[Saint John] Uptown Thread

[DyAm00394]

A new CTV Article:

Saint John Market Square sees influx of new businesses

https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/new-brun...et-square-sees-influx-of-new-businesses/

[sailor734]

Nice to see any signs of life there. It has been nearly as much of a ghost town as Brunswick Square. As someone who remembers the activity and vibrancy of the uptown in the 80's and 90's with Brunswick Square/Market Square/Shops of City Hall and the City Market all full and thriving recent years have been pretty sad. Hopefully we've reached rock bottom and have started to climb out of the hole.

We have a very long way to go though.

The giant hole left by the Museum....an literally empty Brunswick Square Mall....and a City Market with multiple empty spaces, some of which have been vacant for years.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by sailor734

Nice to see any signs of life there. It has been nearly as much of a ghost town as Brunswick Square. As someone who remembers the activity and vibrancy of the uptown in the 80's and 90's with Brunswick Square/Market Square/Shops of City Hall and the City Market all full and thriving recent years have been pretty sad. Hopefully we've reached rock bottom and have started to climb out of the hole.

We have a very long way to go though.

The giant hole left by the Museum....an literally empty Brunswick Square Mall....and a City Market with multiple empty spaces, some of which have been vacant for years.

Is there room at the former museum space for an IMAX? Not getting that French school was pretty serious blow to the future of Market Square, and that's a pretty big, vacant space.

IMAX's are often tied onto Science Centres or Museums... and it could be a way of bringing that space back into the fold of the NB Museum, along with some exhibition space.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Is there room at the former museum space for an IMAX? Not getting that French school was pretty serious blow to the future of Market Square, and that's a pretty big, vacant space.

IMAX's are often tied onto Science Centres or Museums... and it could be a way of bringing that space back into the fold of the NB Museum, along with some exhibition space.

Seems like there are far, far more IMAX screens at cineplexes than "real" IMAX theatres (only 10 standalone in Canada) Out of 1300+ worldwide more than 1200 are located in a cineplex. Given that, a standalone urban location in a small city like SJ seems pretty unlikely.

[DyAm00394]

There is a mention of a new "fun" tenant coming soon to the pedway level. Lease was signed yesterday.



News release: https://sjcommercialre.com/2025/04/09/revive-refresh-reimagine-brunswick-square

"Revive. Refresh. Reimagine Brunswick Square!
Brunswick Square has always been at the heart of Uptown Saint John, and was, for decades, a key destination for shopping, dining, and business. But in recent times, uncertainty has surrounded the centre—tenants left, and speculation about its future grew when reports surfaced that the property was up for sale. Things have changed!

The owners have undergone a strategic restructuring and have emerged under the new name Ravelin Properties. Ravelin is committed to working with retailers and office tenants to bring energy back to Brunswick Square.

To lead the charge, a new leasing team is in place—Stephanie Turner and Brock Turner of Cushman & Wakefield Atlantic. Armed with deep market expertise and an unwavering passion for Uptown Saint John, they are energized to reimagine the potential.

Strategically located in the heart of the “Inside Connection” pedway system, Brunswick Square benefits from steady foot traffic from professionals, visitors, and locals moving through uptown. This unique advantage makes it the perfect place for retailers, restaurants, and office tenants looking for high visibility and convenience.

The uncertainty is over. Join us in bringing Brunswick Square back to life!

For leasing inquiries, contact Stephanie Turner or Brock Turner at Cushman & Wakefield Atlantic".

[sailor734]

^. Same owners, new name. Colour me sceptical. I guess time will tell?

[bingun]

I won’t get my hopes up but any news is good news on the Brunswick Square front.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by sailor734

^. Same owners, new name. Colour me sceptical. I guess time will tell?

As of last week they were still in default and losses were increasing. They are approaching the point where the total market value of the REIT is less than their debt

https://www.costar.com/article/1801583563/rebranded-ravelin-reit-beefs-up-board-as-loss-widens

"However, it faces major challenges. "If the REIT is unsuccessful in negotiating a potential recapitalization plan and raising additional capital in the near term, the REIT will be unable to continue as a going concern," TREIT management said in its quarterly filing.

In the fourth quarter, the REIT saw its portfolio occupancy drop to 76.8% from 79% a year earlier. It reported a net loss of $101.8 million for the quarter compared to a loss of $61.36 million a year earlier."

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by sailor734

Seems like there are far, far more IMAX screens at cineplexes than "real" IMAX theatres (only 10 standalone in Canada) Out of 1300+ worldwide more than 1200 are located in a cineplex. Given that, a standalone urban location in a small city like SJ seems pretty unlikely.

Regina only has one thanks to a donation from a wealthy family… Saint John and New Brunswick don’t exactly have a shortage of billionaires, lol

[DyAm00394]

The new leasing person, Stephanie Turner, responded on LinkedIn to someone's suggestions for Brunswick Square:

"This is good news. I offer the following thought: turn the current retail area (at least the third level) into a medical mall. There is already a start with a drug store and a dental office. Expand this to include doctor’s offices, optical outlets, chiropractors, physiotherapists, massage therapists, etc. Would be a traffic draw and could service the growing uptown population".

