[Saint John, NB] West Side Developments

[Ire Narissis]

I'm happy to see that they removed the ugly suspended ceiling.

I worked in that building when it was T4G; really curious to visit the store and see what they've done to renovate the place. It needed a hell of a lot of work.

[paperplane]

This store has taken how many years to finally open? I dare say it'll stay open for one-third that time.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by Ire Narissis

I'm happy to see that they removed the ugly suspended ceiling.

I worked in that building when it was T4G; really curious to visit the store and see what they've done to renovate the place. It needed a hell of a lot of work.

Here’s some pics posted on FB by Thomas James.

It looks like quite a nice store and such a gigantic huge improvement over a vacant building.

I’m not sure why people are so skeptical about this store… it’s got ample parking and is located at a nice quiet part of the West Side. If I was coming in from elsewhere in the city, I’d rather deal with the parking lot here than the one with Walmart, No Frills, and Shoppers at Lancaster Mall.

I bet going to JYSK be the first time in decades that many former West Siders that moved out to KV and elsewhere will have to drive down Duke Street West, which is quite an interesting street with great views of the city and Harbour.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

The land for sale at 1857 Manawagonish Road is under agreement now. 19.94-acres of land. https://sjcommercialre.com/1857-manawagonish/

Also, the original location the ball hockey facility was going to be built at 1160 Manawagonish Road is now for sale with the idea of townhouses being built there. https://sjcommercialre.com/1660-manawagonish/

Great to hear. I hope they consider something at least 6 storeys there. Even better would be something like a single 15 storey condo or apartment tower with a huge amount of underground parking. The views from 10-15 storeys up here would be absolutely incredible… Manawagonish has some of the best ocean views in the region.

A single 15 storey tower would arguably change the environment of the neighbourhood less, while enhancing one of the best aspects of the location… incredible ocean views.

Would be relatively easy to build something simpler, nicer, and taller than 99 King at a location like this, which I think it could be an even more marketable location for condo or apartment living if done right.

Condos have never taken off Uptown, and all the West Side has ever seen is small apartment buildings and garden homes… I still think the West Side and KV are the logical locations to make condos work in Saint John. Young Urban Professionals might want to live in Uptown Saint John, but their parents and grandparents mostly don’t want to, and they have all the money.

I think the West Side, Grand Bay, and KV would all make good locations for high rise condo living, as they are more scenic and quiet areas than Uptown Saint John. Most of the people in the market for condos and high priced apartments in the Saint John Region will be 55+ and probably not wanting to deal with the many issues that come with the territory of Uptown Saint John. Moreover, I don’t think a lot of young families want to raise even one kid in an Uptown condo, because of all the crime and public nuisance issues facing Uptown. The city and province need bigger and better solutions to build our way out of these public nuisance and addiction issues… and it has to start with bigger solutions to the housing crisis on both sides of the Harbour. I expect more from our minister of Housing and Saint John Harbour MLA, David Hickey. He should be making a lot more noise (and Wayne Long) to get the premier and the PM, Mr. “Build baby build” himself, to live up to his big talk about solutions to the housing crisis here in Canada’s first city with the fastest growing container port in North America… and that includes mid rise and high rise projects here on the West Side.

As for the private sector, I think the more suburban parts of the West Side like Island View Heights would be a great place to try and make condos work in Saint John… even if they’re just 6-10 storeys and not more impressive 15+ storey towers like the ones being built in Moncton recently, or the condos that have been being built on the West Coast for decades… suburban condos could be highly marketable commodities in the Saint John market, and could qualify for government funding, grants, financing, etc.




This is the view from the street view… imagine the view from even 5-10 storeys up.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Any rumblings about possible Ward 1 candidates? Or will any West Siders run for mayor?

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

Land Sale Announcement | West Side Saint John
1857 Manawagonish Road, Saint John, New Brunswick

https://sjcommercialre.com/2026/04/02/land-sale-announcement-west-side-saint-john/

That’s quite the ambitious proposal, wow.(AI slop or not lol)

Originally Posted by dhottawa729

Unsustainable….Equivalent to four 40-storey buildings if you were to locate all that housing in an area with walkable amenities like Uptown SJ. Instead, will generate 656 and 572 car trips during the weekday morning and afternoon peak hours, respectively, at full build-out. Source: ITE Trip Generation Manual.
Why is nobody taking advantage of the high-rise incentive uptown? This suburban stock will satisfy the housing demands for a long time leaving no residual demand for increased density in the core.

Imagine how much nicer this would look/ how much less land would be used if it was spread across 15-20+ storey towers with underground parking. The view from even 10 storeys up here would be incredible.

I’m with you that there’s a huge opportunity for high rise development within the Uptown core and other core adjacent areas, but this area isn’t exactly too far from the city centre (less than 10 minutes away from Uptown Saint John). I think there’s many people who’d rather live in a high rise apartment or condo in an area like this with a spectacular view and walking distance to multiple ocean beaches, nature reserves, etc… instead of a high rise within the uptown core and having to deal with all the disruptions that come with living Uptown.

It would be very good to see more ambitious proposals like this put forward for West Saint John… as if we can continue to grow the population of the city on this side of the river, we will have much more influence within the federal riding we’ve been put in (that is currently a mostly rural riding) … or it will result in further redistricting that puts us back within an urban riding.

[Pugsley]

One thing to consider is that not all of the potential residents for this will be downtown commuters. Given construction and development at many places on the west-side, this might be exactly the kind of development that works for them - singles working in construction, couples employed at one of two companies based in the west end, newcomers, and of course retirees looking for an affordable mid-rise with views who may not want a more urban downtown lifestyle.

