those are the most up to date renders..

I’m assuming it’s the previous unpublished rendering as it’s a complete mash up of the first and latest rendering.

[bingun]

Jake McVicar posted a great image of the site from Facebook. I assume this is from a drone.

[sailor734]

Well, one way or another it's going to be a very prominent landmark at the head of King. I just hope it turns out to look better than the renderings would lead you to believe.

[DyAm00394]

New Telegraph Journal article: https://tj.news/saint-john-south/construction-at-99-king-st-ramping-up-and-causing-traffic-woes

"Percy Wilbur says he’s heard the complaints after several notices about traffic rerouting appeared on the city’s website because of his construction project.

The developer of 99 King St. – site of the former Woolworth’s in the city’s uptown – said he’s not really into social media, but he hears what people are saying and unfortunately there’s just not much he can do about it at this time.

“I know the pain (people) are going through, I’m not on social media but I hear what people are saying, I understand it,” he said. “But if we want development…the old building was dangerous, it was dilapidated – a blight on our economy, so was the hole in the ground that was there before – I know in my heart we’re doing something good here and I try to do my best.”

The estimated $40-million project is on track, Wilbur said, especially with warmer weather starting, and he’s optimistic for a fall 2026 opening.

Like any developer, Wilbur said he’s been paying attention to the ongoing trade war between Canada and the United States and watching for rising prices or changes to his supply and materials appropriation. But so far, he said, he hasn’t been effected.

“We’re trying to lock everything in and get all our pricing now, and so far people are quite agreeable to hold those prices,” he said.

In a search for alternative supplies to U.S. products, Wilbur said they’ll be using what he called three-in-one heating and air conditioning units for the apartments, which are from Quebec. Using them, he said, also means the building won’t have compressors on the outside of the residential units".

[bridgeoftea]

I love that timeline then remembering that the Empire State building took 13 and a half months to complete.

[darkharbour]

Originally Posted by bridgeoftea

I love that timeline then remembering that the Empire State building took 13 and a half months to complete.

...and five people died in those 13 months, so maybe taking our time with projects isn't such a bad thing.

[bingun]

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

New Telegraph Journal article: https://tj.news/saint-john-south/construction-at-99-king-st-ramping-up-and-causing-traffic-woes

I am glad that they have picked up on this, but what the article fails to point out is that half of the planned closures never actually occurred.

They post information on social media and tell people that buses will be rerouted. Then I walked past King Street, and it was open to traffic with no crane/concrete work occurring.

I will give them a pass and say perhaps the weather was a factor, but if the same pattern happens over the next few months, it's just poor planning and execution.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by bingun

I am glad that they have picked up on this, but what the article fails to point out is that half of the planned closures never actually occurred.

They post information on social media and tell people that buses will be rerouted. Then I walked past King Street, and it was open to traffic with no crane/concrete work occurring.

I will give them a pass and say perhaps the weather was a factor, but if the same pattern happens over the next few months, it's just poor planning and execution.

Couple off thoughts on this. ....what about closing the westbound (downhill) lane on King longer term and make it one way above Germain? Could they work with that amount of space. I've watched 30 story condo towers go up in Vancouver and they almost never close a street completely. If they do it's often only for a few hours overnight rather than during the day.

Second thought would be to close South Market and stage from that side of the site.

[adamuptownsj]

Originally Posted by darkharbour

...and five people died in those 13 months, so maybe taking our time with projects isn't such a bad thing.

that's with no harnesses or any basic precautions. Agonizingly slow builds are not from following safety rules.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

that's with no harnesses or any basic precautions. Agonizingly slow builds are not from following safety rules.

So what is the cause? Inexperienced/inefficient developers? Lack of cashflow/shoestring budgets? Skilled labour shortages? Material shortages?

I don't know if it is perception or reality but stuff seems to go up more slowly in SJ than say the three sisters project in Moncton (or projects Halifax or the ROC). They seem to take longer from approval to groundbreaking but also from start of construction to completion.
Do people think that is a valid observation?

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by sailor734

So what is the cause? Inexperienced/inefficient developers? Lack of cashflow/shoestring budgets? Skilled labour shortages? Material shortages?

I don't know if it is perception or reality but stuff seems to go up more slowly in SJ than say the three sisters project in Moncton (or projects Halifax or the ROC). They seem to take longer from approval to groundbreaking but also from start of construction to completion.
Do people think that is a valid observation?

100% buildings move way more slowly here. Every time I go back to Halifax and see the progress of their buildings it's like 10 floors for every 2 for SJ.

