The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread - Page 495

curious · #**9881** Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 9:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ithree

As much as I love MEC, I would welcome Atmosphere (formerly Coast Mountain Sport) to Moncton as a substitute any day. Owned by Forzani group, they have a store in Halifax (combo store with Sportchek) and they're all over Quebec.

Heck if I would have the guts, I would open my own outdoor adventure store in the city.

I contacted a bunch of stores including mec to see if I could open a franchise. No luck

Steelcowboy · #**9882** Posted **Feb 1, 2012, 6:37 PM**

Hey there peeps, as some have seen in front of Taylor Ford on the CN tracks, there's work thats being done to widen it..i suppose. Does anyone have have any details on this. I recieved this email from the Atlantic Rails Yahoo group. It shows some bridge girders travelling through Neenah,Wi. Apparently its suppose to be heading to Moncton. These parts are huge!! Check them..hopefully the link works.

http://wc2scale.org/zenphoto/wc-railcars...s-for-moncton-nb-henry-nye-photo.jpg.php

Steelcowboy · #**9883** Posted **Feb 1, 2012, 6:40 PM**

http://wc2scale.org/zenphoto/wc-railcars...s-for-moncton-nb-henry-nye-photo.jpg.php
Try that

Good2go · #**9884** Posted **Feb 2, 2012, 12:14 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelcowboy

Hey there peeps, as some have seen in front of Taylor Ford on the CN tracks, there's work thats being done to widen it..i suppose. Does anyone have have any details on this. I recieved this email from the Atlantic Rails Yahoo group. It shows some bridge girders travelling through Neenah,Wi. Apparently its suppose to be heading to Moncton. These parts are huge!! Check them..hopefully the link works.

http://wc2scale.org/zenphoto/wc-railcars...s-for-moncton-nb-henry-nye-photo.jpg.php

From the Jan 27, 2012 Times-Transcript...

"Cranes reach skyward as they swing pile-driving units into place as crews work away on the replacement of a rail bridge on the main line into Moncton beside Lewisville Road. The project is expected to last until summer."

MonctonRad · #**9885** Posted **Feb 2, 2012, 9:10 PM**

I see that there was a tender issued in the paper today by the city for the construction of the Transportation Discovery Centre at the Moncton Museum.

I wonder if this means that the province is now on board for their $1M contribution to the overall $10M construction costs..........

MonctonRad · #**9886** Posted **Feb 3, 2012, 3:05 PM**

According to the newspaper that shall not be named, the new Cleve's in the Mapleton Power Centre will be a new concept combo store:

In addition to it being a Source for Sport franchise, it will also be an Ocean Trail Source for Adventure, specializing in camping, rock climbing and hiking equipment. This explains a previous rumour on this thread about the new store having a rock climbing wall....

The combo store will be 16,000 sq ft. There are a few other Source for Adventure stores in Ontario and the west, but this will be the first one in Atlantic Canada.

mctnguy · #**9887** Posted **Feb 3, 2012, 6:59 PM**

Hey Guys, I stopped in to the Sony Style store and it looks like they are closing Feb 22. The signs posted thanked the customers for 22 years in Moncton, so I'd guess they are not reopening elsewhere. They are clearing out merchandise. Kinda sad to see them go.

theshark · #**9888** Posted **Feb 3, 2012, 7:11 PM**

I think moving out of Champlain to their current location was not a wise move for them

mctnguy · #**9889** Posted **Feb 3, 2012, 8:17 PM**

You could say that Sony's... gone out of style...

MonctonRad · #**9890** Posted **Feb 3, 2012, 9:32 PM**

Sad to see the Sony Store go, but I am also not entirely surprised by this turn of events.

Sony Store is in trouble in a number of markets in the country and the chain is contracting in size. I am pretty sure that the original plans were for the store to move into the Mapleton Power Centre when it vacated Champlain Place, but when the original iteration of Mapleton tanked, they decided to move to the Northwest Centre instead. I didn't think this was a good location and the few times I was in there, the place was dead. Mapleton would have been a much better location.

