The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[Helladog]

Interesting to see how the new routes stack up in the long run. Also, the new "articulated" buses for comex should pop up sometime next month.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Helladog

Interesting to see how the new routes stack up in the long run. Also, the new "articulated" buses for comex should pop up sometime next month.

Are the articulated buses just going to be used for the Comex routes? I know I rode on one of them when they were testing them and getting around uptown was pretty interesting.

[JHikka]

Photographs taken by me, today:









All of the photos from Uptown today can be seen here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greghickman/sets/72157621072937189/

Thanks, guys.

[SJTOKO]

Fantastic pictures! What a beautiful day. Does anyone have a map of uptown Saint John showing where the wires are buried? I think Union Street should be next. But.. ohhhhhhh that concrete curbing.... YUCK! I still can't get over it. Those old historic streets and it's buildings deserve better.

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by GregHickman

Are the articulated buses just going to be used for the Comex routes? I know I rode on one of them when they were testing them and getting around uptown was pretty interesting.

Not sure, but I noticed they uswe the comex buses for normal runs, so I could see it, but woudn't be very useful in the off-peak.

Nice pics BTW!

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by SJTOKO

Fantastic pictures! What a beautiful day. Does anyone have a map of uptown Saint John showing where the wires are buried? I think Union Street should be next. But.. ohhhhhhh that concrete curbing.... YUCK! I still can't get over it. Those old historic streets and it's buildings deserve better.

I understand ppl want granite curbing, but what I remember about the granite curbs as a kid is that they end up sinking into the ground in time.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Helladog

I understand ppl want granite curbing, but what I remember about the granite curbs as a kid is that they end up sinking into the ground in time.

Correct.

Personally, I don't care either way, if i'm travelling somewhere i'm not going to make a big deal about sidewalks.

However; I understand where the shop-owners are a little upset, they have a good reason to be.

[Wrightguy0]

yeah, you can barely see the granite curbing on other streets (I'm pretty sure there's some granite curbing on charlotte, but I just Can't see it)

[kwajo]

Agreed. There are granite curbs on Prince William and frankly I don't see how it looks a whole lot better than on King Street or any other "heritage" street that has concrete curbing. To me it is the brickwork that makes or breaks the sidewalk's look, not the granite curb (take Charlotte St. for example, over by the Admiral Beatty the brick-coloured concrete inserts look terrible).

The shop owners do a have a good point though, why are the rules flexible for the city but so rigid for them?

[michael_d40]

I was reading a post from a while back, and somebody had a comment about the water street townhomes looking repetitive, and why they couldnt put a coffee shop or something in there to change it up a bit. I think thats a pretty decent idea... So Rocca I ask... How come you dont look into seeing if Second Cup, Starbucks, or Van Houtte would be interested in putting in a location? They are upscale establishments, that cater to walk in clientele. Plus you could charge them a hefty lease. Not to mention gives greater options to that part of the city. Sound like a win-win to me.

[magee_b]

Quick Q... whatever happened to the 'project overviews' on the first page of this thread? It was nice to be able to go back to that to get a quick look at designs and plans.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by michael_d40

I was reading a post from a while back, and somebody had a comment about the water street townhomes looking repetitive, and why they couldnt put a coffee shop or something in there to change it up a bit. I think thats a pretty decent idea... So Rocca I ask... How come you dont look into seeing if Second Cup, Starbucks, or Van Houtte would be interested in putting in a location? They are upscale establishments, that cater to walk in clientele. Plus you could charge them a hefty lease. Not to mention gives greater options to that part of the city. Sound like a win-win to me.

This is a decent idea, as I think that end of Water Street has potential. If anything is ever developed out of the Lantic Sugar property then we could have another good area for development...There is a lot of potential on Water Street, but once you walk to the Cruise Ship Terminal there just isn't much after that.

