The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Sunnybrae

I'm curious MonctonRad, have you ever given thought to a name for the new arena, stadium, colosseum.... thingy? I like what Saint John did with the "Harbour Station" name. I never really cared for the Moncton Colosseum name.

Well, I do know that Myles thought they could sell naming rights to Majesta/Royale and call the place the Toilet Bowl



@ mmmatt:



Looks good!

I wonder if they have tenants lined up......

[mmmatt]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I wonder if they have tenants lined up......

No names mentioned but if you look close at the renders it says "mclaughlin plaza medical center" on the main large part of the strip...I dont know if thats just wishful thinking on their part though.

[mylesmalley]

Huge improvement to that area.

And I stand by my comment about the "Toilet Bowl". Think of the new euphemisms for winning/losing sports commentators could come up with given an extra bit of material.

The Wildcats flushed away the competition tonight...
The Wildcats plunged into a fight they just couldn't win...
Fans clogged the aisles as the Cats...

[riverviewer]

Confuse the feds and call it the "unrena"

[MonctonRad]

from today's T&T

Metro headed for another busy construction year
Published Thursday April 7th, 2011

New $24M power plant at Dumont Hospital and public works garage in Dieppe taking shape
by alan cochrane
Times & transcript staff

Metro Moncton appears to be headed into another busy construction season in 2011, with projects like a new power plant building at the Dumont hospital and a new public works garage taking shape in Dieppe.

In its building permit report issued yesterday, the City of Moncton said it had issued 32 permits valued at over $31.9 million in February. The number of permits is 10 less than February 2010 but the total value has increased by more than $26.9 million from the same time last year.

"We're pleased with the total value of permits for February which is the second best of the past decade," says Sherry Sparks, director of Moncton's building inspection department. "This increase foreshadows another busy construction year in the City of Moncton and continued growth and development."

Several other big projects are in the works but developers have not yet applied for the permits.

In February 2011, a total of 14 permits were issued for commercial and industrial projects valued at over $28 million, compared to a total value of nearly $2.5 million in February 2010. These represented over 88 per cent of total permits issued for the month; 12 residential permits were issued (a decrease in the number of permits from last year).

The biggest permit for February was worth over $24 million for construction of the new boiler plant and energy centre at the Dr. Georges-L. Dumont University Hospital Centre. The project was announced a couple of years ago and reaffirmed by the new government in last December's capital budget.

"I commend the Province of New Brunswick for its commitment to upgrade the hospital's infrastructure," Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc said. "Our growing municipality will appreciate seeing essential services expanded."

Loblaw Properties Ltd. had a permit approved for interior finish work valued at $1,490,000 to finish up renovations at the Atlantic Superstore. A permit was issued to MLF Properties for interior renovations in the value of $900,000.

Another project is the installation of a waterslide at the swimming pool of the Delta Beauséjour Hotel. That permit was valued at $868,000.

The building permits cap off a flurry of construction activity in the last couple of years that has included such big-budget projects as the new provincial courthouse downtown, the Stade Moncton 2010 Stadium and the $90-million Casino New Brunswick on Mountain Road.

Other projects are still underway, like the construction of an office tower adjacent to the downtown Central United Church for the new Moncton Peace Centre. Work is also ongoing at the Dominion Public Building located at 1045 Main Street. The federal building which dates to 1933, has been covered in scaffolding for several years as officials tried to find a way to repair the limestone exterior. The repair work has now begun.

Crews are now working on the site at the corner of Main and Highfield Streets, erecting a web of screened-in scaffolding from the sidewalk to the roof complete with steps. Work will also be done to reconstruct the fourth floor.

In Dieppe, construction is also booming. The City of Dieppe hasn't released its building permit report for March yet but the February numbers showed 12 permits worth $691,163.

Pierre Dupuis, general manager of the Economic Development Corporation of the City of Dieppe (EDCCD), said yesterday that the city is looking forward to a busy construction season.

One of the big projects already underway in Dieppe is the new $9-million public works garage, located on Champlain Street just beyond the G. Bourque motorcycle dealership. Land has been cleared and work has begun on that project, which the city is doing in stages over a few years. There have also been some big renovation jobs worth hundreds of thousands of dollars at Champlain Place, as retailers renovate or move to different spots inside the mall.

