The Official PEI Project Thread

[MonctonRad]

That building is beyond salvation. Nothing less than a thermonuclear device is required. Renovation is not an option. Complete demolition is necessary, followed by a new signature redevelopment. They can do the entire side of that block up as far as the Old Triangle at the same time as far as I'm concerned!!

[braymondg]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

That building is beyond salvation. Nothing less than a thermonuclear device is required. Renovation is not an option. Complete demolition is necessary, followed by a new signature redevelopment. They can do the entire side of that block up as far as the Old Triangle at the same time as far as I'm concerned!!

Your right!, I couldn't agree with you more.

[pei guy]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

That building is beyond salvation. Nothing less than a thermonuclear device is required. Renovation is not an option. Complete demolition is necessary, followed by a new signature redevelopment. They can do the entire side of that block up as far as the Old Triangle at the same time as far as I'm concerned!!

Hahaha, I don't know about thermonuclear! Hopefully the redevelopment will be pretty tall, maybe a mixed-use tower of sorts? Sometime soon, we'll see!

[pei guy]

Summerside pitches for provincial museum
Published on August 18th, 2010
Mike Carson

The City of Summerside has added its name to the growing list of communities across the province that wants to become home to a proposed provincial museum.

Summerside Mayor Basil Stewart said he has met with Tourism and Culture Minister Robert Vessey to make the city’s pitch to house the museum

“You’ve probably noticed over the last two or three years since this government came into power and even before that, there was talk about a new museum for P.E.I.,” Stewart said following this week’s August city council meeting. “So we did send a letter to the minister of tourism a couple of months ago and said we’d like to meet with him about that and he got back and said yes he would meeting with us.’

Stewart said Vessey visited the city last week to discuss the issue.

“He came up last week and we had a good general conversation,” the mayor said. “They never made any commitments where they’re going to build it or when they’re going to build it. We just wanted to lay it out in front of them and that they’re welcome here.”

Stewart said the city’s pitch was simple.

“They’re welcome here with a new museum and that we feel we’re fairly central,” he said. “We had all kinds of reasons to why we think it should be here, the same as any other community on the Island. It’s our responsibility to make a presentation for something that’s going to happen on P.E.I.”

The mayor said the chances of landing a new facility are better than making a bid to relocate an existing operation from one community to another.

“I guess it tends to be easier if there are new things it’s easier (top secure them) than trying to relocate things,” he said.

Coun. Vance Bridges said that even if the province doesn’t choose Summerside for the main museum operation, satellite sites could be an option, making the province’s heritage and history more accessible to all Islanders. He said if the entire museum were to be located in Charlottetown, the residents of Tignish would probably never see it. And conversely, if it were to be restricted to just Summerside, the people of Souris would be at a disadvantage.

The mayor agreed.

“There will probably be some satellite places across the province,” he said. “We look forward to getting an answer sometime. I’m not sure this government will announce it in this term or what will happen.”

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I agree completely that there should be satellite sites. Do some sort of "Island Heritage Tour" with let's say General History in Ch'town, Agriculture in O'Leary (use the Potato Museum), Shipbuilding in S'side, Fisheries in Souris (Basin Head), and maybe Notable People and Acheivements in Montague / Georgetown.

It would be a unique take on the provincial museum, and it might work!

[pei guy]

Originally Posted by billy1

A P.E.I. pharmaceutical manufacturer is appealing a building permit for the construction of apartments near its facilities in Charlottetown.
Officials from BioVectra say it is not safe to live near its property on the outskirts of the city.
The permit, issued by Charlottetown council in June, puts the building within about 25 metres of the bioscience company, which works with hazardous chemicals, solvents and other dangerous materials.
Ron Keefe, the company's president, said having the million-dollar apartment complex so close to the manufacturing plant and storage facility puts residents at risk.
"There are certainly dangers relating to explosions," Keefe said. "The issue is, if you bring in people that are totally untrained … they don't know the hazards, the risks. Our people are fully trained. We accept the risk. The people coming in, they don't know."
BioVectra appealed to the province's regulatory and appeals commission two months ago. The appeal will be heard in September.
But construction on the complex continues, and Keefe said four other apartment complexes, with more than 100 residential units, are also planned for the area.
"To us, it's silly to build multi-residential units that close to a chemical facility," Keefe said. "We would turn it around and say, you know, if an apartment building was there in the beginning, would they allow us to build a chemical facility? And no, the answer would be no."
The manager of Charlottetown planning, Don Poole, declined an interview on Tuesday but said the building met all the planning requirements.
The developer, Paramount Construction, had no comment on the matter. But Keefe said if BioVectra's appeal is successful, the building will have to be taken down.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-i...partments-584.html?ref=rss#ixzz0wyA1DypZ

