The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[mmmatt]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

It's in the "sleuth" today that a Moncton window manufacturer (who shall remain nameless) bought the Chrysler warehouse with the intent to move their operations there and make it their new headquarters. I presume this isn't Maritime Window & Door as they just rebuilt this year.

I don't know anything about the NBLC outlet but apparently there was an interested party some time ago, even before they moved their store to the new location on Vaughn Harvey. Does anyone have any ideas?

Yeah I would assume its not Maritime as, like you said they just invested a lot of money into their current location...I think the next likely party is ALLSCO windows and doors who may be ready to "ride out" of their current location on rideout street in the Moncton Industrial Park

As far as the Liquor Store building I have no ideas, but I did see an excavator digging up the parking lot there recently.

[MonctonRad]

Magnetic hill zoo
Published Saturday November 29th, 2008
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff

The Magnetic Hill Zoo may not seem at first like what most people think of as a traditional city park, but when you think about it, the zoo is indeed both a city owned outdoor space for the public's enjoyment, and it's just about as traditional as you can get, a place that's been a destination in one incarnation or another for families for half a century.

Not that anyone would recognize the zoo's former state in its current incarnation.

Certainly, the zoo has changed with the times. It opened in the very early 1950s as a ranger station with only orphaned and injured indigenous animals. In 1954, Muriel Sikorski wrote a petition to the government to move the rehabilitation compound to a spot directly opposite Magnetic Hill.

As local interest grew, the provincial government opened the site as a game farm for the public to observe the animals.

In those years, it was unusual for public reaction to seeing the game farm's animals as a mix of fascination with their beauty and regret at their living conditions.

Something needed to be done.

The City of Moncton purchased the farm in 1979 and slowly began transforming it into a modern zoo. New and exotic animals were acquired, but because staff knew little of the spatial requirements or the psychological needs of the animals, monies provided for animal habitat improvements were seldom used and facilities were rudimentary at best.

The real changes have been made since 1989, when Bruce Dougan was hired and the slow transformation of the game farm to a modern zoo began. More exotic species were added, animal habitats were improved and a more enlightened philosophy was put in place for education, conservation and research.

Today, with award-winning educational programs, partnerships with local schools and dedicated staff and volunteers, Dougan has had a consistent message in the past decade or more, that the zoo must be more than a recreational facility.

"Although we will always be looking for ways to improve animal habitats and bring in animals to enhance our zoo and make the visit more interesting for our visitors, our primary objectives as we move forward must be education, conservation and scientific study."

To that end, the Magnetic Hill Zoo is committed to safeguarding animal species and raising public awareness of endangered species. The zoo is designed with the well-being of the animals, as well as the safety of the public, in mind.

A member of the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Magnetic Hill Zoo houses more than 400 animals, including over 100 indigenous and exotic species. Birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, and fish find a comfortable and safe home in the 40-acre park.

The most recent animals to find an even more comfortable and safe home are Lee and Squeak.

The pair of cougars now reside in "Cougar Country," the zoo's newest exhibit, which was recently awarded the Environmental Enrichment Award by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The new exhibit replaces a previous facility that had last been renovated in 1990. With a 3,200 square foot open-top enclosure conducive to the natural environment of the animal, the space is four times the size of the previous habitat. The ground is landscaped to provide a variety of terrain and has two large climbing features. The new layout also allows zoo patrons to see the cougars from a number of different angles and includes educational signage.

The recognition of Cougar Country is the third time the CAZA award has been presented to Magnetic Hill in the eight years of the award's existence. The zoo previously received the award for its ostrich and lion exhibits.

Dougan said the new exhibit is the end result of a year of "destruction and reconstruction," which was preceded by three years of fundraising by groups like Friends of the Zoo to go towards the nearly $250,000 project.

As Vern Stewart, president of Friends of the Zoo, said upon the win last month, "we're just a small little zoo from Moncton, which is becoming a big little zoo, which is really cool because it kind of brings awareness to what we're doing."

While it would be lovely if Moncton's City Council could wave a magic wand and find millions of dollars more to put into the facility, the efforts of the zoo itself and of a supportive community have resulted in continuous, annual improvements despite just $100,000 a year set aside for capital works.

There are also new shows and educational programs being added to the daily schedule each year, not to mention an ever growing ark of creatures great and small. Besides animals, the zoo offers special events like the annual Halloween Boo at the Zoo and everything from magicians to face painting offered at special times during the summer season.

While you can obviously go to the zoo to learn about animals and their habitats, it's also a place where you can just take a stroll through pleasant, treed surroundings with interesting things to see at every turn in the trail.

