The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by P Unit

Big box stores? On St. George, across the street from one of the most desireable neighbourhoods in the city? Next to the best park in the city? Really?

Tear the buildings down, along with that tractor trailer dealership. They're hideous and completely out of character with the rest of the area. Build something of actual benefit to the city... Christ.

I agree, These parcels of lands are begging to be developed in a manner that will benefit the city as a whole.

I don't have anything against big box stores but not in this particular location. A mixed medium density residential/commercial development is what I would like to see. This area is close enough to downtown that people could walk/cycle to work. It is adjacent to Centennial Park and the Sportsplex and could be connected directly to them by walking/cycling trails. The area could be integrated with the Franklin Yard development to make something really interesting.

Hillcrest School is just across the street. McNaughton High is just down the street. There are many nearby places of worship. Johnathon Creek and Jones Lake would increase the aesthetic appeal. Centennial Place, the old and the new west ends as well as the Fernwood subdivision mean that the area is already well established as a desireable residential area. Downtown, Emmerson Business Park and MID are nearby.

Something very interesting and exciting could easily be sited here. Come on people, lets use our imagination!

[MonctonRad]

Casino construction
Published Thursday October 16th, 2008


Construction is in high gear on a fence that will act as a sound barrier between the new Moncton casino and homes on neighbouring Sunshine Drive and surrounding streets.

[MonctonRad]

School site chosen at last
Published Friday October 17th, 2008

New north-end Moncton school set to open in September 2010
By Aloma Jardine
Times & Transcript Staff

Moncton's promised new north-end school finally officially has a home.

The province announced Thursday that it has purchased a 22-acre (8.8 hectare) parcel of land at 1392 Ryan Road, directly across from where Augusta Terrace meets Ryan.

Supply and Services Minister Jack Keir had previously said the province was looking at that property, but it had not finalized the deal.

The land cost $1.2 million.

The purchase comes as a relief for those who have been watching and waiting for the project to go ahead.

"There has been so much discussion about the north end school for five years," says District 2 superintendent Karen Branscombe. "Knowing the land has been purchased . . . having that confirmed, really cements it for us that it is going to move forward."

The two-storey K-8 school is being constructed to accommodate 650 students. It will be accessed directly off Ryan Road.

Construction is expected to begin in the spring with the aim of opening the school in September 2010.

In addition to 27 classrooms, the school will have a gymnasium, a cafeteria, one special education classroom, a resource centre, science and technology labs, an art room, a music room, and a student services area. Athletic fields will also be included.

Now that the school district knows the location, Branscombe says they can move ahead with the necessary boundary changes.

The main function of the new school is to relieve overcrowding at Evergreen Park and Magnetic Hill Schools as well as to accommodate the ever-growing number of new students in the rapidly expanding north end. Branscombe says there are already at least 300 students they would like to move from Evergreen and Magnetic Hill schools to the new one.

She says it will take some time to redo the boundaries as the district will have to take into account not only the current student population, but future growth, however, she says they aim to have a plan in place by this spring so parents get at least a year to prepare for the changes.

Branscombe says what to do with students already enrolled at one school who are impacted by the boundary changes will have to be part of their consideration.

"We will have discussions with the school community as well," she says. "The most important thing is to have a long-term plan at this point, so if we are able to grandfather some students, we would consider that."

Branscombe says they just don't want to end up having to change the boundaries more than once. When it became apparent Evergreen Park was becoming overcrowded and a new school was necessary, Branscombe promised parents the district wouldn't change boundaries until the new school was built, a promise that has been hard to keep as the north end has continued to grow with no new school in sight.

The north end school is being built as a private-public partnership and a call for expressions of interest is expected to be made by the end of this month.

The province has elected to package the north end school and the new Eleanor W. Graham Middle School in Rexton together as one project.

The middle school, which is being built on a 27-acre (10.8-hectare) site on Albany Road off Route 134, will accommodate 350 students in Grades 6 to 8. In a press release, Keir says packaging the two together will offer developers the chance to bid on a larger-scale project.

Presumably it could also save the province some money if developers are able to offer more competitive pricing because of the size of the project.

Design plans for the Moncton school are still in the process of being drawn up, but the idea is to have both it and the Rexton school meet the silver rating in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a measure of "green" building practices.

The school is being built in Moncton Crescent MLA John Betts' riding. Betts has been speaking out about the need for the new school for years, pushing government -- first his own and now the Graham administration -- to move ahead with the project.

"For the sake of the parents and teachers and the kids especially, I'm glad they are going forward with it," he says. "It is certainly needed. That area of the city is the fastest growing area and the fact the school (in the neighbourhood) was overcrowded was a detriment to the natural growth of the north end. It has been a very difficult time, but I'm very pleased they have announced the site. To have only one school in the fastest growing area of the city is just not adequate."

Betts is still disappointed that the construction was delayed when the government changed hands -- the Lord government had plans in place to open the school in September 2009 before it was defeated in 2006 -- but says he is very glad to see the project go ahead at last.