That is completely ridiculous on two parts. The developer should know that there is a chemical plant next to his apartment site, and more importantly, BioVectra should mention that they have a potentially explosive manufacturing plant next door!!!

[braymondg]

Originally Posted by pei guy

That is completely ridiculous on two parts. The developer should know that there is a chemical plant next to his apartment site, and more importantly, BioVectra should mention that they have a potentially explosive manufacturing plant next door!!!

I wonder if they ever told that to the folks in the Grace Baptist sub-division.
BioVectra should move, not the residents. If it's that dangerous then it shouldn't be near a
residential area.

[pei guy]

I was up in Souris today, but I forgot my camera...

Haha, anyway, the new Colville Manor seniors' home is going up by the hospital in the north end, and quite a few streets are being repaired, including:

-Route 2 in Rollo Bay
-Main Street
-Chapel Ave
-CTMA Ferry terminal road
-Industrial area in the north (new streets)

Then on the way home, I noticed something going on on Riverside Drive in Montague. I'll post updates when I figure it out!

[mylesmalley]

Spent the day in Charlottetown on business today. It's been a few years since I've visited. Very impressed with the amount of development going on, and especially with the level of density in the city.

How many roundabouts are there in town now? I must've driven through five today, and I think three of them were either new or under construction!

[pei guy]

Haha, it's really changing the traffic flow of the city, especially on Riverside Drive. Glad you liked your visit!
I think there are 4 roundabouts now, one at Mount Edward and Allen, one at the UPEI entrance off Belvedere (just finished), and the two U/C on the bypass. Downtown will also be getting even more dense with the new convention centre and hotel starting soon!

[pei guy]

Green space planned for Prince, Water
Published on August 21st, 2010
Dave Stewart

Lower Prince Street in Charlottetown is getting a bit of a makeover but it is coming at the expense of some parking spaces.

Mayor Clifford Lee, who also acts as chair of urban beautification, said the changes come at the request of residents on the street.

Lee said they’ve been asking for some time for changes that would give the street a more residential look to it, especially south of Grafton Street, towards the water.

“It will be very similar to what you see on Great George Street where you can see the sidewalks (and) grassed areas with trees lining the streets,’’ Lee said. “That’s what you’re going to see on Prince Street.’’

The mayor sees it as toning down the street.

“Prior to this you could stand on the Prince Street wharf and look up Prince Street. It looked like a runway for big military jets to come in and land on. There was no sense of it being a residential street.’’

The work involves installing curbed areas on the side of the street between the sidewalk and the cub, putting in topsoil, planting trees and grass in newly created islands,

“In the near future, you’ll be able to stand at the bottom of Prince Street and look up the street and see a street lined with trees and grass as opposed to what looks like a runway.’’

But it comes at a price - more than 20 parking spots are gone, replaced with parallel parking.

“The decision to proceed with the project didn’t come quickly and it didn’t come lightly,’’ he said.

Talks were held with the city’s parking and beautification committees on how best to balance a warm esthetic appearance with the need for street parking.

“It was felt, as opposed to bringing the curbs out completely to the edge of the travel portion, eliminating parking completely, the middle of the road concept is to bring the curbs out only so far which still allows for parking on the sides and allows us to beautify the area at the same time.’’

It's great to see improved green space, but I'm not crazy about losing more parking downtown. At least it's not on Grafton or Queen, but on a quieter street instead.

[pei guy]

BioVectra expanding, creating jobs
Published on August 22nd, 2010

Expansion to the Charlottetown facilities of BioVectra will allow the company to create up to 34 new bioscience jobs.

Allan Campbell, minister of innovation and advanced learning, says BioVectra is an Island-grown success story and one of its leading bioscience companies.