"With the paths all paved and benches all through the zoo, it's easy for walking and for strollers and people can sit down and rest if they want to," Dougan says.

While the zoo has seen some sadness in the high-profile deaths of zoo Mascot Tomar the Amur (Siberian) tiger and his mate Pasha in recent years, the folks at the zoo are nevertheless focused on looking forward.

The zoo is raising money to purchase a brand new $1 million tiger exhibit. They have various fundraisers in place, but Dougan says realistically he doesn't foresee being able to purchase tigers for another three years, although he would love to be able to do it in two years.

The efforts to bring tigers back to the zoo as a bookmark to the zoo's already magnificent lion display says a lot about the direction of the facility.

Obviously, tigers are showpiece animals that will draw crowds and increase revenues. But it's not the building of the new exhibit but what the zoo did after Tomar died last year that speaks volumes.

Just as Cortez burned his ships upon arriving in the New World so that there could be no turning back, one of the first things done after Tomar's departure was to tear down his enclosure.

The facility that housed Tomar and Pasha was adequate 20 years ago, but it's now out of date.

By tearing it down and working toward something far greater, the zoo has stuck to the principles that have made it such a jewel in just two decades of intense work. When it comes to the public, the zoo is making itself ever better. When it comes to the animals, it's just not willing to compromise.

The zoo is open seven days a week from early April to late October, with varying rate structures depending on the season.

[mmmatt]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The most recent animals to find an even more comfortable and safe home are Lee and Squeak.

The pair of cougars now reside in "Cougar Country," the zoo's newest exhibit, which was recently awarded the Environmental Enrichment Award by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The new exhibit replaces a previous facility that had last been renovated in 1990. With a 3,200 square foot open-top enclosure conducive to the natural environment of the animal, the space is four times the size of the previous habitat. The ground is landscaped to provide a variety of terrain and has two large climbing features. The new layout also allows zoo patrons to see the cougars from a number of different angles and includes educational signage.

The recognition of Cougar Country is the third time the CAZA award has been presented to Magnetic Hill in the eight years of the award's existence. The zoo previously received the award for its ostrich and lion exhibits.

Dougan said the new exhibit is the end result of a year of "destruction and reconstruction," which was preceded by three years of fundraising by groups like Friends of the Zoo to go towards the nearly $250,000 project.

________________________________

The zoo is raising money to purchase a brand new $1 million tiger exhibit. They have various fundraisers in place, but Dougan says realistically he doesn't foresee being able to purchase tigers for another three years, although he would love to be able to do it in two years.

The efforts to bring tigers back to the zoo as a bookmark to the zoo's already magnificent lion display says a lot about the direction of the facility.

Obviously, tigers are showpiece animals that will draw crowds and increase revenues. But it's not the building of the new exhibit but what the zoo did after Tomar died last year that speaks volumes.

Just as Cortez burned his ships upon arriving in the New World so that there could be no turning back, one of the first things done after Tomar's departure was to tear down his enclosure.

The facility that housed Tomar and Pasha was adequate 20 years ago, but it's now out of date.

By tearing it down and working toward something far greater, the zoo has stuck to the principles that have made it such a jewel in just two decades of intense work. When it comes to the public, the zoo is making itself ever better. When it comes to the animals, it's just not willing to compromise.

Great news about the Zoo...its certainly one of Moncton best attractions, and its keeps getting better

[mmmatt]

Metro's real estate market is solid

Carla Bouchard
Published Saturday November 29th, 2008

Everyone is discussing the real estate market in Greater Moncton these days. It is solid? Are we in trouble? What is going to happen to our real estate investments?

Recently, in the Canadian Real Estate magazine, Moncton was listed in the Top 5 safe havens to buy and sell real estate. Their assessment of Moncton, which follows below, gives us lots to feel good about.

Having enjoyed strong fundamentals over the past decade, Moncton is probably the closest thing to a safe bet that you'll find in the Atlantic provinces for real estate investment.

Average house prices increased to $157,186 at the end of August 2008 from $85,363 in 1997.

"The historical pace of growth has been something to depend on in Moncton. We don't have the big ups and downs -- the big increases or major declines -- that big places do," says Ron Wood, president of the Greater Moncton Real Estate Board.

"You can compare Moncton to a GIC -- a guaranteed investment," say Wood," whereas in some places, like Toronto, you might well be able to make more money but it's a bit more risky,"

Moncton has enjoyed steady growth in the real estate market because of its solid economy and central location in the Maritimes. About 1.4 million people live within a three-hour drive of 'the Hub City.'

