The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Marcus99

Hey! just joined the forum, big fan of this kind of stuff Moncton's economic growth, etc...

Just bought a 12megapixel camera, Canon G9 so will be posting a lot of great shots from many angles and places,will take photos from my apartment on Main st.

Always good to see someone new on the forum!!!

[MonctonRad]

New addition at The Moncton Hospital on track to open this fall

By Aloma Jardine
Times & Transcript Staff

Hospital's new ambulatory care centre is reaching the final stages of construction and should open sometime this fall.



Although it has outward signs of being complete, it will be a while yet before the new Ambulatory Care unit at The Moncton Hospital will open as all the systems are now undergoing testing and certification. Alan Mongraw, vice-president operations for the South-East Regional Health Authority, says they are in the process of commissioning the building -- testing all of the mechanical, electrical, fire alarm and other operational systems -- and that most of the construction work, apart from some of the final detail work, is complete.

But Mongraw wasn't prepared to give an opening date for the new centre, saying it will depend on how well commissioning goes.

"I'm reluctant at this point to nail a date down," he says. "Originally we were trying to project a September date, obviously we're not going to achieve that date. We are not far away, but at this point I think it would be premature until we get more information from the contractor to tell us what issues there may be."

When the project was first announced in May 2005, the aim was to complete it by last fall, but Mongraw says once architectural plans were drawn up and the full scope and scale of the project was known, it was clear that was not going to be feasible given the complexity of the project.

Instead, the opening date was revised to this past spring. Mongraw says early this year it became apparent that a May opening date would not be doable and the final target was revised to this fall.

"A project of that complexity -- it is a 160,000 square foot, fairly technical building -- it is not unusual to experience delays, frustrating as that might be for everybody," he says.

Besides the commissioning, Mongraw says they are beginning to install any fixed or new equipment and some of the furnishings.

"We had a big order of chairs delivered today, for example," he says.

Once everything is in place, Mongraw says there will be a short period of staff orientation and training as they get used to any new systems, learn where everything is in the building, and prepare for things like fire emergencies.

Then begins the task of actually moving departments, labs, and clinics over to the new space without disrupting services.

"In the case of the emergency department it will literally be over a very short space of time, over a weekend, it will be very quick," Mongraw says. "The laboratories will be over as short a space of time as we can manage so that we can maintain continuity of service without confusion."

Mongraw says there is a little more leeway in moving clinics, but says they still want to get everything moved over as quickly as possible.

"We may do sections at a time, but that may be over a period of a couple of weeks. We definitely don't want to drag it out because it is confusing for the public, what's open, what's not," he says.

"I would stay from start to finish, once we begin the moves, it would be a matter of weeks."

Once things have moved out of their current space in The Moncton Hospital, plans are well underway to re-purpose some of the empty space.

The emergency department will be converted into a new intensive care unit and the cardiology and GI clinics will be made into a new oncology clinic.

"We are looking at a variety of space planning issues for other services and activities and trying to work up a plan so that the spaces that are vacated can be used to their best advantage," Mongraw says.

[MonctonRad]

Council Votes to Approve Casino Project

Council also votes to prevent Muirfield Dr. from being extended to Casino Drive, Mountain Road

By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff

At its core, it was all pretty straightforward. Moncton city council had a subdivision plan to either accept or reject.

Under the Community Planning Act -- one of the two pieces of provincial legislation that give and limit a municipal council's authority -- councillors met last night to consider a land subdivision's transportation issues, site servicing, buffer adjustments, sidewalks, landscaping, creation of streets and the land that any developer must set aside for public services.

When the land to be subdivided is New Brunswick's first casino, however, things get complicated.

Three hours and more than a dozen speakers came between the introduction of the council agenda item and the voting on it at last night's regular public meeting of council.

While there was much discussion of the matters within council's purview, there was also much discussion about the supposed benefits and drawbacks of having a casino in the region at all.

Ultimately, city council unanimously approved developer Sonco Gaming New Brunswick's subdivision plan and approved the creation of a new public street named Casino Drive to access Sonco's casino/hotel/convention centre and entertainment complex.

(Had council not approved Casino Drive as a street, the developer could still have simply built the roadway as a private entryway.)