"I want to be positive and encourage them for what they are doing," he says. "It is vital to the parents, to the kids. It has been a heart-wrenching ordeal every year for parents to wonder if they are going to get to go to Evergreen or for new people moving in and being able to see the school and not getting to go there."

Evergreen Park has become so crowded that a significant number of students are being bused out of the neighbourhood to Queen Elizabeth School.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Published Thursday October 16th, 2008


Construction is in high gear on a fence that will act as a sound barrier between the new Moncton casino and homes on neighbouring Sunshine Drive and surrounding streets.

Man each time i think of this development the more i believe Moncton shot itself in the foot allowing it to be built out of the core.

Hardly substainable development practices being employed here.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by sdm

Man each time i think of this development the more i believe Moncton shot itself in the foot allowing it to be built out of the core.

Hardly substainable development practices being employed here.

I don't think the city could do anything about it. It was presented to city council as a fait accompli by the provincial government. It was more or less "take it or leave it".

The province handled the tendering process and was the sole entity involved in choosing the winning proposal. The city could do nothing to influence that the project be built downtown.

Most everyone who posts here on the forum would have rather seen it built downtown but what can you do?

[mmmatt]

Originally Posted by sdm

Man each time i think of this development the more i believe Moncton shot itself in the foot allowing it to be built out of the core.

Hardly substainable development practices being employed here.

I agree, it would have been 1 million times better in the core...Im assuming that the lone urban casino proposal was not properly presented for one reason or another, I know the province went with the one they knew would make the most financial sence...not the one that was best for the city.

In the end though it is being built in a very "tourist-y" end of town, near many hotels, shopping, Magnetic Hill, the Zoo, The concert site, Magic Mountain etc...So its not like it is a random location in the middle of nowhere or anything.

Also we always have to think "its better than nothing" it will create quite a few jobs for the area, during construction and afterward, and it will help shape Moncton into an even larger tourist destination.

[MonctonRad]

I thought that the province was supposed to have announced the winning proposal and the location for the new Moncton courthouse by now. Has this decision been delayed further? Does anyone have any info?

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I thought that the province was supposed to have announced the winning proposal and the location for the new Moncton courthouse by now. Has this decision been delayed further? Does anyone have any info?

We've been waiting for -three freaking years-. Last I heard, an announcement is supposed to be made this month sometime.

[Sony500]

Hello, I have been reading the forums for quite some time, and I figured it was time to sign up. I do a lot of travelling through the city streets. I find the forum very interesting, and you guys have very good comments and ideas. I do alot of reading and don't do a lot of commenting, but maybe that will change.

[Sony500]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Chrysler plant closure continues decline for Moncton
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 | 11:33 AM AT
CBC News

Chrysler is closing a car parts distribution centre in Moncton at the end of November, leaving 16 people without jobs and signaling further decline in what was once a bustling industrial zone.

Just one of several major businesses to leave St. George Boulevard, an industrialized area located in west end section of Moncton, Chrysler announced in early October it would close the distribution centre.

"Having those big empty warehouses out on St. George Boulevard is not a positive thing," said economic development consultant David Campbell.

"It's the end of an era from the perspective of the auto manufacturers having retail distribution centres in Moncton, so it's a sad day," Campbell said. "Those were good paying jobs and they've been in the community for many, many years."

Peter Ford, who owns and runs a pharmacy located on St. George Boulevard, recalls the spinoff activity generated in the past by the presence in the area of companies like General Motors and Goodyear.

"There used to be train tracks. There used to be cars that came across at two in the morning to wake you up," Ford told CBC News on Tuesday.

"And then they took the train tracks out and they put in a road to Westmount Boulevard behind the drug store so there has been a lot of changes and it's gone to being a big high traffic area," he said.

While large auto manufacturers are centralizing their distribution centres in places like Montreal and Ontario, Campbell said the latest closure in Moncton isn't catastrophic like the closure of CN Shops was in the early 1980s.

Campbell said he hoped city officials will look at ways to reuse the large empty warehouses for other industries such as high-tech companies or reconfigure them to be used by several smaller companies.


_______________________________

CBC proves that they can write misleading headlines with the best of them. First, Moncton has never had a Chrysler Plant. This place was a parts warehouse. Calling it a plant closure conjures up images of Thornhill, where 1400 people just lost their jobs. This most certainly isn't the case.

Calling this a continuation of Moncton's decline is also inaccurate. Yes, that stretch of St George Blvd has seen a decline in the past few years because three or four companies have moved out, but that's hardly a sign of a city-wide decline. As we've discussed in earlier posts, this isn't a reflection of a downturn in the Moncton economy, but a downturn in the Canadian automotive sector in general.

While the city may see some slower times as the national economy slows, I don't think 16 jobs lost here is going to be the the first step towards a reversal of hte huge growth the city has seen in the last few years.