"Moncton has long been a favourite place for companies to place outsourcing style businesses," according to Philip Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage. "It's the economic star of Atlantic Canada."

The city is a commercial, distribution, transportation and retailing centre. Insurance, information technology, education and the health-care sector are major employers, with the unemployment rate hovering around 5 per cent, which is below the national average.

Moncton is one of the top 10 fastest growing metropolitan areas and the fastest growing urban region east of Toronto. It's home to nearly 65,000 people, but the Greater Moncton Area has a population of about 125,000. It's currently the most populous metropolitan area in New Brunswick, surpassing Saint John. According to Statistics Canada, Moncton is the only metropolitan area in the Atlantic provinces whose growth rate is above the national average.

"Moncton has seen a lot of people returning from out west and from the northern part of the province," says Wood. "We've seen more than our share of in-migration from the rest of Canada. We have more immigration from other countries as well, especially from South Korea. That's something that's been increasing in the last five years."

The vacancy rate for rentals has decreased to 5.5 per cent from 6.1 per cent between April 2007 and April 2008, according to CMHC. Continued demand for rental units, particularly from younger people and empty nesters, in combination with a mild decline in rental unit construction have contributed to this spring's lower vacancy rate, notes CMHC, as supply and demand for rental units is beginning to reach a more favourable balance.

The average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment increased moderately to about $665, compared to $631 from the year before, which is higher than the provincial average.




- With the ammount of rental construction lately, Im very surprised to see the vacancy rate drop so much...in other words, population is still increasing faster than we are building

[David_99]

Originally Posted by stu_pendousmat2

As far as the Liquor Store building I have no ideas, but I did see an excavator digging up the parking lot there recently.

I drive by there every day and the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw them digging it up was maybe another gas station to compete with Irving as there's a lot of traffic on the BLVD for the one gas station. But who knows.

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by David_99

I drive by there every day and the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw them digging it up was maybe another gas station to compete with Irving as there's a lot of traffic on the BLVD for the one gas station. But who knows.

Maybe apartments? There was talk of tearing down Centenial Shakers to put up lakeside rental units.



Also, does anyone know what's going on with the condo project that was proposed for St George a few years back?

It was supposed to go between the lake and Dickson blvd and the last I heard was to be 8 floors. They put up a really nice sign for it, but that was five or six years ago now.

[P Unit]

The neighbours on Dickson killed it.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Also, does anyone know what's going on with the condo project that was proposed for St George a few years back?

It was supposed to go between the lake and Dickson blvd and the last I heard was to be 8 floors. They put up a really nice sign for it, but that was five or six years ago now.

I think the project is dead. The adjacent homeowners on Dickson (big houses, influential people) were not too happy to be losing the woodland behind their backyards and were prepared to put up a significant fuss. I think the threat of litigation was somewhat offputting for the developer.

[David_99]

I added this to the CFL thread but figured it could fit here too.

If a team were ever to come to Moncton, what do you guys think of something like this? I thought it'd be appropriate with Moncton's rail road history. It also has nothing to do with fishing or boats of any kind, so that has to be a plus right? lol

"Moncton" could easily be replaced with "Maritime" or "Atlantic" if they went with a regional name.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by David_99

I added this to the CFL thread but figured it could fit here too.

If a team were ever to come to Moncton, what do you guys think of something like this? I thought it'd be appropriate with Moncton's rail road history. It also has nothing to do with fishing or boats of any kind, so that has to be a plus right? lol

"Moncton" could easily be replaced with "Maritime" or "Atlantic" if they went with a regional name.

That's actually very good. I like it a lot. You should send a copy of this to the mayor.

[stephan.richard]

Does anyone know the wole list of stores that are going into the new developpement on Mapleton and also are there any rumours on what stores will be filling the vacant stroes at Champlain Place.. I am just curious and I hope that Champlain place can attarct stores such as Aeropostale, Hollister, Abrecrombie and Fitch just to name a few. And I welcome your feedback and lets try to make Moncton the main Gaming and Shopping destination east of Montreal.

[ErickMontreal]

Originally Posted by stephan.richard

And I welcome your feedback and lets try to make Moncton the main Gaming and Shopping destination east of Montreal.

No offence but I think Quebec city will always be ahead of Moncton in term of retail offer. Moncton has a lot of work to do in order to overcome Quebec city in that regard.

Place Laurier is three times bigger than Champlain place, same goes for Capitale shopping center. Moreover, we can hardly compare the quality of the retailers involved in both markets.