[Five Four]

I'm not a huge fan of the renderings. I despise Irving, but their new home office looks really nice and I think something like it would look great on this site. They clearly put a lot of effort into making sure it looked nice and fit in well with Saint John, unlike what we've seen with this development so far.

The new renderings don't look great, mainly the upper portion. The weird fake ornamentation mixed in with the mostly empty walls clashes in a very unpleasant way, especially with where the balconies are placed. The roof is the worst.. What is going on? Those things on the corner remind me more of a budget freeway exit hotel than a major building in the downtown in Canada's first city. Also, what is that weird, very wide boxy glass window in the middle?

Overall, I feel the developer has a lot of ideas, but put them together in a way where none of them are fully realised and end up clashing. I'm hoping a better design is chosen. I love Saint John, and I feel it deserves better.

[JakeNB]

According to a LinkedIn post from one of Strescon's business development people, 99 King is "going total precast" - here's what the post said:

99 King is going total precast!

Strescon will be fabricating and installing 2,000 precast concrete components for the new 12-storey development in Uptown Saint John, including:
• 1,414 prestressed hollow core slabs
• 260 architectural panels
• 273 interior panels
• 53 stairs

Keep an eye out for us this summer.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by Five Four

I'm not a huge fan of the renderings. I despise Irving, but their new home office looks really nice and I think something like it would look great on this site. They clearly put a lot of effort into making sure it looked nice and fit in well with Saint John, unlike what we've seen with this development so far.

The new renderings don't look great, mainly the upper portion. The weird fake ornamentation mixed in with the mostly empty walls clashes in a very unpleasant way, especially with where the balconies are placed. The roof is the worst.. What is going on? Those things on the corner remind me more of a budget freeway exit hotel than a major building in the downtown in Canada's first city. Also, what is that weird, very wide boxy glass window in the middle?

Overall, I feel the developer has a lot of ideas, but put them together in a way where none of them are fully realised and end up clashing. I'm hoping a better design is chosen. I love Saint John, and I feel it deserves better.

It’s really a shame, because simple designs can look very nice. Not sure why they went with such a weird design on this one, but maybe the renderings really do look much worse than what the finished project will actually look like.

Imo, Neo-Art Deco is the perfect design language for mid rises and high rises in Uptown Saint John.

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by Five Four

I'm not a huge fan of the renderings. I despise Irving, but their new home office looks really nice and I think something like it would look great on this site. They clearly put a lot of effort into making sure it looked nice and fit in well with Saint John, unlike what we've seen with this development so far.

The new renderings don't look great, mainly the upper portion. The weird fake ornamentation mixed in with the mostly empty walls clashes in a very unpleasant way, especially with where the balconies are placed. The roof is the worst.. What is going on? Those things on the corner remind me more of a budget freeway exit hotel than a major building in the downtown in Canada's first city. Also, what is that weird, very wide boxy glass window in the middle?

Overall, I feel the developer has a lot of ideas, but put them together in a way where none of them are fully realised and end up clashing. I'm hoping a better design is chosen. I love Saint John, and I feel it deserves better.

IOL HQ was designed by Patrick Fejer and B+H Architects. If you haven’t seen what the inside looks like, check it out here https://bharchitects.com/en/project/irving-oil-home-office-en/
I’ve been in many Class A office buildings around maritimes, and without a doubt this is the nicest.

[darkharbour]

King Street shut off again today for concrete pouring. Certainly a positive for the development, but I would imagine this continues to irk the city as I don't recall seeing any advance notice about this one.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

IOL HQ was designed by Patrick Fejer and B+H Architects. If you haven’t seen what the inside looks like, check it out here https://bharchitects.com/en/project/irving-oil-home-office-en/
I’ve been in many Class A office buildings around maritimes, and without a doubt this is the nicest.

The IOL headquarters is an example of how to do this style of architecture right.

From the renderings I've seen, 91King? not so much.

Still, they have changed renderings so often maybe we will have to wait and see the finished product (and hope for the best)

My bigger worry is that they will cut corners to save on costs and we will end up with a building that has ongoing issues from being done on the cheap..........A situation where you have wasted a prime location on a less than prime building.

[darkharbour]

Originally Posted by sailor734

The IOL headquarters is an example of how to do this style of architecture right.

From the renderings I've seen, 91King? not so much.

Still, they have changed renderings so often maybe we will have to wait and see the finished product (and hope for the best)

My bigger worry is that they will cut corners to save on costs and we will end up with a building that has ongoing issues from being done on the cheap..........A situation where you have wasted a prime location on a less than prime building.

Well if the post above that included information from Stresscon is accurate about the pre-cast panel construction, I don't have a lot of optimism that the final product will be amazing when viewed up-close.