[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[MonctonRad]

Yep, that's the one.

It's not a huge tower crane, but it is a crane nonetheless, just like the second crane currently sited in downtown Shediac.

I don't know if the plans for the building have changed or not, but the foundation they put in looks pretty solid.......

[MonctonRad]

Colour for the page:



Looking up Church St from near Main. Picture taken today by me.

[Hogie75]

I don't think this was noted but I drove by the Mapleton dental clinic on Mountain road behind Old navy and I noticed a sign in one of the retail locations stating that Liquid Gold Tasting Bar & All Things Olive is moving in there. I have never gone to one of these stores but looking at the website is seems like an interesting idea All Things Olive .

[MonctonRad]

Thanks Hogie, looks interesting!

The location of this store however is just on the other side of Wheeler, so this post probably belongs in either the Northwest Moncton section or the Moncton Retail section.

I have taken the liiberty therefore of reposting this news in the Retail section. I chose this section as this store will be located in the Trinity Drive power centre district.....

[MonctonRad]

Interesting tidbit in the Sleuth today.

There are two adjacent houses on Dufferin St which have identical "for sale" signs up. One of these two houses met the wreckers ball this week. Both of these properties are immediately adjacent to the rear of the recently demolished Wesley Memorial United Church.

The Sleuth therefore was speculating that the properties might be consolidated and that something "big" might be in the offing. The rumour has always been that there would be a large mixed use development built on the Wesley site. Perhaps something will soon transpire......

[MonctonRad]

From today's T&T:

Could Moncton, private sector go it alone?
Monday, January 14, 2013
Times & Transcript
By: Brent Mazerolle

London, Ont. made their downtown centre success - with little help from other levels of government. Could Moncton do the same?

read more here:
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=10466

Personal note - yes, the city could probably go it alone, without significant input from the federal government or perhaps even the province. It would not be preferable, and would put the local taxpayers at increased risk, but it may be necessary.

The city of London threw its lot in with London Civic Centre Limited Partnership, a private consortium comprised of Global Spectrum LLP, EllisDon Construction Ltd., and Stadium Consultants International. A similar consortium could be formed here, with similar companies to provide the expertise to build and manage the centre, as well as to assist in booking major events for the facility. Here in Moncton, it is interesting to speculate that the Aquilini Group may get involved. They already own the entire block on the other side of Main Street and have major experience owning and managing the arena in Vancouver where the Canucks play (a team they also incidentally own). To say that they have experience to bring to the table would be an understatement. If they built the events centre, this would certainly enhance the value of their adjacent property and could lead to even further development.

The events centre itself might not be profitable, but if a retail component, hotel and convention centre were included in the project, then this would improve cash flow and create synergies that would make the whole enterprise worthwhile. It has been said that a $120M events centre could stimulate development of a similar value in the adjacent neighbourhood. The city's tax base therefore could increase by $250M based on this project alone. This would certainly help the city's bottom line and would help to build the needed density downtown to provide a catalyst for further development.

The city may have to go it alone, but this might not necessarily be a bad thing. London was able to do it. We might be able to do it too.

[JHikka]

Does Moncton have the private sector strength that London had when they built their Centre?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Does Moncton have the private sector strength that London had when they built their Centre?

The private sector partners they were referring to in the article were Ellis Don, Global Spectrum and Stadium Consultants International. They didn't mean local London based private partners.

Moncton could look for similar private partners. It would make sense in terms of making the events centre a success. I mentioned the Aquilini Group as a potential partner only because they already own land (a whole city block) right across the street.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The private sector partners they were referring to in the article were Ellis Don, Global Spectrum and Stadium Consultants International. They didn't mean local London based private partners.

Ah, apologies. I was merely skimming. I'm interested to see what Moncton can churn up in regards to an Events Centre. 2013 is a big year to really decide what they're going to do. With Saint John hosting Skate Canada 2013 and the 2014 Women's World Curling Championships it's particularly evident as to why one location is receiving preference over the other.

[NBNYer]

It was on the news today that the pedway connecting Highfield Square to the office building across Main is to be demolished soon.

[mylesmalley]

I don't think I've ever seen anyone use it.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

I don't think I've ever seen anyone use it.

It used to be popular for federal civil servants sneaking across to the food court at Highfield Square. In the past, civilians were able to use it too, but then 9/11 happened and new security measures came into place for federal office buildings and access became restricted. This was the first nail in the coffin. The second nail obviously was the closure of Highfield Square itself.....

[Monctoncore]

I was out yesterday afternoon and noticed on the old Wesley church lot that there were 3 men there surveying the property, two were in suits the other was of course surveying. I watched for a bit and they kept pointing towards where the two houses used to be. I went into the antique store next to this lot and the man next to it said there were big plans for that lot, but wasn't sure what they were or when they would start.

[NBNYer]

Originally Posted by Monctoncore

I was out yesterday afternoon and noticed on the old Wesley church lot that there were 3 men there surveying the property, two were in suits the other was of course surveying. I watched for a bit and they kept pointing towards where the two houses used to be. I went into the antique store next to this lot and the man next to it said there were big plans for that lot, but wasn't sure what they were or when they would start.

Great reconnaissance work Monctoncore! I'm eager to find out what's in the works for this site. Hopefully we'll see a proposal soon.

[JasonL-Moncton]

Originally Posted by Hogie75

I don't think this was noted but I drove by the Mapleton dental clinic on Mountain road behind Old navy and I noticed a sign in one of the retail locations stating that Liquid Gold Tasting Bar & All Things Olive is moving in there. I have never gone to one of these stores but looking at the website is seems like an interesting idea All Things Olive .

Wow...first new store I've been really excited about for a while, this place looks awesome!

[Monctoncore]

the only thing I don't like is the location, all the other cities with a liquid gold are in there downtown, but once again ours is moved out to the trinity area.

[MonctonRad]

Things are progressing quite quickly at the Cameron Residence at the corner of Cameron & Gordon (no doubt thanks to that mini construction crane on site)



They have completed framing for the first floor already and are pretty much set to start the second floor.....

[Monctoncore]

I thought the city put in a bylaw that all buildings built in the designated downtown areas weren't able to use vinyl siding or any siding similar to that ? I find that between Main st and St. George is becoming very suburban, building the same design apartments downtown as the build in Riverview , Dieppe and the North End.

[MonctonRad]

I am sure that you are right, but although vinyl was banned in the core, that doesn't mean that other forms of siding (or wood cladding) were banned.

I agree that some of the new apartment buildings in the core area are distressingly suburban in character, but I remain optimistic that things will change over time and it is good to have a mixture of architectural styles for the sake of variety.

[Monctoncore]

True, they always find a loop hole, I shouldn't complain, they are all great buildings and it means more people downtown.