The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread - Page 359

CdnEh · #**7161** Posted **Jul 3, 2012, 7:51 PM**

The drawings don't seem to have any parking in them...

Does anybody know what sort of arrangements would be made? I'd think underground parking would be out of the question due to the proximity to the water, but I could be wrong.

(then again, Market Square has underground parking and is almost as close...)

Helladog · #**7162** Posted **Jul 4, 2012, 12:52 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by CdnEh

The drawings don't seem to have any parking in them...

Does anybody know what sort of arrangements would be made? I'd think underground parking would be out of the question due to the proximity to the water, but I could be wrong.

(then again, Market Square has underground parking and is almost as close...)

I'd imagine underground would make the most sense, at least for the residential portion. If it is connected to the pedway, users can park at Merket Square or Brunwick Square too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregHickman

...we really can't mess this opportunity up

I agree, I can't imagine the city allowing anything but the best for this site, but you never know, especially by the modern retro look of the cruise facility.

This site needs to incorporate the density this city needs, and build up. I'd like to see a few new "towers". In keeping with the look of Market Square, 12-storeys minimum.

dhottawa729 · #**7163** Posted **Jul 4, 2012, 2:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helladog

This site needs to incorporate the density this city needs, and build up. I'd like to see a few new "towers". In keeping with the look of Market Square, 12-storeys minimum.

I am all for taller buildings, but on this site I think only one or two would be appropriate and definitely no more than 12 stories, and all the others in the 4-6 story range that are more "human scale". Saint John has an excellent cascading urban design with the taller buildings at the "back" and the shorter buildings by the water which makes for a very picturesque skyline when arriving from the west. I would hate to see that obstructed. Also, the more short buildings we get lessens the liklihood of a tall building because it lowers the office occupancy rate, reducing demand for a major building. I would LOVE to see at least one new building in Saint John in the 18-25 storey range clustered near the Aliant building at the top of the hill. I really like how the tallest building is at the highest point on the peninsula and I think that's where the tallest buildings should be so us skyscraper enthusiasts get the most bang for our buck in terms of height. The only company I can see building a tower taller than Aliant is Irving. They pretty much own the city, so would it not be appropriate for them to have a landmark tower dominating our skyline? That would be incredible. Fingers crossed that my nerdy dream comes true someday.

cdnguys · #**7164** Posted **Jul 4, 2012, 9:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhottawa729

I am all for taller buildings, but on this site I think only one or two would be appropriate and definitely no more than 12 stories, and all the others in the 4-6 story range that are more "human scale". Saint John has an excellent cascading urban design with the taller buildings at the "back" and the shorter buildings by the water which makes for a very picturesque skyline when arriving from the west. I would hate to see that obstructed. Also, the more short buildings we get lessens the liklihood of a tall building because it lowers the office occupancy rate, reducing demand for a major building. I would LOVE to see at least one new building in Saint John in the 18-25 storey range clustered near the Aliant building at the top of the hill. I really like how the tallest building is at the highest point on the peninsula and I think that's where the tallest buildings should be so us skyscraper enthusiasts get the most bang for our buck in terms of height. The only company I can see building a tower taller than Aliant is Irving. They pretty much own the city, so would it not be appropriate for them to have a landmark tower dominating our skyline? That would be incredible. Fingers crossed that my nerdy dream comes true someday.

Irving will never build uptown. They just built an office complex on site at the refinery and another one is under construction in the contractors parking lot off of Grandview Ave. Once complete, Irving employees housed at Centerbeam
Place will move from uptown to the refinery.

I too would like to see a taller building on Fundy Quay, but don't want historic buildings on Prince William street blocked. The design put forward originally I really like.

JHikka · #**7165** Posted **Jul 4, 2012, 8:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdnguys

Irving will never build uptown.

Indeed. Not to mention all of their auxiliary headquarters spread around the province (Dieppe, Fredericton, etc.) for their companies. With all of the activity in Halifax building ships and such I wouldn't see much of a point in Irving building a shiny new building in Saint John.

In terms of taller buildings, i'm with dhottawa on this one. I'd like to see a tall building or two on the Coast Guard site but i'd be happy if most were around 4-7 stories with a taller 10/15+. Personally i'd be surprised if we got a taller building (anything over 10) given the location. I like the rising effect from the water up the hill towards the taller buildings and would like to see that continue. As long as the buildings being built on the CG site add density with some larger buildings i'm all for it.

There seems to be plenty of empty office space floating around so i'm not sure if there's enough of a market for it, or at least enough of a market to warrant building a large 15-20 story building at the top of the hill to challenge Aliant's height. With the Police and Justice services moving out of City Hall, isn't that building going to be relatively empty?

michael_d40 · #**7166** Posted **Jul 4, 2012, 8:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregHickman

With the Police and Justice services moving out of City Hall, isn't that building going to be relatively empty?

