The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[kwajo]

Quoted from the Fredericton Thread because I think it describes a lot of of what's wrong with our East side development as well.

Originally Posted by caveat.doctor

I agree, the Corbett Centre is a disappointment. I had high hopes for the place, a Gleaner article a while ago suggested it might be something different from the usual big-box suburban waste the rest of Canada has already done:



Probably the best time to assess the aesthetics of a building is when cold, crappy weather makes things like that all the more important. Like a wintery day like today:



Though making the buildings encircle the lot theoretically mean Regent St and Knowledge Pk Dr have a "streetscape" instead of open carpark, it's still the ass-end of the buildings: nothing's accessible from the street side.



And the long, unbroken buildings don't help: it deliberately makes walking to Corbett Centre from Regent Mall or UNB campus more difficult. It mentions a "walking path system" - but what would've really been effective is designing the place like an actual Downtown: walkable blocks with buildings that properly face the street.





The central parking lot concept is a bad idea - it provides a poor centrepiece for the project (ooh, asphalt), and the massiveness of the lot overpowers whatever effort was made into using "high-end building materials" on the structures, and overwhelms the scale of the one-story storefronts. It would've been better to break up the parking into smaller lots, which would be better "absorbed" by landscaping and blocks of buildings.





Though the materials may be "high-end", the design is poor. Yes, there's bricks and boomtown double-height false fronts, but they're still boxes. The awnings provide no shelter from sun, rain or snow for anyone who would walk between stores. And while all the big signage along the top of the buildings is easy to see across that sea of parking lot, they're too high to be useful if you're on foot and try to window shop.

Suburban, isolated malls like this have already been done across the country, and other cities have already long realised how design like this is bad planning. I snuck into a City of Ottawa planning forum, and they actively identify single-use, stand-alone big-box strips like these as poor design:



Admittedly, car-centric malls are convenient for many, but there are better ways to pull it off than what they did at Corbett Centre. For example, another proposal (from that Ottawa forum) breaks up the parking lot in two, and makes the centrepiece of the mall an actual street, instead of parking:





The parking lots face the /back/ entrance to the stores - that way, you can have proper streetscapes with the front doors



with plain old sidewalks that make "walking path systems" unnecessary



It's sad that what the rest of Canada already recognises as mistakes, passes for "new" in Fredericton.

[kwajo]

A few articles from this morning's TJ:

Transit centre construction has had its hiccups
Published Monday January 12th, 2009

Development General manager Frank McCarey is still hopeful that job will be finished on time
C3
BRUCE BARTLETT
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL



SAINT JOHN - A shortage of concrete and steel workers has delayed some work on the new Saint John Transit headquarters, but the contractor has moved ahead in other areas, said Frank McCarey, general manager of the utility.Ground was broken at the site on the corner of Loch Lomond Road and MacDoanld Street last March, with an scheduled completion date for June of this year on the $22 million project.

"We had a site meeting just yesterday and the target date is June 30th and they say they can still make it," McCarey said Friday.

Scheduling problems were first noted when the foundation was ready to be poured, he said.

"They were having a hard time getting enough guys on their crew because it was very busy at that time and even the steel guys were short crewed," he said.

But the contractor was able to put up the roof on the storage garage, which was scheduled for later, and the plumbers and mechanical workers have been able to move ahead, even though the building is not completely closed in, he said.

"These were all things that were scheduled for later on," he said.

Within the next three to four weeks McCarey expects the building will be completely enclosed.

"We are very pleased with the contractor because he is doing everything he can to bring it in on time," McCarey said.

The current transit commission bus depot and offices have to be vacated by June 30. The building is scheduled for demolition to make way for a parking lot to service a strip mall being developed by Plaza Corp next to the new Sobeys store just off Fairville Boulevard.

"They are currently constructing the stores for the strip mall behind us, they have the steel up for four of them now," he said.

The maintenance garage in east Saint John is almost complete, so that won't be a problem, and if the offices aren't ready, McCarey said they can make do.

The new building is designed to meet LEED standards - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - and is expected to last 50 years. The international designation is the benchmark for high-performance environmental, or green, buildings. It is expected to use 60 per cent less energy than a conventional building of the same size.