Once the vote to accept the subdivision plan passed, council then moved to deal with what the casino's immediate neighbours wanted from them most -- a promise that Muirfield Drive/Twin Oaks Boulevard would not be extended to connect to Casino Drive and Mountain Road, becoming a busy through street.

"As far as we're concerned, Muirfield must never be allowed to connect to Casino Drive," as neighbourhood representative Glen Feltmate put it.

Council unanimously voted to amend the city's municipal plan so that an extension of Muirfield was no longer identified as a future road.

The closure has no effect on the casino complex. The future plan for the road had long been on the books and Sonco president Michael Novac has said he neither sought the roadwork nor does he need it done for the sake of his project.

In a similar matter, council also quickly voted unanimously to ensure a stub on Sunshine Drive would be prevented from ever becoming a street into the casino property.

The city's director of engineering and environmental services, Jack MacDonald, urged council to maintain land at the end of Muirfield Drive as a city easement, so that if the city some day decides a road is in its best interest, even 30 or 40 years in the future, it would have its options open.

It may have been the prudent idea, but it wasn't the popular one. Nevertheless, Mayor George LeBlanc commended him for giving council his best professional advice.

"Mr. MacDonald, you have set an example of what we expect here from senior city staff," LeBlanc said, as the city's political masters then did what they had to do in the best traditions of democracy.

Council also sent the idea of a fence eight feet high and opaque at the rear of the complex back to the Greater Moncton Planning District Commission for consideration.

While residents of the nearest residential properties might have been at least partially appeased by the concessions they have gained since the casino site was announced, there were other Monctonians on hand to argue against the existence of a casino anywhere in the region.

"Though the Times & Transcript continues to print positive stories about casinos, there are many citizens who disagree with the casino," said Dan Britton, who identified himself as a citizen, father of four and media executive.

Britton said the city's "being offered $1.5 million (the estimated amount of property tax the city will get from the development each year) to babysit such a controversial project," was hardly worth it. Ward 3 Councillor Brian Hicks pointed out, however, that should the casino have gone outside city limits or in neighbouring Dieppe, Moncton might still face social costs without any revenue.

While she called them "the conscience of the city," Councillor-at-large Kathryn Barnes asked of those who had come to debate the casino question itself, "why didn't anyone make representations to the province when there was first talk of a casino? I just feel that you're a little bit late."

Debate of just how many extra police officers would be needed or what the economic costs would be elicited a lot of possible numbers, but in the absence of hard numbers, people on all sides of the issue tended to complain the provincial government was to blame for not having public consultations where these matters could be hashed out well before this.

Many of the councillors who spoke on the issue argued the province should be offering part of its share of the profits to the city to offset policing costs.

Despite the passions surrounding the issue and the length of the debate, the tone was remarkably respectful, with all parties present -- citizens, councillors, and developers -- commending the other parties for working together to make the most of the situation.

[mmmatt]

Thinking about tourism tonight I got to thinking...

Moncton is really defining itself as a tourist "hub" so to speak...we are settled in the epicenter of NB tourism...within an hour of downtown you have:

Crystal Palace, Magic Mountain, Magnetic Hill Zoo, Concert site, Parlee Beach, Fundy National Park, Kouchibouguac National Park, Dunes of Bouctouche, Pays de la Sagouine, Hopewell Rocks, Cape Enrage, TreeGo, Fort Beauséjour, Champlain Mall...and the list goes on

All of these basically sum up the top tourist draws in NB save for a few (Kings Landing, NB museum, Reversing Falls etc...)

That being said I think the city could do much more to become a much better tourist draw, to be able to draw from much further away.

What we struggle with though is winter...which happens to be our longest season haha...I think if we added a few attractions to the list Moncton could be a literal "winter wonderland" for tourists...and would help increase the summer season as well...

we are certainly moving in the right direction in this respect with the addition of Casino New Brunswick and the upcoming expansion of the Moncton Museum, but I cant help but feel we could do so much more.