Meanwhile, Dupuis said commercial and residential construction activity is expected to be on par or exceed the numbers from last year as Dieppe's population continues to grow. He said there are several multi-resident housing units in the works, which represents a shift away from single-family dwellings.

He said the population growth represents both young families and retired "empty-nesters" who are selling their homes and moving to smaller apartments.

"A lot of people are moving here for the jobs and the dynamic landscape of the Moncton area. People like the multicultural aspect and the unique things going on that you don't find in Fredericton or Saint John. And there's the French-English mix that brings vitality to the area," Dupuis said.

Riverview is also moving along with residential construction of both single-family and multiple-unit housing. An addition to the new Sobeys store on Pinewood is nearly complete. The New Brunswick Liquor Corp. store will be moving there, with an opening expected next month.

According to the Town of Riverview's Building Permit Report for the month of March, there were a total of 12 permits worth $1,150,858. The year-to-date total is 19 permits worth $1,325,858. That's far below the $30 million in permits issued by March of 2010. Riverview set a record in 2008 when year-to-date permits in March totaled 243 permits worth over $42 million.

The majority of permits issued in Riverview during the month of March 2011 were for repairs to existing buildings.

[acrew79]

Originally Posted by mmmatt

No names mentioned but if you look close at the renders it says "mclaughlin plaza medical center" on the main large part of the strip...I dont know if thats just wishful thinking on their part though.

I think it has been mentioned before.. but i think The HUB is a very good name for this "A" .. especially if it is going to include a bus depot, shopping, food.. etc.. and its in Moncton... so the Hub of the Hub.. perhaps we can get NYC to give us their " Centre of the Universe" slogan for TImes Square.. and maybe Ryan Seacrest/— Clark can do the Ball Drop from the Aliant Tower..



Just sayin

[Sunnybrae]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Huge improvement to that area.

And I stand by my comment about the "Toilet Bowl". Think of the new euphemisms for winning/losing sports commentators could come up with given an extra bit of material.

The Wildcats flushed away the competition tonight...
The Wildcats plunged into a fight they just couldn't win...
Fans clogged the aisles as the Cats...

hehehe Yah the press could have fun with that. Unfortunately, I think it will become the "INSERT CORPERATE NAME HERE" ARENA like so many other cities have done.

[MonctonRad]

Yes, I do recall somebody mentioning The Hub as a possible name for the events centre (I guess I'm not allowed to call it an arena ). It would make an excellent name for the facility!

I tend to agree with Sunnybrae however, it will likely end up being called the Irving Centre, Majesta Centre, Moncton Molson Centre or something similar................

The naming rights would probably bring in another million dollars or so.

[David_99]

Originally Posted by mmmatt

Mclaughlin Plaza




Doesn't look half bad for a strip mall...certainly MUCH better than the dilapidated house and garage currently occupying this lot

Wow! That's awesome!

Current view:

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Yes, I do recall somebody mentioning The Hub as a possible name for the events centre (I guess I'm not allowed to call it an arena ). It would make an excellent name for the facility!

I tend to agree with Sunnybrae however, it will likely end up being called the Irving Centre, Majesta Centre, Moncton Molson Centre or something similar................

The naming rights would probably bring in another million dollars or so.

Well there's no reason they couldn't use "Hub" with the corporate sponsership.

The Irving Hub, the Majesta Hub, the Moncton Molson Hub, etc....

[MonctonRad]

Coming to Canada: P.F. Chang's
Associated Press, 04.08.11, 12:34 PM EDT


SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- P.F. Chang's, the Chinese restaurant chain, said Friday that it plans to expand into Canada, continuing its steady international growth.

P.F. Chang's China Bistro ( PFCB - news - people ) Inc., which runs the P.F. Chang's chain and the lower-cost Pei Wei Asian Diner chain, said it has signed a licensing deal with a restaurant management and holding company called Interaction Asian Restaurants. The companies plan to open restaurants in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland beginning next year.

The company, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., has been expanding both domestically and abroad. It has about half a dozen locations in Mexico, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, and about 370 U.S. restaurants. In its latest earnings report, the company said it plans to open more than a dozen locations in the U.S. this year, and seven to 10 new international locations.