Either way, more options for people in a variety of housing types (even outside downtown) means more consumers, more retail vibrancy (both west side and a short drive into downtown), and increased overall economic impact. This can boost overall desirability of the city as a whole and further spur high-rise growth in the downtown over time. It has a trickle-down impact.

[NewIreland]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Imagine how much nicer this would look/ how much less land would be used if it was spread across 15-20+ storey towers with underground parking. The view from even 10 storeys up here would be incredible.

I’m with you that there’s a huge opportunity for high rise development within the Uptown core and other core adjacent areas, but this area isn’t exactly too far from the city centre (less than 10 minutes away from Uptown Saint John). I think there’s many people who’d rather live in a high rise apartment or condo in an area like this with a spectacular view and walking distance to multiple ocean beaches, nature reserves, etc… instead of a high rise within the uptown core and having to deal with all the disruptions that come with living Uptown.

It would be very good to see more ambitious proposals like this put forward for West Saint John… as if we can continue to grow the population of the city on this side of the river, we will have much more influence within the federal riding we’ve been put in (that is currently a mostly rural riding) … or it will result in further redistricting that puts us back within an urban riding.

It doesn’t have to be towers, but the rendering is pure AI slop which was clearly generated from a “give me an optimized housing layout for a developer who is broke, hates urbanism, loves seas of asphalt, and wants to capitalize on the WE NEED HOUSING craze in order to avoid accountability” prompt. Is this Percy again?

[gtsoc]

Originally Posted by NewIreland

Is this Percy again?

Property is registered to a company out of Toronto.

[darkharbour]

I must admit that this rendering had me wondering if I was looking at an April Fools joke.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

The playground structures are comically huge

🛝

[bingun]

The AI render slop is only going to get worse. At least they had to put in some minor effort previously; this looks like it was made in five minutes. Maybe it is just me, but the colour scheme of the buildings looks like some kind of colourful retirement community in Florida. We just need some golf carts for folks to drive around in.

It is definitely a high-value location; the views are fantastic, and it's a stone's throw from the west-side retail and a highway ramp.

[bingun]

Some updates from Irving on project Next Gen. What an awesome-looking crane!

[sailor734]

I've been impressed by that huge crawler everytime I've gone over the Falls Bridge in recent months. It's a monster that even overshadows the tower crane!

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Another view of the next gen project from further away.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

[RaginRonic]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Don't they have to strip that building down to studs and fix everything?

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by RaginRonic

Don't they have to strip that building down to studs and fix everything?

No idea, but it wouldn’t surprise me, it’s ancient.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by bingun

A user named EH Wright posted drone photos of Fallsview Drive. It looks like they installed a map with the work they completed last year, which includes a 'future trail' down to the water and an alternative to the current steps. Between the parking lot improvements here and the ones underway at Fallsview Avenue, it will be a noticeable improvement for tourists.

The timing of these images is really useful to see the current state of the 'Cove' trail before the foliage grows in. Construction on that section of Harbour Passage should begin shortly, I believe.

I have mixed feelings on this priority project. It’s great that the West Side is getting significant investment for recreation/ active transportation, but this is a path that already exists, and is one of the few examples of a Saint John Cycling trail project that provided a useful transportation link for urban cyclists, instead of their usual double diamond mountain bike trails in Rockwood Park… and at not expense to taxpayers.

I’m not sure the city is getting great value out of this investment, as again, this trail already exists, they just want to pave it and “beautify” it. I’d much rather see the city invest in an active transportation overpass at Molson Ave connecting The Veil with Fairville Plaza, or some investments in bike sharing systems for the Harbour passage, since that would actually encourage people to ride a bike between Uptown and the West Side.

I can already ride my bike between the West Side and Uptown using the Harbour Passage, I just don’t do it that often, because unless I’m going somewhere with a patio, I’m too worried about my bike getting stolen… learned the hard way a few years ago.

Though, Sailor’s idea for express busses between the Lower West and Uptown could be quite a good solution if there were say 5-6 stops on the Harbour Passage between the Uptown and West Side… and if the last bus between Uptown and the West Side left at 1 or 2 am.

[ell]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

I have mixed feelings on this priority project. It’s great that the West Side is getting significant investment for recreation/ active transportation, but this is a path that already exists, and is one of the few examples of a Saint John Cycling trail project that provided a useful transportation link for urban cyclists, instead of their usual double diamond mountain bike trails in Rockwood Park… and at not expense to taxpayers.

I’m not sure the city is getting great value out of this investment, as again, this trail already exists, they just want to pave it and “beautify” it. I’d much rather see the city invest in an active transportation overpass at Molson Ave connecting The Veil with Fairville Plaza, or some investments in bike sharing systems for the Harbour passage, since that would actually encourage people to ride a bike between Uptown and the West Side.

I can already ride my bike between the West Side and Uptown using the Harbour Passage, I just don’t do it that often, because unless I’m going somewhere with a patio, I’m too worried about my bike getting stolen… learned the hard way a few years ago.

Though, Sailor’s idea for express busses between the Lower West and Uptown could be quite a good solution if there were say 5-6 stops on the Harbour Passage between the Uptown and West Side… and if the last bus between Uptown and the West Side left at 1 or 2 am.

I really enjoy the current trail that The Cove will replace, I'm going to miss it! The steep, secluded, unlit trail is not a safe and accessible option for everyone though.

Besides making the route more prominent/well-known, this upgrade will triple or quadruple the number of people who are able to enjoy this path. Taken together, those factors will increase usage immensely. I think it will be well-used and well-worth the use of active transportation funds.

I love the idea of bringing back a Harbour Bridge Express! That was what the 15 used to be. I believe the change to a standard route was made when flex service was introduced - the 15 has to cover lower west because flex service cannot handle that much demand.

The 15 is still a great route but if the city continues to grow/densify, the 15 could be more direct, more frequent, with longer hours.