[Moncton] St. Bernard Place | 6 Storeys | Under Construction

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Unfortunately yes.

A generic Spitfire design now as well, but with a fairly nice retail podium and apparently a confirmed tenant for the podium (restaurant).

Much better than a vacant dirt parking lot anyway, and, combined with St. Bernard Church, and with St. Bernard's Rectory (now undergoing rehabilitation in preparation for conversion to a boutique hotel), this will mean a complete rejuvenation for this city block.

Agreed, all developments are better than empty lots. Especially with current market conditions.

[jonny golden]

[jonny golden]

I know it's better than the unsightly vacant lot there now, but it still irks me that it was reduced from 18 floors to 6. Even the original 12 storey proposal would have been a great companion to 55 Queen. Together they would have made a serious impression on this area of downtown.

The fact that this developer had plans for an 18 floor building is positive though. Hopefully they can break through the 6 floor barrier with their next project.

[Monctoncore]

Honeslty 6 floors is still great. Its good infill and it will add to the streetscape. Now to get that empty lot across from the Rectory built on and there is a nice stretch of Botsford looking nice,!

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Monctoncore

Honeslty 6 floors is still great. Its good infill and it will add to the streetscape. Now to get that empty lot across from the Rectory built on and there is a nice stretch of Botsford looking nice,!

Indeed. North of Main Street, this is the most prime land available for development in the downtown core.

[Five Four]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

A bit disappointed with the height decrease, however I'm glad this lot is finally being built up! The new design has a good street presence which I think is an approvement from the last design.

[Taeolas]

Good presence overall. I do hope they grey down the white siding part of the design a bit. Seeing it in the render seems a bit jarring contrasted with the old grey stone of the church next to it. The original 12 story render you can see on Page 1 was nice, but I guess this is better than an empty lot... or SFH or duplex/triplexes at least. And 6 stories isn't really shabby either. Moncton's been spoiled by all the 10+ projects going on; but 6 is still pretty good.

[KnoxfordGuy]

It may not impact the skyline but to pedestrians, tall buildings don't add or detract from the experience. Good urban use is really key.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by KnoxfordGuy

It may not impact the skyline but to pedestrians, tall buildings don't add or detract from the experience. Good urban use is really key.

It will do wonders for improving the walkability of that particular neighborhood. The area beyond the church with that empty parking lot and overgrown grass suddenly feels "sketchy" when you are walking there today. Sometimes you get characters roaming through there but even if you dont its just not a pleasant sight.

You now have a nice stretch all the way from the pumphouse / 55 queen all the way to 83 botsford which houses the new Tonys location. I would much rather see this then have to wait another 10 years for something more significant.

We'll let Lafford and others spruce up the height of the core while other projects like this add density and improve urban street presence

[905er]

Reducing the height to 1/3 of the original and topping it off with a hideous design.. this is not a win for Moncton. People have to look at these buildings.. how does this improve anything other than eliminating a parking lot. The 12 floor version at least looked somewhat attractive.

[BlackYear]

Is it main floor concrete with added 5 floors wood frame?

Or 6 floors of concrete?

[Taeolas]

Hopefully it's all concrete. It might end up somewhat similar to what's going up on the corner of Queen and Smythe in Freddy (The Risteen building site). It's fully concrete framed, and working on the 3rd floor now. I think that's intended to be 5-6 stories in the end as well.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Hopefully it's all concrete. It might end up somewhat similar to what's going up on the corner of Queen and Smythe in Freddy (The Risteen building site). It's fully concrete framed, and working on the 3rd floor now. I think that's intended to be 5-6 stories in the end as well.

The Risteen building is 8 storeys.

I can't imagine a six storey build would be concrete. Either stick or steel is most likely.

[Leroy321]

Originally Posted by BlackYear

Is it main floor concrete with added 5 floors wood frame?

Or 6 floors of concrete?