Her response was:

"Thank you for weighing in and sharing your thoughts. We are focused on the pedway level and lower level for retail with a longer term view to "reinvent" the third level. I like your idea and promise to explore it!".


And the new leasing team, Stephanie Turner and Brock Turner, previously worked with Brunswick Brokers and has helped Salthill to lease up Lancaster Mall recently. Lancaster Mall now only has one space left available, mostly occupied now.

They both left Brunswick Brokers a couple months ago in Feburary to join Cushman & Wakefield. Stephanie is now the Associate Vice-President of Cushman & Wakefield Atlantic. We shall see if they can bring life back into Brunswick Square.

Also, curious who the new "fun" tenant will be that just signed a lease yesterday. According to the leasing plan on her blog page: https://sjcommercialre.com/brunswick-square-shopping-centre/, it's going in a 1,221sf spot on the pedway level. (Suite B16 is now marked as "leased").

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Regina only has one thanks to a donation from a wealthy family… Saint John and New Brunswick don’t exactly have a shortage of billionaires, lol

So what are we saying here? iMax for a parking lot?

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by Helladog

So what are we saying here? iMax for a parking lot?

Would be a hell of a lot better trade than what's been offered up so far.

Still think a direct pedestrian link between the two historic peninsulas of this city should be the minimum. It shouldn't take 1.5+ hours to walk between Uptown and the West Side.

[RaginRonic]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Is there room at the former museum space for an IMAX? Not getting that French school was pretty serious blow to the future of Market Square, and that's a pretty big, vacant space.

IMAX's are often tied onto Science Centres or Museums... and it could be a way of bringing that space back into the fold of the NB Museum, along with some exhibition space.

The thing about an IMAX screen is that the ones that Cineplex Entertainment (the only viable company that I could see bringing the tech to the Port City) uses are 52.5 feet tall and 69.9 feet wide. Market Square would need to 'raise the roof' for something like that to fit.

[theshark]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Regina only has one thanks to a donation from a wealthy family… Saint John and New Brunswick don’t exactly have a shortage of billionaires, lol

It’s also parts of the science center, not a cinema complex, the initial idea was to play mostly science and nature documentaries but they are sliding movies here and there now.

[cdnguys]

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by theshark

It’s also parts of the science center, not a cinema complex, the initial idea was to play mostly science and nature documentaries but they are sliding movies here and there now.

They’ve really leaned into showing Hollywood films lately I guess.

The science centre aspect was kind of my thinking… very similar to a museum. An IMAX could be operated in conjunction with the NB Museum.

Though, as RaginRonic mentioned, MarketSquare may not be big enough without literally raising the roof.

Still, I can’t think of a much better use for such a large, empty space.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

That will be a very cool addition to Uptown.

[sailor734]

Agree that it will be a nice addition to King Sq.

Now, if something could just be done about the old Paramount site that's been vacant for 12 years.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by sailor734

Agree that it will be a nice addition to King Sq.

Now, if something could just be done about the old Paramount site that's been vacant for 12 years.

Talk about a poor use of land. That would be quite an amazing site for a mixed used mid rise or high rise with ample undergound parking, and maybe some above ground parking too. above ground parking needn't be ugly either. (like at the famous Marina City in Chicago, for example) I was Uptown the other day, and noticed the ANBL store. Talk about a missed opportunity there... the province could have built a really ambitious mixed use high rise development there, with affordable rents, and still have a place for their liquor store at the bottom. I think that whole parking area between the ANBL and Cooke remains a really poor use of land, but there's room for something big there.

____

Anyways, not having a movie theatre remains a huge weak spot for Uptown. There's potential there for a really amazing cinema that plays a whole range of movies from Hollywood classics, to foreign films, contemporary art house, documentaries, and mainstream titles. I still think there's potential for the NB Museum to get involved with an Uptown cinema at their former Uptown site (maybe not an IMAX), along with a some sort of rotating exhibition space, as I think it remains a poor decision to leave Uptown out of the vision for the new, New Brunswick Museum... and with the departure of the French language school, there's remains an opportunity to repurpose that space.

It would be nice if their was a private interest that would buy the former NB Museum space and turn it into a cinema, but not sure there would be many to take on the financial risk or deal with the structural issues with that building. (if I remember correctly, there's a lot of issues with the roof?) and that's why I think it remains a good opportunity for a project related to the NBM or some other kind of project with direct government funding.



Would be really cool to see a cinema like this return to Uptown Saint John... especially if it played some interesting stuff beyond mainstream, Hollywood movies. Even cooler, would be if a new cinema inspired by the former paramount, was the mixed use portion of a mid rise or high rise development, right on top of the former Paramount site. That could give a lot of people a reason to go Uptown again, especially if it included validated, possibly underground parking.

and talk about turning King's Square into a even more of a "theatre district"... having the Saint John Theatre company, Imperial Theatre, and a new Paramount Theatre, all located around King's Square.

🎭🎞️📽️ 🎟️ 🥁🎻🩰

[KnoxfordGuy]

Bulldozing the 200 year old court house for a midrise is a hard pass. The theater will be a great use of the space.