Executive Council has authorized Island Investment Development Inc. through the PEI Century 2000 Fund Inc., to provide BioVectra with a loan of up to $14.8 million to finance an expansion of its manufacturing facility at 11 Aviation Avenue in the Charlottetown Airport Business Park.

This expansion will position BioVectra for continued growth and enable it to fulfill a recently-secured multi-year contract for the manufacture of an active pharmaceutical for the export market.

“Over the next two years we will spend about $20 million on capital projects. Expansion of our airport facility is expected to commence in September of this year and be complete by the fall of 2011,” said Ron Keefe, CEO of BioVectra.

He says the P.E.I. bioscience community is expanding and the opportunities are numerous.

This contract, and related expansion, will expand BioVectra’s technical expertise and is expected to create 19 new positions initially and has the potential for 34 new positions at full production capacity.

“In our Island Prosperity Strategy, bioscience has been identified as a key area of economic opportunity for Prince Edward Island. BioVectra’s record of export success and local job creation makes it a leader in turning that opportunity into economic growth that benefits all Islanders,” said Campbell.

[braymondg]

Old city jewel to undergo major makeover



A massive makeover of the old Dominion Building in Charlottetown could be complete by the spring of 2012, says a developer heading the project.

George Ramia told The Guardian Tuesday that work on the 53,645-square-metre building may begin in early spring next year with construction “realistically’’ taking eight to 12 months.

Ramia says architects are currently going through building plans to determine the best options.

“Right now we are going to study the market and find out what we can do,’’ he said. “The intent is to do a mixed use of commercial and multi-residential.’’

Ramia envisions apartments, rather than condominiums, going into the building that was once home to a post office and hundreds of public servants.

“More of a unique style of apartments that Charlottetown probably hasn’t seen before ... converting it to loft-style apartments,’’ he said.

Ramia says the building will also likely be developed into both office space and retail space. Adding a hotel to the development plans is unlikely but will be explored as an option.

“We are not ruling anything out,’’ he said.

Ramia also acknowledges hearing talk about a portion of the building serving as a provincial museum but again noted the process of determining the uses for the large structure are in the early stages.

“The intent is to do a mixed use of commercial and multi-residential,’’ - George Ramia
“I’m sure we will make some decisions in the fall,’’ he said.

He says the building, which occupies a city block bordered by Queen, Richmond, Pownal and Sydney streets in downtown Charlottetown, is in a great location.

Plans announced recently for a new convention centre just down the street are “definitely a big plus for sure,’’ he added.

Ramia notes city officials have called to indicate a willingness to work with the developers on the major project. However, he is unsure at this point what, if any, level of input will be sought from the city or province.

“It’s an important building for Charlottetown and P.E.I.,’’ he acknowledged. “It’s a big building. It’s not a small project for Charlottetown for sure.’’

In 2002, Public Works Canada announced the Dominion Building as surplus to their needs and in 2007 the property was transferred to Canada Lands Company, which buys and disposes of surplus federal property.

Canada Lands Company announced last month it sold the building to a Halifax-based developer. Details of the sale were not released.

[email protected]

[braymondg]

Charlottetown tourist complaints yield new signs

The province will be improving the signage on the Charlottetown bypass following complaints from tourists about the lack of direction.

'As an Islander myself, it didn't register right away.'— Alan Aitken, traffic operations engineer
Last week, CBC News took a couple from British Columbia on a tour of the bypass after receiving complaints about poor signage. Many of the dozen or so major intersections around the capital city, on roads administered by the province, have no street signs. Others are very small. "If you're not from here this would be very difficult … I'm 26 and I think my eyes are pretty good, but I can't really read the really tiny signs from here," said Tamara Hajsky while she was navigating the bypass.

"It's almost as if the government is saying 'Tourists, welcome to P.E.I., now get lost.'"

When Hajsky and her partner Everett go on road trips she is usually the navigator, and she said Charlottetown does not compare well with other cities she has found her way through. Haisky had a suggestion for the province.

"Take a trip out of P.E.I. to see the examples of what it could be like," she said.

Alan Aitken, traffic operations engineer with the province, said he has heard the message from tourists, and there are improvements on the way.

"As an Islander myself, it didn't register right away," said Aitken.

"As I travel in other areas too, you see some of the larger cities certainly providing additional signage at their major intersections to make it a little more clear, and that's something we need to address and we will be addressing in the very near future."