Among other things the new headquarters will collect rain from the roof that will be used to wash the buses. Transit officials estimate 85 per cent of the building's water needs will come from rain.

The LEED design is estimated to cost about 10 per cent more than a regular building but that extra up-front cost will be quickly recovered from operating costs.

Record year for airport
Published Saturday January 10th, 2009

B1
Telegraph-Journal

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Airport served 245,000 passengers last year, an all-time record, airport officials have announced. That's 1,500 more passengers than 2007.

"In light of the high fuel prices that the industry faced during the summer months, as well as the deteriorating economy worldwide and the scaling back of seat availability by major Canadian air carriers, YSJ still managed to increased over 2007 which, until that point, had been our best year ever," airport president and CEO Bernard LeBlanc said.

Furthermore, in 2007, the airport's passenger count increased by 25 per cent over 2006, he said, setting an all-time local record and ranking number two among Canadian airports for domestic passenger growth. The first was Fort McMurray.

LeBlanc attributes Saint John's growth to the start-up of WestJet and Sunwing, additional flights offered by Air Canada and the growing local economy.

Sunwing is so confident in the Saint John market that their seasonal operations are starting a month earlier than usual, he said.

"This is the third season we've welcomed Sunwing in Saint John.

"This year, they've decided to offer their flights to Cancun and Veradero starting in mid-February."

The airport also eagerly anticipates the return of WestJet seasonal service to Toronto in mid-May, he said.

Darlings will submit a plan B for new rink
Published Monday January 12th, 2009

C4
ANDREW MCGILLIGAN
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

ROTHESAY - While several companies are drafting proposals to build a rink in Rothesay, the Darlings are upping the ante.

The original deadline of Jan. 9 for proposals was extended to Friday to give two other companies - who found out about the opportunity late - the chance to submit plans.

The Darlings submitted their original idea of a two-ice surface arena on Isaac Street and said the second proposal was due to land concerns.

"It's something we're looking at strictly because of area," Scott Darling said.

The Isaac Street proposal would be built on land owned by the Darlings in a subdivision they're developing. However, some residents of Isaac Street don't want a rink in the area, citing traffic concerns and noise as the main reasons.

"I still think it's a great location for it," Darling said of the Isaac Street. "However, we don't want to upset anybody in the community by what we're trying to do."

The land for the second proposal is situated in a commercial area, but Darling wouldn't disclose more details other than to say the land will only be purchased for a rink.

"We have the right to buy it. We have it under offer that has been accepted, but it would only be for the purpose of a rink. We're not interested in buying it for any other reason than to make this happen.

"We've got two proposals going in, so (the town) knows we are serious about doing this."

As for the increased competition - Rothesay could receive as many as five or six proposals by Friday - deputy mayor Blair MacDonald said it's good news.

"I wasn't sure there would be that many organizations willing to do it, especially during uncertain financial times," MacDonald said. "I think the more choice is always better in terms of the creativity of the proposals."

Darling agrees.

"If anybody can do it cheaper than us - I don't think they can - but if they can then that's great for the town," the developer said. "At the end of the day, what the Darling family wants to see is rinks in the valley. If somebody else gets the deal, that's fine.

"What we wanted to accomplish was to make sure there was more ice time for the kids."

[Helladog]

Uptown/South Projects Map



Images Grabbed from www.live.com

[kwajo]

A quick omissions list off the top of my head:

-If you're including townhouses, there are new ones going up near the corner of Sydney and Duke,
-Apartment building on Queen St. between Charlotte and Germain (it probably has a name, I just don't know what it is).
-Hopefully we'll know the precise location of the new YMCA soon so that we can add that to your map

The other thing that no project map can accurately depict about the growth in our Urban core is the fantastic amount of renovations being done to old residential buildings and to the upper floors of the old commerical buildings. I have never seen more construction Uptown than I have this past Summer, and I think it is just the tip of the iceberg. Just for argument's sake, maybe Centrebeam should be included on the project map?

Anyway, great job as usual Hella!

