The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[Helladog]

I know Sobeys is closing in January at Loch Lomond, and it's prolly just a rumour, but I heard about an Irving related development that would see Loch Lomond Mall demolished in favour of a hi-rise...

This is prolly just BS, and we would have heard if the call centres were moving to new places, but i think it'd be neat to have a tall building on that prominent location.

[Joe]

Has anyone had a chance to read the magazine insert in the Telegraph Journal this morning(Saturday Edition), Saint John on the move. Nice to see. Too bad something like this wouldn't come out a little more often.

[PersonPlaceorThing]

Originally Posted by Helladog

I know Sobeys is closing in January at Loch Lomond, and it's prolly just a rumour, but I heard about an Irving related development that would see Loch Lomond Mall demolished in favour of a hi-rise...

This is prolly just BS, and we would have heard if the call centres were moving to new places, but i think it'd be neat to have a tall building on that prominent location.

The site would be big enought for the HQ.

I wonder if it's IOL or Commercail Properties (the Irving company who did CentreBeam Place and Somerset Square) who bought this.

If IOL has plans for the mall, its likely to expand their call centre space in the building.

[nwalbert]

I would agree with those who suggested that the plans for the Chateau hotel have clearly changed, that mockup does not line up with the current construction.

[nwalbert]

I had a quick look through the 'Saint John On the Move' insert in the newspaper. I second your sentiment that it is really great to see how strong the change of attitude in the city is. Very exciting times for the city ahead.

[PersonPlaceorThing]

Originally Posted by nwalbert

I had a quick look through the 'Saint John On the Move' insert in the newspaper. I second your sentiment that it is really great to see how strong the change of attitude in the city is. Very exciting times for the city ahead.

It's good to see some boosterism from the paper. I wish we had a T&T down here instead of "the official opposition of common council" as a newspaper.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by PersonPlaceorThing

It's good to see some boosterism from the paper. I wish we had a T&T down here instead of "the official opposition of common council" as a newspaper.

Boosterism is fine (and necessary) but the T&T occasionally digresses into a frank and unrestrained form of exaggerated hyperbole which can, at times, be quite embarrassing.

The T&T unfortunately borders on being a tabloid journal. Accuracy can be sacrificed for the purposes of bolstering civic pride.

It does work though.

[kirjtc2]

It doesn't matter what level of government or which party's in power....the T-J's slogan is "If there's a government, we're against it."

[PostModernPrometheus]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Boosterism is fine (and necessary) but the T&T occasionally digresses into a frank and unrestrained form of exaggerated hyperbole which can, at times, be quite embarrassing.

The T&T unfortunately borders on being a tabloid journal. Accuracy can be sacrificed for the purposes of bolstering civic pride.

It does work though.

what's needed is something between the two....neither main paper does this balancing act terribly well... civic pride boosting stories (even if accuracy is sacrificed at times) while simultaneously frankly addressing issues (both good and bad) with some degree of questioning government policy and decision making processes

[PostModernPrometheus]

Originally Posted by Helladog

I know Sobeys is closing in January at Loch Lomond, and it's prolly just a rumour, but I heard about an Irving related development that would see Loch Lomond Mall demolished in favour of a hi-rise...

This is prolly just BS, and we would have heard if the call centres were moving to new places, but i think it'd be neat to have a tall building on that prominent location.

keep in mind....call centres (even well established ones) are at relatively higher risk of downsizing & folding in the current economic environment....

have their been any proposed plans put forward re: the use of sobey's once it is closed?

[PostModernPrometheus]

Originally Posted by Fischbob

I found renderings and floor/site plans of the proposed Chateau Saint John, but they're pretty well-hidden. They're in the agenda package for the March 31st Common Council session, which I found in PDF format on the city's website.

Here's a link to the file (PDF warning):
https://www.documents.saintjohn.ca/weblink7/ElectronicFile.aspx?docid=22361&dbid=1

The hotel is item 9.1 on the agenda. Images are located on pages 78-88 and pages 118-127 (this set seems to be of higher quality than the first set).

Detail from page 119:

.

nice detective work finding the image.

i'd agree with the other posts...the structure that is going up appears to be different from the image you found...it looks narrower on the long axis, and (though i didn't get a great look at it as i was driving past a few days ago) the construction footprint appeared to be more of an 'L-shape' one....

[PostModernPrometheus]

Originally Posted by kwajo

More good news for our fair city:

wow...17% increase in Quispam assesments...