Aitken says the new signs will cost between $5,000 and $6,000, and work should start in about two weeks.

____________________________


$5,000.00 - $6,000.00 for Signs! I think they need to expand their budget to more like $500,000. The signage in the Charlottetown is non-existant so $5,000 will only put up roadside signs, but they need overhead signs on a 4 lane highway. Why can't they get that through their heads? Summerside has them so why are they so lax in using them in Charlottetown.

[pei guy]

Originally Posted by braymondg

Charlottetown tourist complaints yield new signs

The province will be improving the signage on the Charlottetown bypass following complaints from tourists about the lack of direction.

'As an Islander myself, it didn't register right away.'— Alan Aitken, traffic operations engineer
Last week, CBC News took a couple from British Columbia on a tour of the bypass after receiving complaints about poor signage. Many of the dozen or so major intersections around the capital city, on roads administered by the province, have no street signs. Others are very small. "If you're not from here this would be very difficult … I'm 26 and I think my eyes are pretty good, but I can't really read the really tiny signs from here," said Tamara Hajsky while she was navigating the bypass.

"It's almost as if the government is saying 'Tourists, welcome to P.E.I., now get lost.'"

When Hajsky and her partner Everett go on road trips she is usually the navigator, and she said Charlottetown does not compare well with other cities she has found her way through. Haisky had a suggestion for the province.

"Take a trip out of P.E.I. to see the examples of what it could be like," she said.

Alan Aitken, traffic operations engineer with the province, said he has heard the message from tourists, and there are improvements on the way.

"As an Islander myself, it didn't register right away," said Aitken.

"As I travel in other areas too, you see some of the larger cities certainly providing additional signage at their major intersections to make it a little more clear, and that's something we need to address and we will be addressing in the very near future."

Aitken says the new signs will cost between $5,000 and $6,000, and work should start in about two weeks.

____________________________


$5,000.00 - $6,000.00 for Signs! I think they need to expand their budget to more like $500,000. The signage in the Charlottetown is non-existant so $5,000 will only put up roadside signs, but they need overhead signs on a 4 lane highway. Why can't they get that through their heads? Summerside has them so why are they so lax in using them in Charlottetown.

I don't know, but maybe (and hopefully) they're talking about $5000 for each sign. I took the bypass about a week ago, and the only signage that I really thought was great was the ones for the new roundabouts, it kind of looked like those "Such-and-such, next exit" signs you see everywhere in NB and NS.

Honestly, PEI could justify a major overall highway improvement, with a few more overpasses, actual exits and definitely better signs. I mean, there are no overhead signs on Route 3, and only two of them on Route 4. I hope this bypass thing gets the ball rolling elsewhere!

[pei guy]

Evangeline shares the wealth
Published on August 26th, 2010

GEORGETOWN — Mayor Lewis Lavandier says he was totally awestruck this week when he went to celebrate the success of another Island community and came home with a cheque to help his own ice palace.

"We are just blown away and appreciate this gesture so much,'' said Lavandier, who attended the TSN live taping in Wellington with town rec director Nick MacGillvray on Tuesday night.

Georgetown and Evangeline were provincial finalists for the TNS/Kraft Celebration tour that was going to present $25,000 to refurbish a community rink based on online voting.

While he hoped his town would win, Lavandier knew in his heart that the Acadian community needed the victory money even more since the Evangeline rink burned to the ground in a fire last winter. Only one winner would be picked per province and Evangeline won.



So when the Georgetown mayor, and others, were invited to attend the TSN SporsCentre live taping of the presentation of the funds, they were in for a surprise.

Cedric Gallant of the Evangeline Recreation Committee accepted the TSN/Kraft contest funds and then presented a $5,000 cheque to Georgetown.

"What a fantastic display of Island hospitality and generosity shown by the community of Evangeline towards the town of Georgetown," said Lavandier. "We are sincerely grateful to them all."

Mayor Lavandier was making the announcement through the town Wednesday and Mark Murphy of the Three Rivers Sportsplex said the money will be put to good use as Georgetown attempts to cope with some rising costs.

"It's a tremendous contribution,'' said Murphy. "And we all hope that Evangeline will see their new rec facility open soon."

