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Posted Apr 23, 2008, 3:00 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Grand Bay-Westfield :: NB
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Sod turned for new Metro stadium
$20M facility will host World Junior Track Championships in 2010
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff
Published Wednesday April 23rd, 2008
Appeared on page A1
Politicians from three levels of government joined educators, community leaders, athletes and ordinary New Brunswickers yesterday at the Université de Moncton for the beginning of a new era for sport in the region.
As first reported in the Times & Transcript yesterday, New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham and Fundy-Royal MP Rob Moore accompanied Moncton Mayor Lorne Mitton and UdeM president Yvon Fontaine yesterday to turn the first sod on a new $20 million-plus world class track and field facility in Moncton. That figure includes the value of the land it is built on and other aspects of equipping the facility. The estimated cost of stadium construction itself is about $14.5 million.
The facility, designed by Moncton's Edmond Koch, will be at the centre of the World Junior championships in Athletics (Track and Field) being held in Moncton in 2010.
The championships will be the largest sporting event ever held in Atlantic Canada, with an estimated 2,000 athletes participating from 170 countries.
The new stadium will contain open bleachers, box seating, concession stands, storage, washrooms, hospitality rooms, announcer rooms and offices.
Moore announced additional Government of Canada funding of $1.5 million on top of the $6 million already committed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in a visit to Moncton in March of 2006.
Premier Graham also announced additional funding of $1.5 million towards the project on top of the $5 million already invested by the Province of New Brunswick.
Beyond the opportunities generated through the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics, Moore said, "the new facility will be instrumental in attracting many other significant sporting, cultural and entertainment events to the Moncton area."
"We are very happy to be a partner in organizing these championships, and are pleased to offer our resources and expertise in order to make this event a success," said Yvon Fontaine, President of Université de Moncton. "The addition of this infrastructure on our campus will strongly support our excellent programs in sport for future generations of student athletes, and foster closer ties between the university and the surrounding community."
A mix of fixed and temporary bleachers will allow for a number of seating combinations that will give the facility a capacity of up to 20,000 spectators for sporting events and up to as much as 28,000 for concerts or other events in which the infield can be used for spectators.
Beyond the 2010 event, the stadium will provide a venue for soccer, football, other competitive athletic events and cultural and entertainment activities. It will also provide added infrastructure available for the university to use. The City of Moncton and the Université de Moncton will jointly manage the construction, ongoing maintenance and use of the stadium.
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Metro home sales stay strong
First-time buyers lead the charge, even as average price of Moncton home rises to $160,000
BY ALAN COCHRANE
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF
Published Wednesday April 23rd, 2008
Appeared on page A1
Metro Moncton's residential construction and real estate market remains strong despite the "doom and gloom" reports of a financial recession south of the border, according to a report released yesterday by national real estate organization RE/MAX.
"We got off to a slow start this year mainly because of the bad weather but we have very affordable prices here and people are continuing to buy," Metro Moncton Re/Max spokesman Chris Constantine said yesterday.
He said Metro Moncton's new home construction, sales of existing homes and average sale prices have all been on an upward swing for at least seven years.
Michael Polzler, executive vice-president and regional director for Re/Max Ontario-Atlantic Canada, said first-time home buyers remain determined to get settled into their own property.
"In fact, entry-level purchases are adjusting their expectations by sacrificing size, location and even long-term financial freedom, to overcome challenges such as rising prices and serious supply issues," Re/Max said in a news release yesterday. "Innovative financing has become key to home ownership in today's environment -- with longer amortization periods gaining favour in 62 per cent of the major centres surveyed. Low or no down payments were popular with buyers in 30 per cent of markets."
Polzler said "doom and gloom" reports of a pending recession in the United States are not slowing the momentum of the Canadian housing market.
"First-time buyers are still leading the charge, taking advantage of every resource available to achieve home ownership. They're determined to get into the market sooner than later. If suburban locations, smaller condominiums and town homes, or a little sweat equity is what it takes to get into the market, these purchasers are game."
In 2001, the average sale price for a home in Metro Moncton was slightly under $100,000. That has risen to over $160,000 this year.
Constantine said this year's bad weather -- with lots of snow, ice and freezing rain -- put a damper on home construction but the recent warm weather has seen many new home starts. At the same time, there have been many new listings of existing homes going on the market.
In March 2008, the City of Moncton issued 42 building permits valued at $4,404,000. The overall number of permits decreased compared to the same period last year (54 permits valued at $7,020,000 were issued in March 2007). There have been 103 permits issued year to date with a total value of $8,650,000. Residential construction remains strong and represented 61 per cent of the total value of building permits in March 2008.
In Riverview, residential construction was moving along in the first three months of 2008 with nine single-family dwellings, 20 duplex units and one conversion. Brenda Orchard, Riverview's economic development officer, said officials in the town expect construction to really take off now that the nice weather has arrived.
She said the total number of listings from January to April 2008 is 1,432, which is about three per cent lower than the 1,481 at the same point last year. The total number of sales so far this year is also down about 13 per cent, from 672 in the first quarter of 1007 to 583 in the first quarter of 2008.
The influx of people coming into Moncton and first-time home buyers is expected to keep the Metro Moncton real estate market moving ahead this season. Constantine said people who are selling their home in Calgary can come to Moncton and get a lot more for the same amount of money. At the same time, he said there are people from New Brunswick who are going out west to work near the oil projects and earning big money over a short period of time. Many of those people are keeping their homes here and commuting back and forth because it is so much more expensive to live in Alberta these days.
With 56 per cent of all residential sales occurring under the average price of $160,000, affordability is a non-issue for most purchasers in Metro Moncton, the Re/Max report said.
"Low interest rates, good employment levels and creative financing options, such as zero-down, have made home ownership both attractive and attainable for most," the report said. "The lion's share of entry-level buyers are active in the $120,000-$160,000 price range. Yet, those with more modest incomes are still making their moves, as home ownership can be realized from $40,000 to $50,000 for a small, wartime home requiring renovation."
The report said semi-detached homes are very popular with first-time buyers but very scarce. Pre-fabricated mini-homes are also seen as a viable alternative for first-time buyers.
The Re/Max report said there is a serious shortage of homes available for sale in many markets. The shortage was identified as a major obstacle in markets such as Moncton, St. John's, Fredericton, Halifax-Dartmouth, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Winnipeg, Regina, Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna.
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