[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by cormiermax

The Harper building looks horrible anyway, like a very cheap suburban styled condo block.

I share your opinion -- but in the grand scheme of things, I don't think it's likely that a developer will come forward wanting to risk capital in establishing expensive condos, especially when property values of the downtown are trending downward. Moncton should get the ball rolling on gradually building toward that higher priced market.

This project would bring permanent residents to the core, and this is good for supporting downtown businesses. With a growing population in the area, new commercial spots will be attracted.

The Harper Building is certainly less suburban in character than most of the wooden apartment buildings that have been recently thrown up.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Perhaps the city should wait on this parcel of land rather than just going for any building proposal at all.......

Beggars can't be choosers. More people living in the downtown is extremely valuable to Moncton. Leaving the site empty doesn't help the City's tax base at all.

[cormiermax]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

Beggars can't be choosers. More people living in the downtown is extremely valuable to Moncton. Leaving the site empty doesn't help the City's tax base at all.

Meh, id be on the side of nothing rather than the Harper building. I seriously hate thrown together designs like that. Looks like a building you'd see in some little hick town in Louisiana.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by cormiermax

Meh, id be on the side of nothing rather than the Harper building. I seriously hate thrown together designs like that. Looks like a building you'd see in some little hick town in Louisiana.

I completely agree with you, in terms of poor urban aesthetics. I find the Harper proposal visually offensive as well, just not to the point of turning away the potential for downtown residents

With MHS leaving, city council is going to have to double down on their core revitalisation efforts, which have been lacking to begin with.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by cormiermax

Meh, id be on the side of nothing rather than the Harper building. I seriously hate thrown together designs like that. Looks like a building you'd see in some little hick town in Louisiana.

This is version one of Valmond's proposal:



This is version two, are you referring to this design cormiermax?



Since this second proposal was made, they lost out on their bid for the federal government office space and have reduced the building to only three floors and it no longer has any commercial/office component. I have not seen any renders for version three. Have you? I'm under the assumption that it will be a lot like the Dominion St condos.

[cormiermax]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

This is version one of Valmond's proposal:



This is version two, are you referring to this design cormiermax?



Since this second proposal was made, they lost out on their bid for the federal government office space and have reduced the building to only three floors and it no longer has any commercial/office component. I have not seen any renders for version three. Have you? I'm under the assumption that it will be a lot like the Dominion St condos.

The original design was brilliant, if they would have went with that it would be the best development Moncton has seen since Blue Cross. But then they hired some wood shop student to come up with the horrid 2nd design, and I lost support for the project entirely. If they've cut it down and plan on building a wood shack the city should get involved, this is an extremely important part of the city and should be developed by competent developers.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by cormiermax

The original design was brilliant, if they would have went with that it would be the best development Moncton has seen since Blue Cross. But then they hired some wood shop student to come up with the horrid 2nd design, and I lost support for the project entirely. If they've cut it down and plan on building a wood shack the city should get involved, this is an extremely important part of the city and should be developed by competent developers.

The first proposal was rather nice, and would have complimented Château Moncton. I don't believe anyone here, though, believes the Harper Building is worse than downtown Moncton's recent 'developments'.

Urbanised, glass designs such as the one we all seem to be fond of is something I'd love to see more common for the core. But: successful construction of buildings matching the merit of that first proposal is something that must be gradually attained. The condo/apartment market in Moncton's core isn't there yet... The downtown needs to develop itself toward that standard.

I want to see downtown infill -- significantly -- even if it's of a poorly conceived, suburban design. More residents will get more money flowing. That is the highest priority. We can afford to be picky about building aesthetics later, once the core's market has some girth and versatility established.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Since this second proposal was made, they lost out on their bid for the federal government office space and have reduced the building to only three floors and it no longer has any commercial/office component.

I hope the three-storey proposal goes forward. It's something.

When constructing this building, they should structure it properly so that additional floors can be added years down the road. I would like to assume downtown Moncton will eventually grow that demand.

[mylesmalley]

The last I heard, it was supposed to be 4-stories and more along the lines of what's been built next to Humphry Brook on Lewisville Rd. IIRC, the building is still supposed to have 80 units but will be 4, rather than 10 stories. Not ideal, but in keeping with the 15 or so other apartment buildings that have gone up downtown in the past couple of years.

[David_99]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Since this second proposal was made, they lost out on their bid for the federal government office space and have reduced the building to only three floors and it no longer has any commercial/office component. I have not seen any renders for version three. Have you?

At this rate, it'll probably look like this by the time it's built.

[MonctonRad]

Indeed, Valmond's proposal seems to be going in the same direction as the Incredible Shrinking Events Centre!!

[MonctonRad]

I was in to Colpitt's Mens Wear this evening. Their new store is smaller than their old store at the mall and they have changed their emphasis more to business and smart casual attire. The layout of the store is quite nice. I chatted up the salesperson and he said that although foot traffic is down, sales are actually up. They are developing a niche serving the business people in the core and a lot of their sales are during the day and not the evening. They are making a lot more money selling $1000 suits than $50 shirts (like in their old location in Champlain).

A downtown retail success story - I like it!

[MonctonRad]

It was in The Sleuth today that the Coin Cabinet http://www.coincabinet.ca/en/ is planning to move into the former CIBC branch on West Main across from the Terminal Plaza complex.

A small thing, but this is a continuation of a trend in the recent months where a number of retail establishments and restaurants have returned to Main St.

Some of these (Cafe C'est la Vie and Colpitts for example) are refugees from Highfield Square or Champlain Place but others (like the Osaka Hibachi) are brand new to the marketplace.

It would appear that Main St is far from dead......

[mylesmalley]

I'm glad to hear something is moving in there. I was afraid that the CIBC building might be too big to get snapped up and would sit empty for a long time waiting for a tenant.

[Monctoncore]

[Monctoncore]

Happy New Years to all!

[Monctoncore]

A little color for the page!


[IMG][/IMG]

[MonctonRad]

Hurray, you've found out to post a picture on the site.

The only thing is that it appears that you had two sets of [img] bb codes. You only need one.

Nice picture. One of the best things about downtown in the wintertime is the skating rink at the city hall plaza.

Looking forward to more of your work.

[MonctonRad]

Has anyone else noticed that there is a new construction crane in the downtown?

A crane has just been erected at the corner of Cameron and Gordon. It is for the construction of a new apartment building.

It's a fairly generic design, and will be only four stories, but it looks like it will be solid construction and will have underground parking.

[Monctonguy19]

Originally Posted by Budyser

Is this the building you were talking about?

Im really happy to see a crane downtown ; on the other hand, im a little suprise theres a crane for such a small size appartment! Would it be a possibility that the plans would of change for a bigger appartement?