I do not see anywhere in the article saying anything about a plant. And it didn't say that its a continuation of Moncton's decline, it said its a further decline in what was once a bustling industrial zone. Which is true that you guys have been mentioning.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Sony500

I do not see anywhere in the article saying anything about a plant. And it didn't say that its a continuation of Moncton's decline, it said its a further decline in what was once a bustling industrial zone. Which is true that you guys have been mentioning.

Welcome to the forums Sony500. looking forward to your input. Do you live in Moncton?

I think our objection is to the title of the CBC article, which mentions a "continued decline for Moncton" without qualifying this statement in any way. They did clarify the point in the main body, but the title of the article contributes strongly to the impression that Moncton is somehow an economic basket case (which is most definitely not the case).

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Welcome to the forums Sony500. looking forward to your input. Do you live in Moncton?

I think our objection is to the title of the CBC article, which mentions a "continued decline for Moncton" without qualifying this statement in any way. They did clarify the point in the main body, but the title of the article contributes strongly to the impression that Moncton is somehow an economic basket case (which is most definitely not the case).

Welcome Sony500!
That's the problem with titles. It seems that news agencies -cough- Times&Transcript -cough-, use very (mis)leading titles to get people to read on. The real problem though, is that a lot of people just scan the headlines and take them as they are.

Take a news story I just made up:

JACK LAYTON MURDERS HUNDREDS
Times&Transcript
Random Reporter
October 22nd, 2008
on page A1

NDP Leader Jack Layton admits that, while he did not win as many seats as he had hoped, he certainly killed in his own riding of Toronto-Danforth....

[MonctonRad]

It looks like they have completed the structural steelwork on the new federal office building on Weldon Street. It may only be three stories tall, but it is a pretty large building (big footprint).

I imagine that it will be connected directly to the existing federal office complex on Main Street as they are adjacent to one another.

Between this building and the Ashford building going up on Main/Vaughn Harvey, the West Main Street area is beginning to take off.

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

It looks like they have completed the structural steelwork on the new federal office building on Weldon Street. It may only be three stories tall, but it is a pretty large building (big footprint).

I imagine that it will be connected directly to the existing federal office complex on Main Street as they are adjacent to one another.

Between this building and the Ashford building going up on Main/Vaughn Harvey, the West Main Street area is beginning to take off.

There wouldnt' happen to be a current picture of that building floating around...?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

There wouldnt' happen to be a current picture of that building floating around...?

Matt had a picture on his recent "Downtown Moncton Phototour". It just looks like a three storey steel cage at present, pretty nondescript.

Also, they are putting in the stoplights at Mapleton & Frampton Lane. The new intersection is going to be pretty nice, complete with turning lanes and islands for the traffic control lights. There is also a second pad being put in at the Mapleton Power Centre, backing on Mapleton Road itself.

[ErickMontreal]

We might forget Linens 'N Things in the Mapleton Power center due to the fact they seeked protection.

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=893248

[Sony500]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Welcome to the forums Sony500. looking forward to your input. Do you live in Moncton?

I think our objection is to the title of the CBC article, which mentions a "continued decline for Moncton" without qualifying this statement in any way. They did clarify the point in the main body, but the title of the article contributes strongly to the impression that Moncton is somehow an economic basket case (which is most definitely not the case).

You are so correct, as i was trying to find my post to see what responses i got, i saw it in the title and i do apologize . Yes i live in Moncton, i have been living here since 1985, and i am part owner of Codiac Courier. I do a lot of travelling around town. If this was a forum on how the engineering dept. screws up intersections, then there would be a lot to tell.

[Sony500]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Welcome Sony500!
That's the problem with titles. It seems that news agencies -cough- Times&Transcript -cough-, use very (mis)leading titles to get people to read on. The real problem though, is that a lot of people just scan the headlines and take them as they are.

Take a news story I just made up:

JACK LAYTON MURDERS HUNDREDS
Times&Transcript
Random Reporter
October 22nd, 2008
on page A1

NDP Leader Jack Layton admits that, while he did not win as many seats as he had hoped, he certainly killed in his own riding of Toronto-Danforth....

Nice example, think he will jail time? haha

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by Sony500

You are so correct, as i was trying to find my post to see what responses i got, i saw it in the title and i do apologize . Yes i live in Moncton, i have been living here since 1985, and i am part owner of Codiac Courier. I do a lot of travelling around town. If this was a forum on how the engineering dept. screws up intersections, then there would be a lot to tell.

It comes up from time to time. You'd need a full time staff of ten to keep track of them though.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by ErickMontreal

We might forget Linens 'N Things in the Mapleton Power center due to the fact they seeked protection.

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=893248

Yes Erick, I read the link. Since they are closing all their stores in North America, I guess there is no hope for Mapleton. Oh well.

Too bad, I was in one of their stores in Halifax and they had some interesting stuff. They also had a store in Charlottetown as well.