[kwajo]

For anyone interested:

[kwajo]

Some TJ "News" articles (emphases are my own):

Apartments The 24 full-market and 24 subsidized units in $6-million development identical
C1
SANDRA DAVIS
Telegraph-Journal


SAINT JOHN - With wireless Internet capability and a communications system that allows residents to view who's at the door by tuning in on their televisions, residents of the new Woodhollow Park have amenities that, if not quite cutting edge, are very close.

The $6-million apartment complex, which is part of John Rocca's new development on Ellerdale Street, officially opened on Monday.

Half of the 48 apartments in the building are subsidized by the province, but there is no difference between them and the other half that are being rented at full market prices.

"They're all finished the same way," Rocca said.

The building is one of only three in the city that has special insulation in the floors to muffle the sound of residents walking overhead.

Cameras monitor traffic in and out of the building and apartments are bright, with an open concept kitchen/dining and living room with ceramic tile floors, wall lighting fixtures and central natural gas heating. Stoves and refrigerators are included and on-site, free parking is available.

There is an area for barbecuing, a community meeting room and it's on the bus route.

"We need at least 1,000 more of these," Mayor Ivan Court said at Monday's official opening.

Social Development Minister Mary Schryer spoke of her department's "adventurous" relationship with Efficiency New Brunswick, as they tried to get to the root of how home-heating costs' impact on low-income families' financial problems.

Builders of affordable housing projects for low-income people may receive an incentive of $2,000 per apartment if the building is heated by low greenhouse gas emission technologies.

Woodhollow Park received $720,000 under the federal affordable housing trust to offset construction costs, as well as $1.050 million in rent supplements from the province.

Saint John MP Rodney Weston attended the opening ceremony, along with MLA Roly MacIntyre - the new development is in his Saint John East riding - MLA Trevor Holder of Saint John Portland and Saint John Fundy MLA Stuart Jamieson, city councillor Peter McGuire and Elizabeth Weir, president and CEO of Efficiency New Brunswick.

Rocca has said that more developers should sign deals with Ottawa and Fredericton.

If the Irving Oil's proposed second refinery comes to fruition, Rocca has plans to build a 10-storey complex with up to 90 apartments.

Peel Plaza Construction of police headquarters and parking garage could begin by this fall
C1
BRUCE BARTLETT
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

SAINT JOHN - Common council is a step closer to choosing a public private partnership to finance a new police station and parking garage in the proposed Peel Plaza project.

Council members voted Monday night in favour of a motion proposed by Coun. Chris Titus to follow the seven recommendations in a report prepared by financial advisers from Deloitte & Touche LLP in Toronto that could see the two structures built as a public-private partnership project, or a so-called P3.

"We do think it will produce a product that everybody can be proud of and that we will be able to make a really informed decision about which way to go," Titus said of the process recommended by Deloitte.

The province is building a new justice complex in the area, bringing all the courts in the city into one building, and the city is planning a new police headquarters, but they are not working together on the two projects, each valued at around $50 million.

"At any point in time it could come to an end abruptly, if no one responds to the RFQs (requests for qualifications) but it is unlikely to be the case," Titus said about the search for P3 partners.

With the passing of the motion Monday night, the city committed to paying Deloitte close to $439,000 for advice on how to carry out the police headquarters and parking garage projects. But even if the P3 model is rejected in the end, the information gathered will help the project along, said Gianni Ciufo, a partner with the company's financial advisory services group.

The first step is to put out a request for qualifications, which would give the city information to judge whether the companies responding have the size, expertise and financial backing to undertake such a project. That should leave the city with a short list of companies that will receive information to provide a request for proposals, stating how they would carry out the project and what it would cost.

Deloitte would then analyse the proposals and make a recommendation to council on whether to finance the project on its own or go with a P3 model.

During the request for proposals process Deloitte will offer advice on how to get the best P3 deal and how to make sure the private sector takes its share of risk and make sure value for money is being achieved.

Deloitte is also recommending that as part of the process the city hire a full-time project manager to manage it through its entire life cycle.

Council agreed to proceed with the refurbishment of the Saint John Arts Centre as a traditional stand-alone project that would not be part of the P3. A possible expansion of the arts centre, with a look at business opportunities, is to be included in the planning process.