Given the Sony Stores location right next to the Zellers, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they diidn't just incorporate this space into an expanded Target store when renovations for that begin later this year.

MonctonRad · #**9891** Posted **Feb 3, 2012, 9:52 PM**

This has been alluded to before, but I have it on good authority that Dieppe Auto has been purchased (I won't say by who), and that in tbe near future there will be a brand new VW/Audi dealership out by the GMIA, close to the existing BMW/Mini dealership.

It appears that if you want a high end European import, you'll have to make the trek out to the airport to do your shopping......

NBNYer · #**9892** Posted **Feb 3, 2012, 10:12 PM**

That's great, its about time Audi got a decent dealership, that place on Champlain was starting to look decrepit, especially compared to the (munichien) competition.

NBNYer · #**9893** Posted **Feb 3, 2012, 10:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mctnguy

You could say that Sony's... gone out of style...

Nice

MonctonRad · #**9894** Posted **Feb 3, 2012, 10:36 PM**

On ATV News this evening:

Steve Murphy confirmed that the Bay in Moncton may indeed be staying open. The Bay has been impressed by the outpouring of popular support in the city. The store has always been profitable. The city has been intensely lobbying the chain to stay in the metro area.

Things are apparently looking positive!

No indication where the new location would be, but the simplest solution by far would be to open up in the East Main Street Zellers location.

YYCguys · #**9895** Posted **Feb 3, 2012, 11:21 PM**

Ah but is that Zellers location large enough for the Bay? At currently just over 66,000 sq. ft., it would need to add a second floor to meet the square footage of the Bay at its current location (121,000 sq.ft.). And what is to become of that Zellers: closing down/staying open?

David_99 · #**9896** Posted **Feb 3, 2012, 11:28 PM**

Research funding spat in Moncton
www.cbc.ca/nb/

Scientists in Moncton say they’ve lost out on the opportunity to get up to $9 million in funding to set up a bio-medical research centre and that the president of the local francophone university is to blame.

The Atlantic Cancer Institute, l’Université de Moncton and Vitalite Health Network had put together a proposal to establish a research centre at a former junior high school, located beside the Dr. Georges L. Dumont Hospital.

They were hoping to get about $2.6 million from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, which could have triggered other federal and private funding, said Martin LeBlanc, chairman of the board for the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute.The money could have been used to renovate the building, set up the lab with equipment, hire up to 60 people and conduct research. But the president of the university refused to sign off on the proposal the day of the deadline, said LeBlanc.

“Funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation doesn't come around very often and we had a golden opportunity here to position ourselves for a major funding,” he said.

“The ramifications of this are quite significant.”

University president Yvon Fontaine contends he backed out because he found out the old school might be slated for demolition.

“We learned at the last minute that the Vanier school, the status of Vanier school had not been decided politically,” he said.

LeBlanc is disappointed. If that was a concern, it should have been raised, he said.

“U de M decided of its own will, without really letting us know in advance, not to submit this letter of intent, which disqualifies us from being able to go this distance on this process.”

Joey Caissie, the CEO of the francophone health network, agrees. He said he was blindsided by the president's decision.

“The university did not consult, with myself, or at least with some of our employees, to say, ‘By the way, I will not be sending in this letter of intent,’” Caissie said.

Fontaine said he only got word of the status of the school hours before the deadline.

Read More

mylesmalley · #**9897** Posted **Feb 4, 2012, 12:02 AM**

Well that's disappointing....

NBNYer · #**9898** Posted **Feb 4, 2012, 12:12 AM**

Very disappointing. This is the kind of investment that doesn't come around very often and that other cities would kill for.

I still don't understand the President's reasoning. That building hasn't been used as a school for a few years now.

What could ever be so significant as to say no at a chance for this kind of project???

Norshorer · #**9899** Posted **Feb 4, 2012, 2:42 AM**

Source = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/02/03/nb-digital-media-incentive.html

Digital media worth investment, says group
CBC News
Posted: Feb 3, 2012 2:18 PM AT
Last Updated: Feb 3, 2012 6:25 PM AT

An economic development group in Moncton is urging the provincial government to implement an incentive program for digital media companies.