When it opens international locations, P.F. Chang's usually enters a licensing deal with another company, and gets a percentage of sales.

The company's earnings were up 6 percent in the most recent fiscal year after suffering in the depths of the recession. Like other restaurants, it may run into challenges with rising food costs.

I wonder if this will include Moncton?

[MonctonRad]

Metro events centre more than just an arena
Published Friday April 8th, 2011

Moncton City Hall considers other possible uses for proposed downtown facility
BY BRENT MAZEROLLE
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

Now that the City of Moncton has at long last applied for federal funding toward the cost of building a new downtown multi-purpose sports, entertainment and community centre, the next step for the community at large is to start thinking in more detail about what it wants and needs from such a facility.

That's not to say with any certainty the long-sought-after project is going ahead without a doubt.

The federal money available is not as much as Moncton's city council and the citizen task force recommending the construction of a multi-purpose centre had initially hoped for. The Crown corporation the city applied to yesterday might ultimately turn down the request, and lastly, council still might decide at some point the project would cost more than it is willing to spend.

But with this week's application - another important step along a long road - there can be more talk of the future, and why the city needs to do more than merely build a new hockey rink.

Frankly, a new hockey arena is not quite the catalyst for economic development the city, its council and its task force of community leaders who studied the issue last year are looking for.

They want a centre that will renew the downtown as has been done in other cities like London, Kingston and Sault Ste. Marie, all in Ontario, and Kelowna, B.C.

The mayor also reminded the community this week that the task force had specifically urged city council to not allow the downtown to fall into the bleak situation it was in the 1970s and '80s.

The chairman of the board of Downtown Moncton Centre-Ville Inc. echoed the mayor's thoughts.

"I think we can't take downtown for granted and yet we do," said Louis Léger. "I think downtown is very much an economic engine for the entire city."

Nevertheless, Léger said, "it's not just going to be something that's good for downtown. The entire city's going to benefit from it.

"I applaud the mayor for his steady hand and moving to the next step is the right thing. Without exploring what options we could have, we will never know."

On the topic of options, "there are many ways to make this work," the mayor said. "For instance, we have yet to consider and we will once we put out the proposal whether there are private partners who could help make up the difference. There's an opportunity there."

Meanwhile, LeBlanc said options for the design, what it would include, and even the location are still open for discussion.

"We have yet to finalize a site. We have yet to finalize an agreement with respect to purchase of land. We are looking at more than one site. So there are still some components that will need to be ironed out and will be before council can make a final decision on this."

He said he's anxious to be able to share more with the public, if strategic business information can be kept confidential.

The application sent in this week kept it simple for the time being. It was for a downtown multi-use sports and entertainment centre.

"That will be a very up-to-date, for lack of a better word, Coliseum with a major rink surface," LeBlanc said. "The question is what else can we put in the mix here to make it a really attractive development for downtown?

"Many ideas have been thrown around. We all envision different opportunities and possibilities of what could join them."

He said part of the complex could even be the Codiac Transit centre that the Dillon Report on urban transit recommended last year.

"The report said we need a new central routing station. To my mind, that's something we could add on to this very easily at a very low cost, and that could be another element."

He also suggested, "there could be a commercial and retail development and another idea that's been thrown around is there could be a seniors component and so on. These are ideas we're exploring."

The actual estimated cost the city is looking at is $90 to $95 million, but LeBlanc said two things have led to the higher number of $100 million being looked at. The city's expert consultants recommended working a large contingency into the calculations, and the mayor said the effects of inflation also had to be considered.

"With P3 Canada, one of the things we'd be able to do is transfer the risk of building costs to a partner. At that stage, we don't have to be concerned any longer with the price going up. That is a risk the developer would have to take. That is fairly comforting considering the experience we've had in the past," the mayor said, in an apparent reference to cost overruns at the Stade 2010 Moncton Stadium.

As well as seeing an opportunity for economic development, there's also the ground the city is losing as an events hub because of the aged Moncton Coliseum.

"The task force also concluded the current Coliseum is virtually obsolete in terms of today's requirements and would necessitate investments of close to $40 million to correct its serious deficiencies in operation and design," LeBlanc said.

