The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[thefishingnut]

From the City of Saint John site:

"Advisory - Peel Plaza Dedication
10/17/08

Peel Plaza Dedication

October 17, 2008

The media and public are invited to attend the dedication of Peel Plaza hosted by Mayor Ivan Court and the members of Saint John Common Council on Monday, October 20th at 12 noon on Chipman Street.

Peel Plaza is the site of the new Saint John Police Headquarters, the Province of New Brunswick Saint John Law Courts Building and the Saint John Parking Commission Carleton Street Parking Facility.

The proper naming of the site as Peel Plaza recognizes the importance that this new complex will have on the work carried out by the Saint John Police Force and the New Brunswick Department of Justice, while also paying homage to Peel Street, in the center of the development, which was named in honour of the “Father of Modern Policing” – Sir Robert Peel."


Hopefully construction starts fairly soon...

[Helladog]

Canadian Tire gets final green light for west side store
City Hall Construction for the 5,500 square metre store will begin in the new year

Reid Southwick
Telegraph-Journal

SAINT JOHN - Common council gave Canadian Tire the nod Tuesday night to build a new store on the Golden Mile.

Council approved the retailer's rezoning application, making way for the construction of a 5,500 square-metre store on Fairville Boulevard next year.

The new outlet, slated to be built next to its current location, will include expanded retail space, an automotive service centre, a gas bar and a Mark's Work Wearhouse store.

The Canadian Tire, along with a new Sobeys store and strip mall, is expected to spark other development across what is widely known as the Golden Mile.

Two other developments moved closer to reality Tuesday night.

Council approved the Airport Irving Mainway's application to add a bakery to its Loch Lomand Road store. The gas and convenience store may also feature a so-called farmers market, or produce stand, in the future.

Mark Armstrong, owner of the Airport General Store located a short distance away from the Irving Mainway, argued the bakery and proposed farmers market would unfairly compete with his business.

Several area residents provided written submissions to council, supporting Armstrong's view.

Planning commissioner Ken Forrest, however, noted that council is not responsible for regulating competition between businesses.

A majority of council members present Monday agreed with the commissioner and approved the Irving Mainway's application.

Council also gave first and second reading to Loyalist City Towing Ltd.'s application to rezone a parcel of land on 341 Ashburn Rd. to light industrial, allowing the company to use the land in conjunction with its vehicle storage compound.

As well, council turned down Tony Ratchford's application to rezone his property on 461 Millidge Ave. to accommodate a professional centre, with offices for a Subway restaurant franchisee, a doctor's office and an accounting firm.

Neighbouring residents complained the proposed development would have a fence blocking their views of a natural treeline and marsh. They also said Millidge Avenue has been subject to sporadic commercial development and council should maintain the existing residential zoning.

[random11]

Originally Posted by Helladog

If I had a few bucks for a franchise, I'd put a Timmies on Bayside Drive near the Road to Red Head. Imagine the traffic from Red Head, the industrial park and community college...

Oh, wow - I was thinking the exact same thing a few weeks back. My brother lives in Red Head and with 19 Tim's locations in SJ that area is without (like we need another one) but yeah, if you are an investor looking for good return ..

[random11]

Originally Posted by thefishingnut

From the City of Saint John site:

"Advisory - Peel Plaza Dedication
10/17/08

Peel Plaza Dedication

October 17, 2008

The media and public are invited to attend the dedication of Peel Plaza hosted by Mayor Ivan Court and the members of Saint John Common Council on Monday, October 20th at 12 noon on Chipman Street.

Peel Plaza is the site of the new Saint John Police Headquarters, the Province of New Brunswick Saint John Law Courts Building and the Saint John Parking Commission Carleton Street Parking Facility.

The proper naming of the site as Peel Plaza recognizes the importance that this new complex will have on the work carried out by the Saint John Police Force and the New Brunswick Department of Justice, while also paying homage to Peel Street, in the center of the development, which was named in honour of the “Father of Modern Policing” – Sir Robert Peel."


Hopefully construction starts fairly soon...