Enterprise Greater Moncton has conducted a study that shows digital media and video game development are two of the fastest growing sectors in Canada.

The new report, called Levelling the Playing Field, says the New Brunswick government has to make an effort to attract and keep high-tech companies.

It says digital media and video game development companies attract young people and provide high-paying jobs, but that the province needs to do more to support the industry.

John Thompson, chief executive officer of Enterprise Greater Moncton, said he wants the province to consider a 30 per cent rebate on labour costs.

"Essentially it'll be a bit of a wash," he said. "They're not going to realize new revenues, but at the same time we're not going to encumber the industry from moving forward."

George Donovan, president of Gogii Games in Moncton, said a 30 per cent rebate is reasonable.

"You can move to Amherst and get a 42 per cent rebate and the province is currently talking about a 30 per cent rebate. I mean it's still significantly less, but we're willing to make the investment and the commitment here if the province is willing to kind of start investing in our business again," Donovan told CBC News.

Officials at Enterprise Greater Moncton said they are encouraged that there have been discussions with the provincial government about the incentive program.

As someone who works in the IT sector, I can vouch that any form of incentive for IT businesses (be it game programmers, call center workers, etc.) is something that can only aid (what seems to be, at times) a struggling market.

The fact that the NB Gov is actually paying attention and are discussing possibly adopting a system similar to NS' incentive program = good news for the IT Sector (after hearing about call centers starting to shut down all over the province).

There are a lot of neat programming & animation studios right here in Moncton (and Miramichi, if I'm not mistaken), but nobody ever knows about them because most can't afford to advertise their presence. With this incentive program, revenue savings won't be immediate as noted in the article above, but maybe after a few years they might be able to use whatever savings they earn to create marketing material that could help draw in clients from across North America or elsewhere.

MonctonRad · #**9900** Posted **Feb 4, 2012, 2:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by YYCguys

Ah but is that Zellers location large enough for the Bay? At currently just over 66,000 sq. ft., it would need to add a second floor to meet the square footage of the Bay at its current location (121,000 sq.ft.). And what is to become of that Zellers: closing down/staying open?

Well, I said that moving into the East Main Street Zellers location would be the simplest solution, not the most ideal solution. I have absolutely no inside knowledge as to what is actually going on here.

- the Northwest Centre Zellers is going to be converted to a Target.
- the fate of the East Main Street Zellers at the Superstore Mall is uncertain. While some Zellers locations may stay open as is, the fate of the chain is pretty much sealed and the only Zellers that won't be converted to Target or shuttered will probably be in small town markets. I therefore have no confidence that the East Main Street store will stay open in any event.
- The Bay has to vacate Highfield Square by the end of September because their lease was terminated. They apparently now want to remain in the Moncton market, but there are very few options for them in terms of relocation. The only "real" mall left in the city is Champlain Place and there is no suitable space available in the mall for them to move into. The Wal-Mart or Sobeys spaces at the mall might be a consideration, but this would entail displacing a long term tenant (that may not want to move) and major renovations.

It would seem the only readily available space would be the East Main Street Zellers. I absolutely agree that this is not ideal, both in terms of square footage and location, but perhaps the Bay would consider moving here as an intermediate term temporary solution (several years), while the retail situation in the metro area sorts itself out.

Key questions:
- will Wal-Mart vacate Champlain for a new Supercentre location (unlikely).
- will Sobeys vacate Champlain in favour of a new neighbourhood grocery store in the Uptown Dieppe/Harrisville area. (in either of these two scenarios, the Bay could renovate and then occupy the Wal-Mart or Sobeys spaces).
- could a new downtown development including an events centre incorporate enough space for a new standalone Bay department store in the core.
- would the Bay consider investing money in the East Main Street Zellers location to make the site a permanent home for the Bay.

The next few years will be quite interesting on the retail front.