Quote:
Originally Posted by sailor734
I don't disagree completely but it does seem like Irving has fulfilled their part of the original agreement. They demolished the old Centrecare building and created a park that they maintained for many years. They now have a bone fide business use for the land so I'd say they have no further obligation to maintain the park or to allow public access to the property.
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Are you a lawyer
and a sailor?
(a great combo, if so
)
They've definitely lived up to part of the agreement so far... they promptly paid a
whopping $1 million for 4 acres of prime riverfront real estate in the heart of the city, they demolished the buildings and assumed all responsibility, and they retained the property as green space in a very custodial and responsible manner. Since then, Wolastaq has become an integral part of the West Side of Saint John, and it's added immense value to a very important historic area of Saint John. The question now, is on the meaning of the language "suitable economic development opportunity", and not a term as crude and simple as "bonafide business use".
Who, if not the City of of Saint John, decides on what is suitable use of land within the border of the municipality? This is not a piece of provincial land anymore, it is private property, and subject to all municipal bylaws and zoning regulations. To suggest a 500 vehicle parking lot is a suitable economic opportunity for 4 acres zones of prime real estate on a prominent piece of land overlooking the skyline of the city and entire region, is just beyond short sighted, or completely disingenuous. (I'm not suggesting this is what
you are saying, Sailor, though many others, including JDI certain are)
What's the point of paying our lawyers, urban planners, and their departments millions of dollars each year to come up with and enforce a municipal plan to ensure the city is getting the best use out of its land, and that residents get the built environment they deserve? City staff pretty quickly flagged this proposal as a problematic project that could negatively impact the neighbourhood surrounding Wolastoq Park, and it completely goes against the municipal plan.
In my humble opinion, repurposing such a large parcel of parkland and prime real estate as a 500 vehicle parking does
not seem like asuitable economic opportunity for this prominent property at one of the most historic crossroads in our city... and it seems the city's planners, along with at least half the city council are of a similar opinion on this. If a permanent zoning request is ever going to be approved for this 4 acres of prominent real estate in the historic heart of the West Side, it should be zoned for
mixed use residential developments, and not zoned for open ended, commercial developments into the future.
This is an example of the type of home directly adjacent to the park.
That portion of Lancaster Avenue is one of the city's nicest residential neighbourhoods, with some of the most notable and historic architecture on this side of the city.
As community activist, Bryan Wilson, mentioned at the public hearing, there is an immense value on nature... though I think he should have gotten more into the actual dollar figure of that value, as it would be in the millions. Moreover, taking away that parkland and replacing it with a huge, 500 vehicle permanent dirt lot will negatively impact the value of properties in the surrounding area around Wolastoq Park. Heritage conservationists would be going bonkers over this type of proposal, Irving related or not, if it was proposed for the Central Peninsula. I'm honestly surprised the city has actually stuck up for the West Side as much as they have on this proposal so far, and it's nice to finally see.
The negative impacts of this proposal pose an economic risk to the surrounding neighbourhood exponentially greater than a $250k investment a nearby trail system, and another $250 in far away Dominion Park. The negative economic impacts of this proposal on surrounding neighbourhood was probably a big part of why the proposal was deemed an unsuitable economic opportunity, along with traffic concerns and making Simms Corner even worse... but more simply than that, this remains problem of land use, as the proposal represents an exceptionally poor use of 4 acres at a prominent location within the urban core of the city.
Like I've said before, guys like
UptownAdam and
Brent Harris are just not thinking
big enough on this file, and not thinking
smart enough in terms of offering JDI an economic opportunity that they could actually profit off of. JDI can't make a profit off improving the Harbour Passage, and to quote Jim Irving himself, "We don't need Simms Corner". Though he did relent to saying they could help out with Simms Corner. Simms Corner is something that the city, province, and federal government should be working together to fix, and of course, JDI could still be involved. However, merely enhancing the Harbour passage passage a bit between Wolastoq Park and Long Wharf, and improving other parks to the tune of a few more million dollars than proposed still remains an incredible low ask for the largest construction company in Atlantic Canada and their more than $1 billion "next gen" expansion project.
