The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread - Page 285

flwright · #**5681** Posted **Jan 15, 2011, 2:58 PM**

Confirmed: The expansion at McAllister is for a new Lawton's virtually identical to the new one built on the West side, complete with a second storey for doctor's offices. A new entrance to the mall will also be built. The addition will be built in the Zellers end of the mall, near where the nail salon and DQ used to be, as speculated. This will allow the existing drugstore to operate until the new one is built, meaning that there will eventually be a large vacancy near the food court. There are no plans shown to expand the Zellers (for now) as part of the Target conversion, but the mall is looking to add 7 or 8 smaller additions around the building to allow more stores to have exterior access and custom facades. This should greatly improve the exterior cosmetics of the mall. A lot of improvements to the parking lot are being recommended as well as some modifications to the intersection at Consumers Drive.

Denied: Prior to the extensive renovations at Lancaster Mall, Superstore was offered additional space to expand but turned the offer down knowing that they were downsizing the store. Even prior to the Sobey's new store, Sobey's had a stranglehold on the West side market. On the other hand, Loblaws is famous for changing their mind on a dime and spending boat-loads to do whatever their current thought is.

Confirmed: Speaking of the new Sobey's, Needs Convenience (a Sobey's company) is planning a new store and gas bar at the last remaining pad site on Plaza Avenue, on the corner opposite the new Sobeys.

Upcoming: New retail development is expected at the Atcan Self-Storage site next to Plaza Avenue, but no word on what it will be. Speculation is that it will be a small strip mall similar to the one Atcan built in Moncton on Mountain Road.

MonctonRad · #**5682** Posted **Jan 15, 2011, 4:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by flwright

Upcoming: New retail development is expected at the Atcan Self-Storage site next to Plaza Avenue, but no word on what it will be. Speculation is that it will be a small strip mall similar to the one Atcan built in Moncton on Mountain Road.

Interesting........Atcan only built the strip mall in Moncton because city hall mandated streetfront commercial as part of the development (it's on the busy Mountain Rd./Wheeler Blvd. intersection).

Perhaps Atcan has grown to like the concept.......

homebody · #**5683** Posted **Jan 16, 2011, 9:05 AM**

Speaking to an employee at the store today and she informed me that a new super centre will be built on Westmorland road next to Car Quest. According to her it will be twice the size as the existing store and will be open for buisiness in late 2012. Of course the present location will close. Drawings were shown to employees. So double would be somewhere around 160,000 sq ft. guessing of course.

philster · #**5684** Posted **Jan 16, 2011, 4:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by homebody

Speaking to an employee at the store today and she informed me that a new super centre will be built on Westmorland road next to Car Quest. According to her it will be twice the size as the existing store and will be open for buisiness in late 2012. Of course the present location will close. Drawings were shown to employees. So double would be somewhere around 160,000 sq ft. guessing of course.

I too heard this this week as well. (Not from an employee, but from a collegue)
Also, Looking at the installation of the new Traffic Lights at the Top of McAllister/Mountainview Drive, which was competed this week, it seems like future roadway expansions was in kept mind for a once LOL. (The support poles are twice the diameter of existing traffic light poles I've seen in the city)

Southpaw78 · #**5685** Posted **Jan 16, 2011, 5:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by homebody

Speaking to an employee at the store today and she informed me that a new super centre will be built on Westmorland road next to Car Quest. According to her it will be twice the size as the existing store and will be open for buisiness in late 2012. Of course the present location will close. Drawings were shown to employees. So double would be somewhere around 160,000 sq ft. guessing of course.

Hoping the present Wal Mart location will then get snapped up quickly...Not likely it would stay vacanct for too long.

JHikka · #**5686** Posted **Jan 16, 2011, 6:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Southpaw78

Hoping the present Wal Mart location will then get snapped up quickly...Not likely it would stay vacanct for too long.

I've heard whispers of Lowe's wanting to move in there.

philster · #**5687** Posted **Jan 16, 2011, 11:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregHickman

I've heard whispers of Lowe's wanting to move in there.

When Walmart built a super center in Bangor, Maine a few years ago, Lowes moved right into the old location. And in our case the current walmart location would be a prime spot for them with Kents being across the street, and CT and Home Depot a hop and a skip up the road.

Also, with Rona expanding on the east coast by buying Pierceys Building Supplys stores in Nova Scotia earlier this year, it is only a matter of time before they continue expanding in the Maritimes

nwalbert · #**5688** Posted **Jan 17, 2011, 1:16 AM**

Great news on the new WalMart and the potential new Lowes. The last few years has really been a retail boom for the city. May not be any reason to travel to Bangor in a few more years, lol.

kwajo · #**5689** Posted **Jan 17, 2011, 1:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by homebody

Speaking to an employee at the store today and she informed me that a new super centre will be built on Westmorland road next to Car Quest. According to her it will be twice the size as the existing store and will be open for buisiness in late 2012. Of course the present location will close. Drawings were shown to employees. So double would be somewhere around 160,000 sq ft. guessing of course.

There are some un-resolved wetland permitting issues with that property that could hold that development up a bit, but the department is just coming out with the revised policies now, so it's possible that the new policy will resolve the issues, but that remains to be seen.

MonctonRad · #**5690** Posted **Jan 17, 2011, 3:18 PM**

1,000 posts kwajo!!!

kwajo · #**5691** Posted **Jan 17, 2011, 3:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

1,000 posts kwajo!!!

Thanks! Given how poorly I post most of the time, you'd think it was a lot less!