Also, simply renovating on-site would mean the $40 million would create no long-term economic benefits in the downtown core.

Personal note - It has been pointed out independently here in our own forum that this would be an excellent location for the downtown Codiac Transit hub. Incorporating restaurants and retail storefronts is also a no-brainer. In order to maximize the "P" of a P3 proposal, there should also be an integrated downtown hotel/meeting facility as well as a large onsite parking garage.

This is all doable folks, it might end up costing $120M but it is doable and is absolutely vital for the future of the downtown core of the city!!

[MonctonRad]

Vision lands project nears fruition
Published Friday April 8th, 2011

Developer says building permit application soon to be submitted
by alan cochrane
Times & transcript staff

The City of Moncton's Vision Lands project is getting closer to fruition.

Developer Paul Arsenault said yesterday that he is just days away from submitting an application for the first building permit, which could signal the beginning of work this spring.

Developers are actively selling building lots for the subdivision project, which has been in the works for over five years.

Sherry Sparks, director of building inspection for the City of Moncton, said she is confident work could begin this year if all conditions are met in the application. She is excited about the idea of a community within a community.

The Vision Lands are an untouched area north of Wheeler Boulevard which the city says will become the site of Moncton's first-ever "master-planned" community, built with energy-efficient homes, apartments and service buildings grouped together.

The design concept of Hall's Creek Villages incorporates key elements of the City's Recreation Master Plan and the Active Transportation Plan in order to create an "urban village" - a diverse, healthy, green and prosperous neighbourhood.

Arsenault has said the community will be designed around a central park system with integrated commercial and residential districts within walking distance to each other as well as proximity to important civic addresses such as schools, universities and hospitals.

Phase One:



The location:

[mmmatt]

Good news on he vision lands! That should be a great project if all goes well...

In other news I just got back from seeing "Hop" at Crystal Palace...first time there in quite a while...even though I live downtown we always make the longer trek to Trinity for the much better facilities and stadium seating...I was reminded why tonight...BUT while ordering concessions at the counter I noticed some wall paneling was removed...I joked to my wife "maybe they are finally renovating this place"...so I asked the 13 year old at the desk what was up, to which he responded "YES we are renovating!" Turns out they will be doing a complete makeover complete with all theaters being converted to STADIUM SEATING!!!

[mylesmalley]

I'm cautiously optimistic. We've got a golden opportunity with the vision lands. I hope it doesn't get squandered and turned into an eastern version of Evergreen. Or worse–some kind of big lot semi-rural development. I'm pleased to see that there is mixed use of the land, as well as tight park integration, but there's a glaring lack of density to the whole project.

Maybe I'm expecting too much. But I don't think so.

[mylesmalley]

Oh, and about damn time on the movie theatre thing! I was over at Crystal Palace last weekend and, compared to Trinity or Regent in Fredericton, CP is like going back in time twenty years! Curious how they'll actually implement those changes though. CP might have eight screens, but it's significantly smaller than Trinity. Are they expanding it, too? Digging the floors out to install steeper seating? Combining several smaller theatres into larger rooms?

[David_99]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

I'm cautiously optimistic. We've got a golden opportunity with the vision lands. I hope it doesn't get squandered and turned into an eastern version of Evergreen. Or worse–some kind of big lot semi-rural development. I'm pleased to see that there is mixed use of the land, as well as tight park integration, but there's a glaring lack of density to the whole project.

Maybe I'm expecting too much. But I don't think so.

I agree. Can I assume the big empty yellow areas are for commercial use? Or is that the park? Hopefully they will contain more then 1 story "green" call centres...

It does have potential though. The green, healthy living aspect ties in nicely with the news of the planned "Medical Health" lot just up the road on McLaughlin. Add in the new Stadium, they'll have to add that exit off the TransCan onto McLaughlin now.


EDIT: In the grand scheme of things, it is a pretty small part of a larger plan connecting McLaughlin to Frampton.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Oh, and about damn time on the movie theatre thing! I was over at Crystal Palace last weekend and, compared to Trinity or Regent in Fredericton, CP is like going back in time twenty years! Curious how they'll actually implement those changes though. CP might have eight screens, but it's significantly smaller than Trinity. Are they expanding it, too? Digging the floors out to install steeper seating? Combining several smaller theatres into larger rooms?