In terms of "horse trading" over Wolastoq Park for improvements to the Harbour Passage sytem, a pedestrian link near mouth of the St. John river/Saint John Harbour should be the absolute minimum, as this link is the most significant missing piece of the Harbour Passage system. It shouldn't take more than 3 hours or more to walk between the West Side, Uptown, and back, and there are solutions to fix this.
This is the missing link in the Harbour passage system,
not the portion between Wolastoq Park and the HMCS Brunswicker.
JDI is more than capable of building and partially funding a pedestrian link between across or
beneath the St. John river... and the province, the feds, and even the city are also more than capable of contributing to the funding of such a project . Be it a new pedestrian bridge, addition to the Harbour Bridge, or even a tunnel, JDI could absolutely get the job done with funding assistance and cooperation from the city, province and federal government... or they could help fund the return of a ferry, or a free rapid transit link over the bridge that ran later than regular busses.
To quote JDI in an article from one of the Saint John Region's crucial news agencies,
Country94.1 , JDI, “In the long-term, we still require parking and will reapply for a rezoning at some point in the future. In the meantime, we are forced to proceed with a less efficient, temporary option both for the workers and the company.” It's abundantly clear that this saga is far from over, and that there will be more attempts by JDI to rezone this property into the future.
________
I think it's time for the city to try and change the conversation here, and think bigger. As I've already called for multiple times, a mixed used residential would be a far more suitable economic development opportunity for this once public property, which could also include a solution to JDI's parking problems into the future. This shouldn't be considered too much of an ask for the largest construction company in Atlantic Canada, which happens to call this city home, and is well aware that a housing crisis exists here in Saint John. Such a project would be transformational and hugely positive for the neighbourhood, and also hugely beneficial to the public image and of JDI to the people of Saint John, and the entire province of New Brunswick. I was disappointed to see that the city never really even suggested any sort of mixed use residential development for this property, which could fundamentally considered a "
win-win-win" (build housing stock, provide JDI the parking solutions, and be part of fixing Simms Corner). It was also concerning, to say the least, that DTI or someone representing the province was not willing to participate in the recent public hearing, as they absolutely need to be a part of this conversation going forward, especially now that JDI is trying to change the conversation to be more about the future of Simms Corner.
There's room on this parcel for parking solutions, AND housing solutions... a true, "win-win":
However, If JDI is hellbent on a 4 acre parking lot, and nothing else, then the equivalent ask in terms of an investment in improving the Harbour Passage system must be something massively more consequential than a few more millions invested in a portion of the trail system that already exists in the form of sidewalks, along with some more upgrades to parks and trails. The major "missing link" of the Harbour Trail system that remains is the "pedestrian chasm" that has existed between the West Side and Uptown since the end of the Saint John Harbour Ferry and the construction of the Harbour Bridge, and has forced pedestrians to take an extremely long and indirect route between the two historical peninsulas of this city ever since.
It takes upwards of 2.5-3.5 hours to walk between the West Side, Uptown, and back. For more than a century, there was a ferry that existed in Saint John that cut down the round trip between the two main peninsulas to mere minutes for pedestrians. The
historical plaque to the ferry along the Harbour Passage is a total slap in the face to pedestrians of the present that continue to venture between the West Side and Uptown peninsulas almost a century later.
In an ideal situation, the city, the province, the feds, and JDI should be able to negotiate a deal that constructs a significant mixed use residential development at Wolastoq Park, provide additional parking for JDI, fix Simms Corner,
AND finally address the
missing link to the Harbour Passage system, which continues to make the name "Harbour Passage" a substantial misnomer.
Here's hoping the city can change the conversation on this file, and bring all relevant actors to the table to discuss much more ambitious solutions and suitable economic developments for Wolastoq Park, Simms Corner, The Harbour Passage system. Furthermore, there remains a tremendous opportunity to address the housing crisis with an ambitious development at Wolastoq Park, co-related to fixing Simms Corner, getting JDI parking, and improving the Harbour Passage.
I remain confidently optimistic that we will see a plan or vision to come out of continued negotiations between JDI, the city, the province, and feds, that could truly be considered a "win-win-win".
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