The three best ideas I could think of (two of which have been mentioned before) are:

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1. An Imax



This has been on Monctons wish list for a long time...and I cant understand it...we have two large theater complexes which do very well...and for NBers the closest Imax is at least a 3 hour+ drive away (Hali or Quebec)...I think an Imax would do very well in Moncton.

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2. An Indoor Aquarium



Currently the largest aquarium in Atlantic Canada is in Shippigan (I didnt even know about it until just now haha) and its pretty small...I think with a good financial backer (Ive found most are backed by large companies) along with some government money we could get a nice aquarium here...they are great year round tourist draws, it could be built as an addition to the zoo, as they have plenty of land out there...or better yet as a downtown landmark...which has worked well for many aquariums...for example (although these are much MUCH larger than we could expect)

Melbourne Aquarium



Georgia Aquarium



This aquarium cost 250 million dollars to build in 2005, in its first 2 years it had 5 million visitors...at an average of 23$ per visitors its made over 115,000,000 million so far...so you can see how feasible it becomes...obviously this is on a much larger scale than Moncton, but its a good example.

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3. A Downtown Arena



This is the new downtown hot project...and I think for good reason, a nice new 10,000 seat downtown arena would do wonders for Moncton...it could be built with a new hotel...added convention space, etc...it would open us up to much larger indoor concerts, sporting events, and shows like the Cirque du Soleil etc. It would really help to liven downtown up during the winter as well.

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now obviously the best case scenario I could see (though its a massive longshot) would be to have these three attractions all built in very close proximity. Perhaps with the aquarium, the Imax, and a large parking garage taking over Assumptions parking lot, and the arena in the beaver lumber spot...with a link between the two via pedway, and also a link to a new hotel and to the Delta.

ahh I can dream

In reality though a downtown arena I can see becoming serious soon, what with the mayor, Downtown Moncton inc, and the general population (as far as I know) strongly all backing it.

An Imax I can see happening sometime in the future...to me it makes logical sense...maybe we should all open one up together and compete with Empire muhaha

An aquarium is not really on the radar right now, but I think it would be great...perhaps just a dream for now though.

Sorry to sort of run away on a tangent like that...just a late night rant haha

[MonctonRad]

STU

You're not going out on a tangent at all! That's one of the fun things about this forum, the freedom to dream and to speculate.

Personal thoughts;

(1) - Aquarium: Not ever going to happen, ever. Population base is too small and the construction costs are way too high. The overhead to run a state of the art aquarium would be prohibitive.

(2) - Downtown arena: I am convinced that this will happen. It's actually amazing how quickly this proposed project has jumped to the top of the queue in terms of possible downtown developments. With the casino now going to Magnetic Hill and with the coliseum beginning to show its age, the timing is right for this project. Depending on where the justice complex will be built, I foresee a 12,000 seat "metro centre" with corporate boxes and an adjacent regional convention centre as a good fit for the Beaver Lumber property.

(3) - IMAX Theatre: No reason why this couldn't be built in Moncton. I think it would be popular. Most every time I'm in Halifax I check out what titles are playing at the IMAX down there. The question is, where could it be built?
I don't think it would be at the Empire 8 theatres at Wheeler Park. They just completed conversion of all eight auditoriums out there to stadium seating and I don't think there is room for expansion of this complex. I don't think a standalone IMAX downtown would survive. Most new IMAX theatres are builty in cineplexes. An IMAX at Crystal Palace would seem the most likely possibility but this would likely entail ripping out three or four of the existing auditoriums and heavy duty renovations.

An IMAX as part of a downtown entertainment complex including an arena/convention centre/hotel might fly however.

Food for thought.

[MonctonRad]

Ryan Street, Horsman Road will get upgrades to keep up with increased traffic in booming area

By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff

When Moncton City Council this week voted to prevent Muirfield Drive from ever connecting to Mountain Road, it dealt with a worry of many residents that their residential street would one day become a busy thoroughfare.

It was a valid concern, as motorists in the increasingly congested northwest Moncton stretches of Mountain Road look more often for shortcuts to get them where they're going.

Anyone just has to look at Moncton streets like Frampton, Ayer, Kendra or Hennesey for precedents. But those roadways, like Muirfield for that matter, were at least planned for higher traffic volumes. For truly startling examples of how even narrow residential side streets can some day become heavily used "drive-thrus," Monctonians need only look at Kirkwood Drive or Lewis Street for examples of stressed streetscapes.