[PostModernPrometheus]

Interesting article on the news889.com site today re: a private developer wanting to purchase Tucker Park Beach (the public park on the Kennebecasis River just east of the Royal Kennebecasis Yacht Club)

anyone hear who was interesting in buying this / what their proposal was?


link:

http://www.news889.com/news/topstory/article.jsp?content=20081130_072200_15280

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by PostModernPrometheus

Interesting article on the news889.com site today re: a private developer wanting to purchase Tucker Park Beach (the public park on the Kennebecasis River just east of the Royal Kennebecasis Yacht Club)

anyone hear who was interesting in buying this / what their proposal was?


link:

http://www.news889.com/news/topstory/article.jsp?content=20081130_072200_15280

It's Percy Wilbur. He tried to buy Tucker Park a few years ago for development and the city wouldn't let him (public image stuff associated with selling off a park), so now he's trying to buy it under the auspices of maintaining it as a public park. I guarantee it's a scam. Percy has bought land before under the pretenses of making it a nature area and ended up turning that same land into a housing development. He's also responsible for having clearcut trees near Rockwood Park and then just leaving the lots as-is without replanting or further development. I don't have any personal experiences with the man at all, so I'm not a primary source on any of this, but I know several Millidgeville residents who most definitely distrust almost everything he says or does does.

[PersonPlaceorThing]

Originally Posted by kwajo

It's Percy Wilbur. He tried to buy Tucker Park a few years ago for development and the city wouldn't let him (public image stuff associated with selling off a park), so now he's trying to buy it under the auspices of maintaining it as a public park. I guarantee it's a scam. Percy has bought land before under the pretenses of making it a nature area and ended up turning that same land into a housing development. He's also responsible for having clearcut trees near Rockwood Park and then just leaving the lots as-is without replanting or further development. I don't have any personal experiences with the man at all, so I'm not a primary source on any of this, but I know several Millidgeville residents who most definitely distrust almost everything he says or does does.

It's definately a neglected park, but I think it's important to keep some of the K River open to the public.

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by PostModernPrometheus

nice detective work finding the image.

i'd agree with the other posts...the structure that is going up appears to be different from the image you found...it looks narrower on the long axis, and (though i didn't get a great look at it as i was driving past a few days ago) the construction footprint appeared to be more of an 'L-shape' one....

As it looks from the dome, the construction does seem to match the image just fine...it changes alot. BTW, it's only on the second (parking) level.

[nwalbert]

There was a quick blurb on The wave this morning about Percy Wilbur and that many folks were already against the project. Sounds like you are spot on about his reputation. Too bad, it sounded like a nice proposal originally.

[kwajo]

I'm 100% for furthering the development of SJ, and I'm pro-development on most projects (for example I had no problem with the pipeline through Rockwood Park, as it was following the existing cutline), but selling off Tucker Park would be a mistake. It should be looked at as a valuable asset for the city and yet for years it has sat as a wasted opportunity. I'm not saying we need to invest a ton of money to fix it up right now, because there are a lot more pressing infrastructure needs, but we should keep the land in public hands so that someday down the road we can turn it into a park to be proud of. Let residential areas develop around - not on top of - the park, so that we can maintain public access along the Kennebecasis, something that has been lost virtually all the way from Saint John through Quispamsis.


If anyone wants to check out Somerset Square and all the technology that has made it Atlantic Canada's first private sector LEED Gold building, they are having an open house on the 3rd. I might go take a look, or at least swing by and make a pitstop at a graywater-flushed toilet.

[PersonPlaceorThing]

From Country 94.1 FM news:


[Port Authority's Reaction to I.L.A.]

17:38:49

Captain Al Soppitt with the Port Authority tells CHSJ News they see the land swap as a good way to increase revenue.
Soppitt says the terminal on Long Wharf will still be used by cruise ships, and they will be leasing the rest to Irving Oil.
Soppitt says this will not interfere with cargo operations at the site.
He says the project is good for the Port Authority, the community and the users.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[I.L.A. Continue to Fight Irving Oil's New Headquarters]

17:37:41

The International Longshoreman's Association continue to fight to keep Irving Oil from building it's new office tower at Long Wharf.
Union spokesperson Pat Riley says Irving is short changing tax payers, by offering $1.2 million dollars for a property worth close to five times that.
Riley says the deal also violates the Canada Marine Act by exchanging properties not of comparable value, and by removing port operations.
The ILA plans to counter the Port Authority's application for sale to the Federal Courts once it has been submitted.

[nwalbert]

It blows my mind that these guys are still complaining about the sale of the land. I don't think you can find a single person in the city outside of their organization that agrees with them or does not look at the Irving HQ as a positive development for the city.