[C_Boy]

Originally Posted by stephan.richard

Does anyone know the wole list of stores that are going into the new developpement on Mapleton and also are there any rumours on what stores will be filling the vacant stroes at Champlain Place.. I am just curious and I hope that Champlain place can attarct stores such as Aeropostale, Hollister, Abrecrombie and Fitch just to name a few. And I welcome your feedback and lets try to make Moncton the main Gaming and Shopping destination east of Montreal.

Welcome to the Forum Stephane.richard ! Your name sounds so farmiliar...specialy due to the fact your from St-Antoine...What year did you graduate?

For the stores going in to the new development they are listed some pages back but the ones I can think of on the top of my head are :

-The Brick
-Linens and Things
-Best Buy

For the rest at champlain place, it would be nice to have those options around here! I'm sure soon enough they will be here.

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by C_Boy

Welcome to the Forum Stephane.richard ! Your name sounds so farmiliar...specialy due to the fact your from St-Antoine...What year did you graduate?

For the stores going in to the new development they are listed some pages back but the ones I can think of on the top of my head are :

-The Brick
-Linens and Things
-Best Buy

For the rest at champlain place, it would be nice to have those options around here! I'm sure soon enough they will be here.

C_Boy I graduated Polyvalente Clement Cormier in 1997.. But I highly doubt that linen and Things will be comming into town due to the chain having filled for Bankruptcy. But Best Byuy will be a good adition to the Greater Moncton Retail scene. But I hope that they can fill out those vacancies soon in the Champplain Place and I can see it is the future if they do build the Metro Center on the same ground as the Highfield Square that The Bay will be filling in the spot on where Wal Mart is if and when the Wal Mart plans to build their Super Center in Dieppe and move out of the Champlain Place. That spot would make The Bay more competitive in that sopt rather than being stuck downtown. That is my take on things.

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by stephan.richard

C_Boy I graduated Polyvalente Clement Cormier in 1997.. But I highly doubt that linen and Things will be comming into town due to the chain having filled for Bankruptcy. But Best Byuy will be a good adition to the Greater Moncton Retail scene. But I hope that they can fill out those vacancies soon in the Champplain Place and I can see it is the future if they do build the Metro Center on the same ground as the Highfield Square that The Bay will be filling in the spot on where Wal Mart is if and when the Wal Mart plans to build their Super Center in Dieppe and move out of the Champlain Place. That spot would make The Bay more competitive in that sopt rather than being stuck downtown. That is my take on things.

Welcome to the forums, Stephan!

[mylesmalley]

Thanks P_unit and MonctonRad. That's what I thought. Honestly though, I'm pretty glad they did give up on it. I'm very pro development and especially anything hi rise, but that stretch of St George is nice only because it has such a thick tree cover. It'd be a real shame for that to be diminished.

[JasonL-Moncton]

Last I heard Wal-Mart will 'stay' in the mall and what would be built out in Dieppe would be a 'Sams Club' (wal-marts version of Costco). They've used this model in other cities.

I agree...the Linens & Things has likely been kaiboshed due to bankruptcy.

As far as stores like Hollister and A&F...don't hold your breath. They are two of my favorite stores but don't see them coming here, A&F I believe only has one store in Canada in Toronto. I know they have expansion plans for Canada but I don't think Moncton would be their first choice with places like Montreal, Vancouver, etc to go to.

That 'logo' looks cool...love it.

Jason

[mmmatt]

Awesome logo David! Thats really good work!

As far as Linens 'n Things ...they will not be opening, they are closing all their current locations soon, including Canadian ones.

St Hubert looks really good, and they are making good progress on Mapleton Power Center, they have a crane going.

Also welcome to the forum stephan!

[JasonL-Moncton]

Originally Posted by stu_pendousmat2

St Hubert looks really good, and they are making good progress on Mapleton Power Center, they have a crane going.

Also welcome to the forum stephan!

Agreed on St. Hubert...it looks 'really' nice.

Not just a 'crane'...but a '— huge' crane is working on Mapleton...lot's of bustle there in the last couple of weeks.

Jason

[gehrhardt]

I was driving around in the Caledonia Ind. Park yesterday and there is a lot going on.

Behind the Tim Horton's on Harrisville Blvd, the foundation for a strip mall-like industrial complex has already been poured. Behind that is a sign saying "space for lease" for a similar complex that hasn't been started. Across the street from that is yet another building that is already closed in. Around the corner from that is still another sign with a render of a large complex. It doesn't look like the boom in that park will be ending anytime soon.

Speaking of Caledonia park, new roads were being built all summer to expand the park. Frenette ave has been completed from Harrisville all the way to Caledonia road including a connection to Urquhart ave. If you look at Google Maps, you can get an idea of how long this road is. There's lots of room for expansion now.