Amicos last two mix used 6 story buildings have been main floor concrete and the rest wood.

[Photo1]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Unfortunately yes.

A generic Spitfire design now as well, but with a fairly nice retail podium and apparently a confirmed tenant for the podium (restaurant).

Much better than a vacant dirt parking lot anyway, and, combined with St. Bernard Church, and with St. Bernard's Rectory (now undergoing rehabilitation in preparation for conversion to a boutique hotel), this will mean a complete rejuvenation for this city block.

All these "spitfire" designs around the city are starting to get a bit nauseating...most of them, to me, are just bland. They don't have any real creativity to them, just big boxes with black/white/rust colored panels...

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by Monctoncore

Honeslty 6 floors is still great. Its good infill and it will add to the streetscape. Now to get that empty lot across from the Rectory built on and there is a nice stretch of Botsford looking nice,!

Yes this is a good infill project in the core and it'll mean more people living downtown, something that the city wants.

Moncton invested in upgrades to the underground infrastructure on Wesley & Victoria Streets in anticipation of this development, so I'm sure they're pleased with the ongoing tax revenue that will be generated.

Still, it would have been nice to see something making an impact on the skyline.

That parking lot on Queen/Alma/Botsford would also be a prime development location. Maybe some day!

[Five Four]

Originally Posted by Photo1

All these "spitfire" designs around the city are starting to get a bit nauseating...most of them, to me, are just bland. They don't have any real creativity to them, just big boxes with black/white/rust colored panels...

I agree, however I unfortunately don't see anything changing with St. Bernard Place, so I'm just glad something's being built! The 12 storey design was my favourite, and although I'd prefer something more substantial (such as the 18 storey) here, the current plans aren't bad either. While the tower itself isn't anything to write home about (overall design is rather bland + the white's somewhat hideous), I think the overall street presence with the bottom floor is an improvement over the last. Considering current market conditions I'm just glad something is being built now.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by Five Four

I agree, however I unfortunately don't see anything changing with St. Bernard Place, so I'm just glad something's being built! The 12 storey design was my favourite, and although I'd prefer something more substantial (such as the 18 storey) here, the current plans aren't bad either. While the tower itself isn't anything to write home about (overall design is rather bland + the white's somewhat hideous), I think the overall street presence with the bottom floor is an improvement over the last. Considering current market conditions I'm just glad something is being built now.

Right, I understand this is an "architecture" forum, but not sure about some of the negative hyperbole about this one. Can't see how there's an argument that this is a net negative or a loss for Moncton to have a 6 story infill project here. The % of people who would stand around shaking their fist at this project on the streets is like 0.0001%.

The market conditions have changed, and we will need to adjust our expectations accordingly on some of these projects. The lot this is filling is often overgrown with weeds and has random characters roaming in it. Now we have a modern building in this spot, and further improving downtown neighbourhoods that are not on a main street itself which is great. If we want every one of these projects to be iconic and skyline changing we'll all be dead by the time shovels are in the ground.

[Mud]

Originally Posted by lirette

If we want every one of these projects to be iconic and skyline changing we'll all be dead by the time shovels are in the ground.

My thoughts exactly. I'm by no means a pessimist but people need to be serious about the viability of multiple 15-20 story buildings in a city like Moncton (in the short-term at least). The city needs to rapidly get warm bodies living downtown to continue it's momentum towards becoming an attractive urban centre. The big projects will follow.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Mud

My thoughts exactly. I'm by no means a pessimist but people need to be serious about the viability of multiple 15-20 story buildings in a city like Moncton (in the short-term at least). The city needs to rapidly get warm bodies living downtown to continue it's momentum towards becoming an attractive urban centre. The big projects will follow.

I agree. We must keep the momentum going. Regardless of style, this is good infill with a nice commercial podium. I don't mind midrise north of Main Street. I personally think that the highrise district should be mostly south of Main Street where the ocean of surface parking is.