But residents of the northwest end need not look that far. In their collective backyard they have two quiet country lanes which have gone big city in recent years.

Parts of Ryan Street and all of Horsman Road, once well outside Moncton city limits, don't come close to being up to standards for city streets, and nowhere is the contrast between their originally intended uses and their current reality more obvious than where they meet.

When you think busy suburban collector street, you probably don't picture a cattle barn, but there it is, right where Ryan and Horsman handle early 21st century traffic at an intersection more appropriate to the early 20th century.

With Mountain Road growing more crowded, residents within Moncton's fastest growing neighbourhood -- and many from outside the area -- are using Ryan and Horsman as the back door to get to and from the rest of the city.

And it's not just at rush hours anymore. Come from any well attended event at the Moncton Coliseum and you'll see more and more taillights disappearing from Berry Mills Road into the darkness of Horsman Road.

The head of the city's Engineering and Environmental Services department says the City of Moncton is well aware of the problems in the area, and Jack MacDonald says the work already under way the past two years on Ryan Road will continue in the next several years as well.

It will need to. Roads that do connect to Ryan Street already or will in the not-too-distant future include Hildegard, Evergreen, Twin Oaks, Maplehurst and Augusta.

"Capital works is development driven," MacDonald said, noting that with so many places to allocate limited funds, spending money on infrastructure is a matter of careful timing.

This year, Ryan Street is getting upgrades between Penrose and Horsman. MacDonald said the current city five-year capital works budget has money set aside for more work each summer through 2012.

Next year, Horsman Road will get its needed upgrade, as well as have its intersection with Ryan re-aligned. In the three years following that, the money will be spent on Ryan heading westerly from Horsman.

One big issue for motorists that is yet to be resolved is a traffic light for the intersection of Horsman and Berry Mills.

Because of the high speeds of traffic headed east on Berry Mills and the fact most drivers departing Horsman make left turns onto Berry Mills on their way into the city centre, many citizens argue there should be traffic lights at the intersection already.

MacDonald said the city has been lobbying the province for a signallized intersection there for quite some time.

"We meet with the province every year on this and we will meet with them again," he said, adding members of his department and their opposites at the provincial Department of Transportation usually get together about three times per year.

However, the province says a warrant analysis, a mathematical calculation of traffic numbers and other factors, does not yet support the installation of traffic signals.

The work and materials needed for a signallized intersection usually costs a bit more than $100,000.

It's not just a matter of convincing the province to spend the money. Even if the City of Moncton decided to go it alone and foot the bill, it's still a matter of getting permission to install traffic signals on what is a provincial roadway. So far that permission has not been granted.

MacDonald said it would likely take several weeks to two months to install lights and the necessary underground components they need.

As for longterm thinking, MacDonald said there was not yet any talk of one day having an overpass or other form of road junction at Berry Mills, though he agreed there could come a day when Horsman extends across Berry Mills and connects to roads somewhere in the area of the Moncton Industrial Park.

Similarly, he doubted the east end of Ryan Street, severed by the building of Wheeler Boulevard more than two decades ago, might one day be connected via an overpass across Wheeler.

"Never say never," he said, citing how larger cities like Toronto find themselves creating overlapping "spaghetti strands" of overpasses, but he expressed doubt the need would be great enough to justify the costs in the foreseeable future.



Personal note; I live in this section of the city and I have often thought that Ryan Street should be reconnected by an overpass over Wheeler Blvd. Most of the inbound traffic on Mountain Road goes either left or right at the Wheeler Blvd intersection. If Ryan were reconnected, commuters from Kingswood/Evergreen/Rosemount/Hildegard would be able to bypass the worst of the congestion on Mountain Road on their inbound commute.

[MonctonRad]

Shoppers Drug Mart heads for Vaughan Harvey Blvd.

Residential permits in Moncton up 15 per cent this July over last year

By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff

Despite weeks of denials from official sources, a new Shoppers Drug Mart has begun construction on Vaughan Harvey Boulevard, adding to the retail niche begun by a new Sobey's/N.B. Liquor complex and driven by the extension of the boulevard to the Gunningsville Bridge.