I agree, there is no way that they can reconfigure the Crystal Palace Cinemas to all stadium seating while maintaining eight screens. The auditoriums are just too small.

The possibilities therefore would be:

1 - Only renovate the 3-4 largest auditoriums, leaving the smaller rooms as is.
2 - Reconfigure the whole thing but decrease the number of screens to 5-6 rather than 8.
3 - Expand the theatre complex and have eight stadium style auditoriums.

I like the idea of an expansion. Perhaps we could get an IMAX out of this too!!

[mylesmalley]

I think the T&T has already decided that the IMAX must go to Riverview.

[MonctonRad]

Property bought for new Riverview school
Published Saturday April 9th, 2011

New school to replace Gunningsville, Lower Coverdale schools to be constructed off Old Coach Road
By Eric Lewis
Times & Transcript Staff

A new east-end school in Riverview is a step closer to reality now that the provincial government has purchased roughly 27 acres of land off Old Coach Road behind Gunningsville United Baptist Church.

Parents have been battling to replace the current small, aging Gunningsville School on Karolie Road for years. The elementary school has more portables outside the school than classrooms inside it (10 portables, six classrooms), and its cafeteria doubles as the auditorium, dubbed by some as the "cafetorium."

The new kindergarten to Grade 8 school in east Riverview is expected to replace both Gunningsville and Lower Coverdale schools.

"We're darn happy," says Harry Doyle, chair of School District 2's education council, of the recent development.

Doyle was told recently that the land has been secured and the next step will involve bringing in an architect to design the new school.

He says $36,000 has been budgeted for desks and other school materials, to be used before March of next year.

The Department of Education referred calls to Doyle and no one from the Department of Supply & Services, which will actually oversee the construction of the school, could be reached yesterday.

Aubrey Kirkpatrick, director of finance, administration and communications for School District 2, says the district was told this week by the Department of Education that Supply & Services has accepted a plan to purchase the land.

He says the department is now finalizing the survey plan for the property, but he didn't have any other details.

School District 2 administers English schools in southeast New Brunswick.

The new east-end school is expected to open in 2013, still more than two school years away.

That doesn't sit well with Lana Hansen, who has been one of the more vocal proponents of the new school for several years. Hansen was pleading with government to get to work on a new school in the area even before her two children, now in Grades 1 and 2, were in school.

"I'm glad to see progress in this area," Hansen says, but adds that she wants the school to open a year ahead of the current schedule.

She's also concerned that the province could delay the project further because of its current financial situation, which sees the government battling a deficit and significant debt.

Hansen says she is sympathetic will all those who have been dealing with the Moncton High School situation, but feels that the Gunningsville project could move ahead sooner while the high school is still in a state of uncertainty.

Moncton High was shut down just as the current school year got underway. It will reopen in the fall after extensive renovations in the summer, but the school is merely being bandaged up for temporary use while the province seeks out land for a new Moncton High.

Hansen says since land is already secured for Gunningsville School, money set aside for a future Moncton High could instead be used for the new Riverview school.

"We're ready to go, I think we should do it now," she says.

Harry Doyle has his own concerns about the new school, which is being built to house 650 students. In addition to taking in all students from Lower Coverdale and Gunningsville schools and any new students from east-end Riverview, it should ease some of the pressure off of Riverview Middle School.

With all that in mind, plus the explosion in residential development in east Riverview in recent years, Doyle feels that the new school simply won't be big enough to withstand future growth.

He says government officials have agreed to have the project's architect design a school that could be expanded down the road if the need arose.

Riverview Mayor Clarence Sweetland says he's happy to see progress on the new school.

"We've been waiting for that for a long time now," he says. "We knew the province was committed to putting a new school there, but when you see concrete action like that, the actual purchasing of the land, it's certainly good news."

Sweetland says Riverview is committed to helping the project along, by investing in new infrastructure and possibly partnering with the province on playgrounds or sports fields in the area.

He says it will cost the town some money, but the new school provides great benefits to Riverview