Council also agreed to further explore, with its advisers and the business community, possible uses for the rest of the land assembled in Peel Plaza in a way that could benefit the city and "that could be used to support other municipal investments inside or outside the Peel Plaza redevelopment."

"We think that the process outlined has very clear milestones for the city and enables the city to look at and see what the benefits are and to accept or reject the process and the outcome of the process with no obligation and no risk to the city," Ciufo said.

The process will be clear and transparent and it will offer an opportunity for the province and the city to work together as much as possible in developing the two projects, he said.

Mayor Ivan Court asked if the current financial downturn has reduced the number of large investors who would have the resources to take on such a project.

"There is very much a live, active bidder market for projects of this type, several of which we are currently working on," Ciufo said.

The consultants said similar projects have saved between nine to 16 per cent over their lifetime by using the P3 model.

At the end of this process, which should move along swiftly, council will have facts and figures to make a decision about which is the best way to finance the project, Titus said.

At the end of the process the information may show that a traditional financing option, with the city borrowing the money for the police station, may be the best option. The purpose of the analysis is not to push one option over the other, Ciufo said

Based on his experience, Ciufo said this analysis will not stall the project and it is possible to begin construction by the fall.

"It's a tight timeline, but it's achievable and it's something that we have achieved on similar and larger projects in the last couple of years," he said.

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by kwajo

For anyone interested:

I saw that in the paper...I'll prolly go in and have a look.

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by kwajo

A quick omissions list off the top of my head:

-If you're including townhouses, there are new ones going up near the corner of Sydney and Duke,
-Apartment building on Queen St. between Charlotte and Germain (it probably has a name, I just don't know what it is).
-Hopefully we'll know the precise location of the new YMCA soon so that we can add that to your map

The other thing that no project map can accurately depict about the growth in our Urban core is the fantastic amount of renovations being done to old residential buildings and to the upper floors of the old commerical buildings. I have never seen more construction Uptown than I have this past Summer, and I think it is just the tip of the iceberg. Just for argument's sake, maybe Centrebeam should be included on the project map?

Anyway, great job as usual Hella!

Thx, I def have to add a few things.

[Helladog]

A new school for tradespeople

SANDRA DAVIS
Telegraph-Journal

SAINT JOHN - Saint John has a new trades school.

On Monday, more than 70 students started studies in electrical, plumbing and pipefitting when Eastern Trades College opened its doors for the first time in Parkway Mall. The new school is a division of CompuCollege.

All of the programs - including a welding class that will start in March - are filled, with 18 students to a class, says Craig Norton, manager of CompuCollege's trades training division.

The new college has been developed to fulfil a need, he said.

With an increasing demand for trades training and with New Brunswick Community College seats filled to capacity, Norton said the time was right to open a new trades school.

"A lot of people are moving to trades because of the potential work," he said, noting that, each year, the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council puts out an annual report that lists major projects. In June, it reported that there is, potentially, about $83 billion worth of projects in the next five to six years.

"A lot of that work will be done by tradespeople," Norton said.

Because Saint John is the industrial/energy centre of the province, it was the obvious choice for the school, he said.

Norton described response from prospective students as "tremendous. We have lots of students; our biggest problem is finding instructors." Programs are 28 weeks long with 200 hours of additional on-the-job training required to complete the Level 1 apprenticeship.

Tuition is about $10,000 and includes books, tools and other materials.

"There's no government money involved in this," Norton said.

"It's all private enterprise and it doesn't cost the provincial government or the federal government a penny to do this."

Norton questions whether the provincial government has to do the planned $45-million expansion of NBCC, now that there is another school in the mix.

"This is not costing the taxpayers anything. From a public policy perspective, what's the best use of taxpayers' dollars?

"If there's another player in the game, do we need to do that?"

I'd rather go to NBCC than CompuCollege any day, especially at $10 000 tuition for a few weeks of lesson. Sounds like they like to count money. In any case, they'll likely fill some of the gap NBCC can't fill for the time being.