The foundation has been laid on the property just to the east of the Via Rail station, and the identity of its tenant confirmed in City of Moncton's July building permits.

Moncton issued a total of 157 building permits valued at $13.7 million in July, with the new Shoppers, a warehouse and office building on Edinburgh Drive, and renovations to the Dr. Georges-L. Dumont Hospital leading the way.

The bulk of permits, however, were issued to residential construction projects, which were up 15 per cent over the same period last year.

"We're seeing ongoing consumer confidence in our economy resulting in continued growth in the residential construction sector in the city," said Moncton's business development officer, Kevin Silliker.

This past July, a total of 32 commercial and industrial building permits were issued with a value of $5.3 million. Year to date figures show a total of 715 building permits have been issued for a total value of $63,896,000.

[Wishblade]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

STU

You're not going out on a tangent at all! That's one of the fun things about this forum, the freedom to dream and to speculate.

Personal thoughts;

(1) - Aquarium: Not ever going to happen, ever. Population base is too small and the construction costs are way too high. The overhead to run a state of the art aquarium would be prohibitive.

(2) - Downtown arena: I am convinced that this will happen. It's actually amazing how quickly this proposed project has jumped to the top of the queue in terms of possible downtown developments. With the casino now going to Magnetic Hill and with the coliseum beginning to show its age, the timing is right for this project. Depending on where the justice complex will be built, I foresee a 12,000 seat "metro centre" with corporate boxes and an adjacent regional convention centre as a good fit for the Beaver Lumber property.

(3) - IMAX Theatre: No reason why this couldn't be built in Moncton. I think it would be popular. Most every time I'm in Halifax I check out what titles are playing at the IMAX down there. The question is, where could it be built?
I don't think it would be at the Empire 8 theatres at Wheeler Park. They just completed conversion of all eight auditoriums out there to stadium seating and I don't think there is room for expansion of this complex. I don't think a standalone IMAX downtown would survive. Most new IMAX theatres are builty in cineplexes. An IMAX at Crystal Palace would seem the most likely possibility but this would likely entail ripping out three or four of the existing auditoriums and heavy duty renovations.

An IMAX as part of a downtown entertainment complex including an arena/convention centre/hotel might fly however.

Food for thought.

Yeah, every city in atlantic canada is far too small to support a major aquarium. Halifax was looking into one a short while back, but it was deemed that Halifax would have to have twice its current population to support one. Oh well, it'd be nice though

[mylesmalley]

Maybe we could one-up campbelton and build a two-story reptile museum! :p

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by Wishblade

Yeah, every city in atlantic canada is far too small to support a major aquarium. Halifax was looking into one a short while back, but it was deemed that Halifax would have to have twice its current population to support one. Oh well, it'd be nice though

It would be a nice fit for Halifax with the Bedford Institute of Oceanography and Dalhousie University.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Haliguy

It would be a nice fit for Halifax with the Bedford Institute of Oceanography and Dalhousie University.

I tend to agree with you Haliguy, Halifax would be the logical site for a major aquarium in the Maritimes; especially given the proximity of B.I.O.

We'll make do with the Magnetic Hill Zoo here in Moncton.

[ErickMontreal]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

[B]Shoppers Drug Mart heads for Vaughan Harvey Blvd.

Too much for me.

Another stand alone building surrounded by parking lots right in Downtown core... obviously they really act like a city of 15 000 citizens.

Seriously, their lack of vision is way pathetic.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by ErickMontreal

Too much for me.

Another stand alone building surrounded by parking lots right in Downtown core... obviously they really act like a city of 15 000 citizens.

Seriously, their lack of vision is way pathetic.

Like I said before Erick, all that is happening is that the former tenants of Highfield Square are decamping next door. The big question is: What's going to happen to Highfield Square?

With the Sobey's in charge, I'm worried; but stay tuned......

[sdm]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I tend to agree with you Haliguy, Halifax would be the logical site for a major aquarium in the Maritimes; especially given the proximity of B.I.O.

We'll make do with the Magnetic Hill Zoo here in Moncton.