Ditto on that. The former "Y" facility was torn down about this time last year. The land is clear ( including the mice and rats ) and it irritates me that even with all the announcements of development, etc., it takes seemingly multiple months to drive a spike. Cash for the Justice facility has been in place for over 36 months and we have known the location for over 18 and the land has been cleared for 12. These delays drive me. Nevertheless, I am anxious to see it start. Non-related: Very reliable Irving contacts have suggested to me that the Long Warf project is at the least, 2 years away. This is one of the main drivers behind securing the old East Saint John School and renovating it into office space. Oh, and believe it or not, that's the reason for the new 'green space' on the east side of the Courtney Bay Causeway = relaxing views for the Irving employees who will take residence in the new offices in the former ESJ school. I swear it's true.

[PostModernPrometheus]

from the news889.com site


Province gives $60-grand to Lily Lake
October 17, 2008
By: News 88-9's DeniseBarkhouse

SAINT JOHN, NB - The province has dropped sixty thousand dollars into improvements at the Lily Lake pavilion. The money will be used to help finish building a cafe and canteen in the lower level of the facility. Lily Lake pavilion chair Bob Capson said the idea is to re-create the feeling from the days of old. "What the citizens have told us is...'I remember swimming in the lake, going out to skate, meeting my wife at a dance at the Lily Lake Pavilion. I'd love to have that back!' So that's what we're trying to accomplish Bring it back so that future generations will have a place to go, that they can afford to go to." Capson said. This is the first of a few phases planned to improve Rockwood park. Capson said the plan is to reconfigure the entrance to the park by lowering the roadway, something that is planned to be complete sometime next summer, fix the duck pond area and a put a new entrance and expansion onto the campground. The goal is to complete all of this work by the end of 2010. Total cost of the improvements is 8 million dollars, five million came from donations from the Brunswick Pipeline project and Canaport L-N-G.


full link: http://www.news889.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20081017_162614_19364

[PostModernPrometheus]

for those unfamiliar with the project, or how the Pavillion has transformed from being in near shambles a few years ago to it's current state...

http://www.lilylake.ca/lilylake/



it's nice to see the investment and interest going on there... Rockwood Park is vast (nearly 1000 hectaires is memory serves) and was designed by one of the designers of NYC's Central Park .... it's a tremendous asset to have in the city core...biking trails, horseback riding, swimming, skating, camping....as the urban/suburban area builds up around it, the role the Park will play in being a veritable oasis in the urban core whould only grow...

[PostModernPrometheus]

Non-related: Very reliable Irving contacts have suggested to me that the Long Warf project is at the least, 2 years away. This is one of the main drivers behind securing the old East Saint John School and renovating it into office space. Oh, and believe it or not, that's the reason for the new 'green space' on the east side of the Courtney Bay Causeway = relaxing views for the Irving employees who will take residence in the new offices in the former ESJ school. I swear it's true

thanks for the info...hey, *whatever* the drive behind greening up the land adjacent to the Causeway is less important than the effect it will have in sprucing up one of the more indutrial parts of town...much like the green projects in the uptown core and along the highways next to the trainyards, a little green and a few shrubs and trees make a *huge* difference in the landscape.....

[Helladog]

Before it was cleaned up, that area was scattered with a mess of scaffolding and other debris. It was a real eyesore.

[random11]

Agreed. It was a former site of several oil tanks and other industrial placements. It's nice to see that the fence has also been removed (which was falling down) along that end of the causeway. As kids, we used to skate on that land in the winter. I always remember the 1/4 inch of black crap that used to cover the ice but we had some great games back then lol.

[Helladog]

Changes At The Saint John Regional Hospital

October 20, 2008 - 1:48 pm
By: News 88-9's Terri Wallace

SAINT JOHN, NB - The main entrance and public parking locations at the
Saint John Regional Hospital will change tomorrow.

Work on the new emergency department and space for two new linear accelerators for cancer care is underway.

Hospital Executive-Director, Margaret Melanson says the changes are being made to better serve the public.

She says, "Beginning tomorrow University Avenue will be the most convenient access for the general public."

Melanson says, "Watch for signage as you enter the hospital and allow yourself extra time to park and access the hospital."

Meanwhile, it's important to note the emergency department entrance will not change.

[Helladog]

North of Union renamed at dedication ceremony

October 20, 2008 - 1:46 pm
By: News 88-9's Denise Barkhouse

SAINT JOHN, NB - The new Saint John Police headquarters, Provincial Justice building and Parking Commission garage formerly known as North of Union project, has been re-named.