A bit. But you must remember that the City Hall building is not designated as Class A office space. It's only Class B. Most companies want A now. And it's going to take a lot of renovations to get that building up to an A status.

JHikka · #**7167** Posted **Jul 6, 2012, 3:44 PM**

CHSJ reporting that shovels will be in the ground in January for the new YMCA on Churchill Boulevard.

kwajo · #**7168** Posted **Jul 6, 2012, 5:08 PM**

Here's the rendering from this morning:

Too much parking lot.

Fischbob · #**7169** Posted **Jul 6, 2012, 5:45 PM**

Agreed about the parking lot--someone had better be thinking about the potential to develop it later on.

The earlier rendering, for comparison:

JHikka · #**7170** Posted **Jul 6, 2012, 6:35 PM**

No idea why there's so much parking when they're pandering to all of the locals who can walk there and/or can't afford autos.

The rendering makes it look like there's way more parking than there actually will be. The lot isn't that big.

Helladog · #**7171** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 2:53 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwajo

Here's the rendering from this morning:

Too much parking lot.

I think it's a bit of an illusion by the nature of the rendering (hopefully). The one torn down at Peel Plaza didn't seem to have much for parking, in comparison.

RyeJay · #**7172** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 9:36 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwajo

Too much parking lot.

I agree.

Parking lots are great killers of density. I would have preferred some form of underground parking, or at least a parking garage.

kwajo · #**7173** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 12:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyeJay

I agree.

Parking lots are great killers of density. I would have preferred some form of underground parking, or at least a parking garage.

At the very least the new location sits on one of Saint John's busiest bus routes, we should be encouraging that. Obviously it needs some parking, and Helladog is probably right, it is likely an illusion created by the angle of the rendering, but I pointed it out because I find it comical that they chose a rendered perspective that makes the parking lot seem like the focal point. I guess they're pandering to their fundraisers.

JHikka · #**7174** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 1:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyeJay

I agree.

Parking lots are great killers of density. I would have preferred some form of underground parking, or at least a parking garage.

You're not going to get much density in this part of town. Nor would you get an underground parking garage.

Ire Narissis · #**7175** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 2:25 PM**

Let's not all forget that these sorts of renderings tend to grossly exaggerate the size of parking lots; plenty of them that have been posted in here in the past are proof enough of that.

kwajo · #**7176** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 3:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregHickman

You're not going to get much density in this part of town. Nor would you get an underground parking garage.

I agree about the underground parking, but that part of town is designated for increased density in PlanSJ, as is the entire corridor between Uptown, the North End and the Hospital/University complex. I think the Y will help that, as it will offer new services to that neighbourhood which already has good transit access, lots of semi-detached housing & multi-unity buildings, and walkable retail areas that include necessities like grocery and drug stores.

JHikka · #**7177** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 9:42 PM**

Not really a photo update. Few photos from around the North End. All photos by me!

The fire on Victoria street from May:

One of the buildings was torn down this past week. Not sure when the other is going to go:

Two of my favourite building in this part of town, Alexandra Apartments:

One of the few remaining original buildings left, at the bottom of Main Street by Bridge Street:

(Relatively new) Social Housing on Main Street

A good example of what some call a North End Paint Job: From bottom to top and only half finished. This building used to be a hotel way back in the day:

Two from lower Kennedy Street:
It's always comforting living in a neighbourhood with Confederate flags in windows:

CdnEh · #**7178** Posted **Jul 10, 2012, 1:10 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregHickman

Not really a photo update. Few photos from around the North End. All photos by me!

The fire on Victoria street from May:

One of the buildings was torn down this past week. Not sure when the other is going to go:

Two of my favourite building in this part of town, Alexandra Apartments:

One of the few remaining original buildings left, at the bottom of Main Street by Bridge Street:

(Relatively new) Social Housing on Main Street

A good example of what some call a North End Paint Job: From bottom to top and only half finished. This building used to be a hotel way back in the day:

Two from lower Kennedy Street:
It's always comforting living in a neighbourhood with Confederate flags in windows:

Damn, the North End is looking rough these days.

mylesmalley · #**7179** Posted **Jul 10, 2012, 2:04 AM**

I've never understood why people will leave a building half-painted. I used to live on Graham St in Fredericton and there was a house across the road that was half forest-green and half pink. Crazy thing was, you couldn't tell which was there first!

DizzyEdge · #**7180** Posted **Jul 10, 2012, 4:28 AM**

Did the Alexandra Apartments used to be Alexandra...School? Looks very school-like.