Whaler · #**5692** Posted **Jan 17, 2011, 6:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Southpaw78

If Superstore was looking to expand anywhere West, it should be Grand Bay. The grocery selection (along with any other retail opportunities) is terrible in Grand Bay with a Sobey's that hasn't even been renovated and the Co-op which when you go into, they are stocking merchandise into every last corner it seems. The Colonel Nase Boulevard should be open later this year and that is going to open up a huge swath of land for commercial and residential development. It's said there are already interested developers for the site. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what goes in there, Superstore or not...

Sobeys in Grand Bay will be building a new store. I heard that Home Hardware will take over the existing Sobeys. New Tim Hortion's and a new Irving closer to the highway.

I don't know why some people can't understand a new Super store for the West? They battle Sobeys all over! Look at Sussex, west side has more people than Sussex for heavens sake!

JHikka · #**5693** Posted **Jan 17, 2011, 9:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whaler

Sobeys in Grand Bay will be building a new store. I heard that Home Hardware will take over the existing Sobeys. New Tim Hortion's and a new Irving closer to the highway.

I don't know why some people can't understand a new Super store for the West? They battle Sobeys all over! Look at Sussex, west side has more people than Sussex for heavens sake!

Point is that there was a Superstore West not that long ago.

Also, where exactly is 'closer to the highway' in Grand Bay?

Southpaw78 · #**5694** Posted **Jan 18, 2011, 3:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregHickman

Also, where exactly is 'closer to the highway' in Grand Bay?

The new interchange they're building off Highway 7 with a collector road that's going to come out beside the liquor store. It's supposed to be open later this year.

The interchange is actually fully complete with guard rails and lighting. Just the collector that has to be finished.

manhattan08 · #**5695** Posted **Jan 19, 2011, 12:04 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by homebody

Speaking to an employee at the store today and she informed me that a new super centre will be built on Westmorland road next to Car Quest. According to her it will be twice the size as the existing store and will be open for buisiness in late 2012. Of course the present location will close. Drawings were shown to employees. So double would be somewhere around 160,000 sq ft. guessing of course.

Just a little confused.. Closing the present store makes no sense to me? It's right in the major retail section of the city with all of it's major competitors close by, and if Target does eventually take over our Zellers location that doesn't even make any sense at all. I know the two are major competitors in the U.S. always battling with another. Plus you have the present location closer to Rothesay, Quispamsis, and Hampton a major part of the metro population? I live in the old Gonolda Point region and well it's 30 minutes approx. to get to sussex or 25 minutes approx. to get the west side, and if I were to go to the sussex walmart I wouldn't have to pay a toll. The only reason that would make sense in closing down the east side location would be to eventually build another location in the KV area.

thefishingnut · #**5696** Posted **Jan 19, 2011, 12:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by manhattan08

Just a little confused.. Closing the present store makes no sense to me? It's right in the major retail section of the city with all of it's major competitors close by, and if Target does eventually take over our Zellers location that doesn't even make any sense at all. I know the two are major competitors in the U.S. always battling with another. Plus you have the present location closer to Rothesay, Quispamsis, and Hampton a major part of the metro population? I live in the old Gonolda Point region and well it's 30 minutes approx. to get to sussex or 25 minutes approx. to get the west side, and if I were to go to the sussex walmart I wouldn't have to pay a toll. The only reason that would make sense in closing down the east side location would be to eventually build another location in the KV area.

I believe the implication is Walrmart builds a big new store less than a km away (a Walmart super center), then closes the old one. Not that they're moving out of the city.

nwalbert · #**5697** Posted **Jan 19, 2011, 1:24 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by manhattan08

Just a little confused.. Closing the present store makes no sense to me? It's right in the major retail section of the city with all of it's major competitors close by, and if Target does eventually take over our Zellers location that doesn't even make any sense at all. I know the two are major competitors in the U.S. always battling with another. Plus you have the present location closer to Rothesay, Quispamsis, and Hampton a major part of the metro population? I live in the old Gonolda Point region and well it's 30 minutes approx. to get to sussex or 25 minutes approx. to get the west side, and if I were to go to the sussex walmart I wouldn't have to pay a toll. The only reason that would make sense in closing down the east side location would be to eventually build another location in the KV area.

Thew new SuperCenter is being built on Westmorland Street which is very close to the existing location. Your commute time wouldn't change.

Also, in a few weeks there will be no more toll to cross the Harbour bridge.

nwalbert · #**5698** Posted **Jan 19, 2011, 1:25 AM**

I was coming out of downtown last week and down the hill past the Golden Top from the Old General when I noticed a steel structure going up just behind Holy Trinity School. Does anyone know what this is?

cdnguys · #**5699** Posted **Jan 19, 2011, 2:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nwalbert

I was coming out of downtown last week and down the hill past the Golden Top from the Old General when I noticed a steel structure going up just behind Holy Trinity School. Does anyone know what this is?

It is the new residence for nuns at Rocmaura Nursing Home. They tore down their historic structure to build it - apparently it was cheaper to build new than to restore the old.

cdnguys · #**5700** Posted **Jan 19, 2011, 2:17 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nwalbert

Thew new SuperCenter is being built on Westmorland Street which is very close to the existing location. Your commute time wouldn't change.

Also, in a few weeks there will be no more toll to cross the Harbour bridge.

I assume you mean Westmorland Road - but where is there room? There may be room in Northrup's East Point development - other than that the only location is corner of McAllister and Westmorland - which is a very small parcel of land. If you look at google maps of the area - there is a huge tract of land going up McAllister towards CarQuest - but not sure about this area - it's a gradual hill and taking down more trees on top of that hill will lead to worse flooding down below.