There is a small one planned as part of the Queenslanding project downtown Halifax. Where this project is however is a mystery.

[ErickMontreal]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Like I said before Erick, all that is happening is that the former tenants of Highfield Square are decamping next door. The big question is: What's going to happen to Highfield Square?

With the Sobey's in charge, I'm worried; but stay tuned......

I get it but notwithstanding the fact "Shoppers Drugs Mart" are decamping of Highfield Square does not change the reality : they are building something suburban as well as eyesore in a prime piece of land.

Office, apartments, condos on top maybe ?....Uptown Dieppe !

[mylesmalley]

Office space snapped up in Metro
Published Thursday August 21st, 2008
Study shows less office space, more industrial space, available across the region
C2
By James Foster
Times & Transcript Staff

The amount of office space is down and industrial space is up in Metro Moncton, according to Colliers International (Atlantic) Inc's mid-year commercial real estate report.

It's a positive report, says Tim Lyons, Colliers' regional director for New Brunswick.

"The positive growth trend that we have experienced over the past 30 months is expected to continue throughout 2008," Lyons says.

"The new office construction completed in 2007 should be occupied this year and the new multi-tenant industrial space opened in Dieppe Industrial Park and under construction in Caledonia Industrial Estates provides more choices for industrial users than they had in the past."

The busy office sector saw 76,000 square feet of office space leased since December, dropping the office vacancy rate since then by two percentage points, to 9.5 per cent. Some tenants expanded and moved to new premises but the offices they left vacant were quickly snapped up, Colliers' study shows.

And the vacancy rate is expected to continue its gradual decline as there are no major office projects currently in the works.

Those factors could prompt an increase in the current lease rates of about $26 per square foot for Class A (the best) space and $19 per square foot of Class B space.

Those figures include net rent, operating costs and property taxes and are derived from a weighted average of 3 million square feet of office space surveyed in Metro Moncton.

Industrial construction has slowed from 2007's pace.

Almost 130,000 square feet of new industrial space was added in the first six months of 2008, with most of it taking place in Caledonia Industrial Estates and Dieppe Industrial Park.

Closures and downsizing added to newly created space have also helped to add 135,000 square feet of vacant space to industrial inventories, leading to an increase in the vacancy rate of one-half of one per cent, to 7.6 per cent.

A big improvement was seen in the category of "leased" premises where vacancies fell so far this year to 11.1 per cent from 13.2 per cent.

The buying/selling market is tightening thanks to nervous investors, however local markets should still see moderate growth, putting upward pressure on rents and land values, especially in light of Metro Moncton's strong economic forecasts.

"The outlook for the balance of 2008 is for the positive trend to continue, but at a slower pace," the report states.

"Business growth from outside the area is expected to slow; however expansion among existing tenancy is anticipated to dominate leasing activity over the coming months."

Colliers International's Moncton Knowledge Report is published twice per year.

[ErickMontreal]

double post

[mylesmalley]

Ha! Beat you to it

[MonctonRad]

Great growth at GMIA in first half of 2008

August 21, 2008 - 2:44 pm
By: Rebecca Davis, News 91.9 Staff

MONCTON, NB-There may be a downturn recently in air travel around the world, but the Greater Moncton International Airport is still a hub of activity.

For the first half of the year, the GMIA saw a 12.4 percent increase from the same period in 2007.

In fact, in the first six months of 2008, a record 336,749 people used the airport.

In June alone, 23.2 percent more travellers flew out of Moncton than the same month last year.

The Airport Authority's President and CEO, Rob Robichaud says a lot of their success has to do with geography.

Meanwhile, Robichaud says they're still hoping to see a 6 to 7 percent total increase in air travel out of the GMIA over the whole year.

[C_Boy]

Hey everyone !

Just wanted to introduce myself. I found this by accident but am very glad I did. I grew up in Moncton but now live just outside the city (20 minutes north), but just love the city, I work there and there all the time !

I really enjoy seeing developement, growth and new things for Moncton. For what I have read up to know, I see I'm not the only one that likes this and wants the city to be a lot more vertical. hopefully I will be able to contribute to the forum.

It's a pleasure beeing part of the group.