[Helladog]

KâtÈ LeBlanc/Telegraph-Journal

Hampton's first set of traffic lights will begin operating today. Jeff Field of Roadway Systems Ltd. works on the lights above. Town council approved a contract of nearly $70,000 in October for installation of the traffic-activated lights. The town installed the lights because at peak times, motorists must wait several minutes to make a left turn onto Main Street.

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


Cindy Wilson/Telegraph-Journal

It may be winter, but the work has to go on. Workers from Ray Tek use high-pressure streams of hot water Monday to melt the ice on a deck so form work can continue on the third floor of a nursing home building under construction in Quispamsis. The nursing home is part of the Parkland in the Valley retirement living complex, which is located on the corner of Millennium Drive and the Gondola Point Arterial.

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by Helladog

I'd rather go to NBCC than CompuCollege any day, especially at $10 000 tuition for a few weeks of lesson. Sounds like they like to count money. In any case, they'll likely fill some of the gap NBCC can't fill for the time being.

It doesn't sound like they know what they're talking about either:

Norton questions whether the provincial government has to do the planned $45-million expansion of NBCC, now that there is another school in the mix.

"This is not costing the taxpayers anything. From a public policy perspective, what's the best use of taxpayers' dollars?

"If there's another player in the game, do we need to do that?"

Well Mr. Norton, that $45 million does a lot more than just train in fields directly competing with your new college - like the health industry for example.

I guess it's an attempt to badmouth the competition to try and get more money, errrr, I mean students (After-all, Colleges and universities are business-first these days).

[PartridgeIslandSJGal]

Originally Posted by PersonPlaceorThing

Does Crombie (the Empire REIT) own the Dooly's mall. If they do, and Lawton's leaves, I bet they will sell it. They don't seem to like to own properties that they don't occupy.

I think Empire is wise to make large format Lawton's. Shoppers seems to make good money - so I imagine a larger Lawton's would do well. There is a large format Lawton's in Moncton, so they have some experience with this.

I truly hoped the original talked about plan goes ahead to have this location transformed into a smaller Empire Cinemas - What a treat it would be to have a theater in the west side!

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by PartridgeIslandSJGal

I truly hoped the original talked about plan goes ahead to have this location transformed into a smaller Empire Cinemas - What a treat it would be to have a theater in the west side!

I couldn't agree more. I live in Millidgeville but would much rather travel West to go to the Movies than to the East Side of the city. With all of the positive growth I would not be surprised to see it move ahead in the next 12-18 months.

[SJResident]

Quote from CHSJ...
New Business Coming to the West-Side]
04:16:07:

Plans are in the works for the old Sobey's store on the West Side. Members of the West Side Business Association confirm to CHSJ News, the building will be torn down this spring to make way for a new and larger Lawton's to replace the one currently housed along the Manawagonish Road.

Representatives with the Association also tell us the building will be home to a new medicial clinic facility with several doctor's offices.

[Joe]

I'd like to see movie theatres uptown.

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by Joe

I'd like to see movie theatres uptown.

Well you can still see a movie theatre Uptown, you just can't use it to watch movies in

[PersonPlaceorThing]

Originally Posted by kwajo

Well you can still see a movie theatre Uptown, you just can't use it to watch movies in

The city owns the synagogue now and will be looking for a new use. I think it's big enough for a cinema. Now only if that were to be profitable, we'd be in the money.

I miss the Paramount though.

[kwajo]

I don't know if I ever mentioned this on the forum, but I've been joking for years that I want to buy the Synagogue and open it as a movie theatre in the model of the Oxford Theatre in Halifax. It would show only movies starring either Walter Pidgeon or Donald Sutherland or that were produced by Louis B. Mayer (MGM Studios). The punchline is of course that it could be referred to as the 'Synema'

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by kwajo

Well you can still see a movie theatre Uptown, you just can't use it to watch movies in

^

What a mess that has become and in such a prominent area.

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by Helladog

^

What a mess that has become and in such a prominent area.

I had to run into Service New Brunswick this morning and you are right, it really has turned into a mess. Hopefully once all of these projects get kicked off and the new $$ starts flowing in someone will see an opportunity to the old theatre into something nice.