Now THATS the PEI I know!

[pei guy]

From today on the PEI gov't website:
O'Leary Roundabout Construction to Start Monday

Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal


Beginning Monday, August 30, the intersection of Route 2 and Route 142, the O’Leary Road will be under construction. Crews will begin work to construct a new roundabout at that location. Drivers are asked to slow down and use caution in the area.

The construction of the O’Leary roundabout follows a busy summer of capital improvements across the province that will continue in the coming weeks with construction projects set to begin in Darnley, Montague and St. Peters.

Beginning September 7, the Darnley Bridge on Route 20 in Darnley will be shut down as crews begin work to replace the structure. An alternate route will be posted.

Beginning later in September construction will begin on a new roundabout in Montague at the intersection of Route 4, the Wood Islands Hill and Route 326, the Valleyfield Road.

Department officials also expect to begin work to repair the St. Peters Bridge on Route 2 in St Peters during the last week of September. An alternate route will be posted.

The Province of Prince Edward Island has invested approximately $56 million for the 2010 construction season through its Build PEI campaign announced in the 2009 capital budget.

For more information on capital construction on Prince Edward Island visit www.buildpei.ca, for a detailed road construction map visit www.gov.pe.ca/tir and for more information on roundabouts visit www.gov.pe.ca/roundabouts .

[pei guy]

Charlottetown hotel legal feud over

The legal battle between a Charlottetown developer and two residents over a new hotel has come to an end.

Developer Tim Banks said he signed papers Friday to end his lawsuit against Judy Gallant and Lys-Ondray Goulet.

The women have also agreed to drop their lawsuit against him.

The residents had taken concerns about Banks's hotel development to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission in July.

Banks sued the two women over what he called "frivolous" objections designed to obstruct construction of a six-storey hotel at the corner of Queen and Water streets, on the site of the old Kays building.

The women countersued Banks for $2 million. They said Banks was attempting to intimidate them and they were within their rights to take their concerns to the commission.

Banks said details of the settlement are confidential.

The hotel development is moving ahead.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-i...i-hotel-feud-over-584.html#ixzz0xwsJo6To

[pei guy]

Women take appeal of outdoor events site proposal to IRAC
Published on August 31st, 2010
Ryan Ross

The city’s plans for an outdoor events site on Grafton Street will go before the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission after two women appealed the proposal.

Andrea Battison and Joan Cumming have a hearing scheduled Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. to make their case against the proposed development.

Battison, who lives on Prince Street, said one of the reasons the women decided to appeal the decision was the inadequacy of the facilities where the city held a public meeting to hear from residents about the proposal.

“A room big enough to hold people would have been helpful.”

In June, the city gave approval to move forward with a plan to turn parcels of land on the north and south sides of Grafton Street near the Hillsborough Bridge into an outdoor events site for up to 25,000 people and a parking lot for 121 cars and six buses.

The Charlottetown Area Development Corporation is in negotiations with Imperial Oil to buy the land, which also needs remediation work with a possible price tag of up to $5 million.

About 50 people attended a June 8 meeting where residents voiced concerns about vandalism, people walking into traffic and the environmental safety of the site.

Another of the women’s concerns was a lack of clarity on several issues, including the city’s liability, the eventual cost to taxpayers and possible health issues surrounding use of the site, she said. Battison said the city also mentioned studies of other possible sites, but there’s little information available about them.

“The references to other studies were rather vague and incomplete.”

Although she isn’t necessarily opposed to the idea of developing the site, Battison said residents should have more information before it goes forward.

“More answers and clarity would be nice.”

Battison said she lives close to where concerts have been held in the past and has seen the impact of 10,000-15,000 at a concert.

“You wonder what will happen with 25,000 people on that site.”

The city did respond to concerns from residents after those events and she said she hopes it will do the same this time around.

[pei guy]

I found out yesterday that the official opening of the new Montague Regional High School will be on September 15th. I'm going to go check it out and get some pictures.

[braymondg]

Originally Posted by pei guy

Women take appeal of outdoor events site proposal to IRAC

The city’s plans for an outdoor events site on Grafton Street will go before the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission after two women appealed the proposal.

Andrea Battison and Joan Cumming have a hearing scheduled Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. to make their case against the proposed development.

I hate IRAC!