At a dedication ceremony today, the project was named Peel Plaza.

The new name pays homage to Peel street which runs through the centre of the plaza, and is also in honour of Sir Robert Peel, the father of modern policing.

Mayor Ivan Court expects construction crews to start tearing down a few existing buildings to make room for the footprint of the plaza within the next few weeks.

But Justice Minister T-J Burke said it'll be a while longer before construction on the building gets underway.

The actual construction portion will begin in the latter part of 2009, but the buildings will be up for 2010." said Burke.

Burke said a request for proposals is expected to go out within the next three months.

[Ottawa]

The link below has some detailed project plans about the current highway projects planned and under construction.

Regarding the Highway 1 twinning to Maine, I don't see any plans past Route 127 towards St. Stephen. I am guessing that will be completed at the same time as the new border crossing at St. Stephen?

Does anybody know what the status is on that section?

http://www.gnb.ca/0113/projects/projects-e.asp

[Fischbob]

Originally Posted by Ottawa

The link below has some detailed project plans about the current highway projects planned and under construction.

Regarding the Highway 1 twinning to Maine, I don't see any plans past Route 127 towards St. Stephen. I am guessing that will be completed at the same time as the new border crossing at St. Stephen?

Does anybody know what the status is on that section?

http://www.gnb.ca/0113/projects/projects-e.asp

Thanks for sharing the link! The maps of the proposed alignments are quite neat.

Having driven to and from St. Stephen many times, I'm certain that the section from 127 to the new border crossing has been under construction for a number of years now. The bridges across the Waweig River are already built, and the new alignment can be clearly seen from both the route 127 interchange and route 1 near the Charlotte County Mall.

[nwalbert]

I didn't realize how many highway projects the province was planning in and around Saint John. Looks like as the Energy Boom is ramping up they want to ensure it is easy for people in the surrounding communities to get into the city.

Does anyone know what is being built behind Downey Ford, across from the back of Sears? Looks to be a relatively large warehouse style building.

[nwalbert]

I didn't realize how many highway projects the province was planning in and around Saint John. Looks like as the Energy Boom is ramping up they want to ensure it is easy for people in the surrounding communities to get into the city.

Does anyone know what is being built behind Downey Ford, across from the back of Sears? Looks to be a relatively large warehouse style building.

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by nwalbert

I didn't realize how many highway projects the province was planning in and around Saint John. Looks like as the Energy Boom is ramping up they want to ensure it is easy for people in the surrounding communities to get into the city.

Does anyone know what is being built behind Downey Ford, across from the back of Sears? Looks to be a relatively large warehouse style building.

It's a new location for Speedy Auto-Glass.



There was an article about the Princess St. renovations in the TJ today, apparently it was delayed yet again and won't start construction until the Spring. It also mentioned a new upscale restaurant going up on Princess, has anyone heard what this will be?

[Joe]

To bad there isn't going to be an access to highway one east from the exit up to Lily Lake , I don't know the exit #, but from the link, that exit is going to change quite a bit. I suppose you could use the onramp from the Haymarket overpass to go eastbound on highway 1.

[Joe]

Heard on the radio this morning the deal for Costco is signed sealed and delivered. Construction will start in the spring of 09.

[PostModernPrometheus]

Originally Posted by kwajo

. It also mentioned a new upscale restaurant going up on Princess, has anyone heard what this will be?

no...i hadn't heard about this...any idea *where* on princess it would go? This would be a nice addition to the area which rapidly seems to be housing a number of finer restaurants, specialty bars and theatre (i.e, imperial, SJ theatre co and a few small scale live theatre operations). . .'entertainment district' has a nice ring to it...

[PostModernPrometheus]

Originally Posted by Helladog

Changes At The Saint John Regional Hospital

October 20, 2008 - 1:48 pm
By: News 88-9's Terri Wallace

SAINT JOHN, NB - The main entrance and public parking locations at the
Saint John Regional Hospital will change tomorrow.

Work on the new emergency department and space for two new linear accelerators for cancer care is underway.
.

improved ER space is definitely needed & two accelerators represents a significant investment and increase in potential cancer treatment capacities.