[JRocca]

We always envisioned the townhouses the same way as you do, that is, as more than places to live.
They are designed as 'live/work', where you can have your business at street level and live upstairs.They are also designed to be purely retail operations[eg travel agency,salon,antique store,specialty wine store] or just office for those that want to own their own space rather than rent.
attracting food operators is more challenging.It's difficult for them to be successful because we can't allow them to use the parking garage.We are also at the end of a street that has no other businesses that draw pedestrian traffic.So, to be successful it has to be a 'destination' styel operation.
Even if we can find a food concept that works, we need to make sure it's compatible with the residential character of the project.So, we can't have a restaurant or bar because of their hours of operations.
Our strategy has been to focus on selling the townhouses in the North tower as homes and focus on selling the ones in the South tower for non residential.The thinking being that once entrepreneuurs see that there is a built in clientelle from the north tower there is a greater likelyhood that they will consider establishing a successful business there.

[MonctonRad]

Starbucks though would attract mostly walk-up traffic rather than vehicular traffic so parking would not be a problem. Your building is close enough to the core that some clientele from the downtown office towers would probably make the walk to get that special cup of Joe. Being next to the cruise ship terminal would also be a plus. Finally, regarding being a nuisance to your residential tenants, A Starbucks probably wouldn't be open any later than 10PM (probably earlier in the winter). I think michael d40'S suggestion has merit.

On a more selfish note, Mr. Rocca have you ever thought about getting involved in some development work in Moncton (or Fredericton for that matter)?

[JRocca]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Starbucks though would attract mostly walk-up traffic rather than vehicular traffic so parking would not be a problem. Your building is close enough to the core that some clientele from the downtown office towers would probably make the walk to get that special cup of Joe. Being next to the cruise ship terminal would also be a plus. Finally, regarding being a nuisance to your residential tenants, A Starbucks probably wouldn't be open any later than 10PM (probably earlier in the winter). I think michael d40'S suggestion has merit.

On a more selfish note, Mr. Rocca have you ever thought about getting involved in some development work in Moncton (or Fredericton for that matter)?

I agree that a Starbuck or something similar would be compatible with the residential suites and a good addition to the project.
It's being a long time since we've built in Fredericton-last was an apartment building in Lincoln.We would look at doing an affordable housing project downtown but its hard to find reasonably priced land for this type of project.
Last project we did in Moncton was the land assembly and getting the key tenants for what is now the Trinity Power centre.We are presently looking at doing a seniors' housing project under the federal/Provincial affordable housing grant program downtown.We own the land with my cousin.Our conceptual plans are done.The next step is to see if it meets City hall's expectations and then we will go to NBhousing and the public.If all goes well, we'll be under cosntruction next spring.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by JRocca

I agree that a Starbuck or something similar would be compatible with the residential suites and a good addition to the project.
It's being a long time since we've built in Fredericton-last was an apartment building in Lincoln.We would look at doing an affordable housing project downtown but its hard to find reasonably priced land for this type of project.
Last project we did in Moncton was the land assembly and getting the key tenants for what is now the Trinity Power centre.We are presently looking at doing a seniors' housing project under the federal/Provincial affordable housing grant program downtown.We own the land with my cousin.Our conceptual plans are done.The next step is to see if it meets City hall's expectations and then we will go to NBhousing and the public.If all goes well, we'll be under cosntruction next spring.

Thanks for the prompt reply. I will re-post the info re: your plans for a downtown Moncton senior citizen's project in the Moncton thread.

[Wolkenkratzerliebhab]

Here are some photos of the progress of the new Lexus dealership I shot on the weekend. Now if I could only afford one......

Lexus sign.



From Rothesay Ave., heading east.



Below, Lexus dealership as seen across the street from Tri-Star Mercedes.



Below, west end of former Saturn dealership undergoing an extension.



Another shot of west end extension.



East side extenstion.



Lexus's are great cars, but I rather prefer this car below. Anyone got a spare $150,000 they can lend me?

[thebrad]

I noticed today Kanes Convenience got torn down this morning. They moved into a trailer on the lot and apparently are building a new store.

[JHikka]

Demolished property on Waterloo Street:



http://www.flickr.com/photos/greghickman/

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by thebrad

I noticed today Kanes Convenience got torn down this morning. They moved into a trailer on the lot and apparently are building a new store.

I noticed that too.