The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[MonctonRad]

Very good news for SJ, and the provincial economy in general!!

I understand the concerns of the environmentalists, especially regarding the problems with monoculture and how this upsets the natural environment but hopefully goodwill will prevail on both sides and these problems can be minimized.

We also need to proceed full speed with shale gas and the oil pipeline from the west. Again, I understand the concerns of the environmentalists, but I think there is a lot of hysteria surrounding the issue and hopefully saner heads will prevail.

With a resugent pulp industry, shale gas, the new oil pipeline, potash and the Sisson mine, the NB economy stands a good chance of a strong recovery over the next five years.

Apparently the estimates are that NB has 10% of the gas reserves of the entire country!!!

[ErickMontreal]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Very good news for SJ, and the provincial economy in general!! :

Indeed, a well-needed jump-start to the local and provincial economy.

Moreover, I was also reading in the JDI news release that 600 full-time equivalent jobs will be created.

If you add that to the the projects already in the pipeline as the YMCA, the nursing home in Millidgeville, the Bell Data Center and the Water treatment plan, Saint John is poised to have some busy construction seasons.

[Joe]

From this mornings TJ

Multi-million-dollar condo in works for uptown




"A prime uptown lot the city has owned for years could soon turn into a multi-million-dollar condominium development, the Telegraph-Journal has learned.

Developer Mike Cavanagh Homes is interested in turning the modest surface parking lot on the corner of Canterbury and Princess streets into a four-storey building, with retail space on the ground floor and up to 16 units up top.

With premium condos selling in Saint John for between $200,000 and $300,000, the development could easily top $4 million in value.

“There’s definitely some movement going on in the uptown,” said architect Peter MacKenzie of Comeau MacKenzie Architects, who’s working on the project for Cavanagh.

He noted there’s another condo project afoot at the historic building at 115 Prince William St. and the large, older square building beside the new Harbourfront Residences at Three Sisters condos at the other end of the street is undergoing a rehabilitation.

“The mood of the city is definitely changing and swinging to the positive side as opposed to the glum look that was on everyone’s face since about 2007.”

The building boom and property price surge in Saint John came to a sudden halt about seven years ago after Irving Oil cancelled plans for a second oil refinery and a world headquarters on the waterfront and the worldwide Great Recession kicked in, the worst economic downturn since the dirty 1930s.

The property at 60 Canterbury St. was one of the victims. The municipality tried selling the lot in 2008, but after posting advertisements and contacting about 30 local developers, city officials only solicited two bids. They convinced Common Council to keep the property for parking. The Saint John Parking Commission has been renting about a dozen parking spaces on the vacant lot for $70 a pop ever since, hardly the revenue-generator that a property assessed at $4 million would reap in taxes.

One of the old proposals, offered by Commercial Properties for $200,000, was rejected outright because the big developer hadn’t put down five per cent as required in the tender. The second, submitted by Ellerdale Investments, the same company behind the more recent Three Sisters development, was rejected as too cheap and inappropriate: its plan was to buy the lot for $25,000 and build four townhouses, the kind of housing that was very popular at the time.

“Townhouses on that lot are not a good fit from an urban design, planning point of view,” MacKenzie said. “All around this area are fairly dense buildings of three or four stories, and that’s what we will be shooting for. I’ve already had a meeting with Alice Fudge, the city’s new heritage officer, and she’s keen on having development there that’s sympathetic to the overall area. I believe the planning department is keen on working with us to meet a passable and viable solution.”

MacKenzie says having retail stores on the bottom would provide more vibrancy.

“Farther down in the south end and in the north end, you can see how the urban fabric has degraded. Whenever the city has allowed ground-floor, ex-storefronts to become residential, it’s virtually the kiss of death on business-zoned streets.”

The lot has its challenges for a developer. It is hemmed in by its surroundings, with a long street frontage and narrow depth. To take full advantage of the property, MacKenzie wants the building to be constructed right up to the sidewalk and property lines. This, along with a reduced number of parking spaces in the back of the property – perhaps only 10 for the 16 units – would require the developer to apply for special variances, something that would be mulled over by the city’s planning advisory committee and then forwarded with recommendations to council for consideration.

The lot is also in the Trinity Royal heritage conservation zone, meaning any project would have to fit in with the late 19th century and early 20th century buildings that make up the charming streetscape.

Cavanagh’s project is in the financial analysis stage to see if it can be built for a reasonable amount and make a tidy profit. MacKenzie says the earliest work could get started is August. Construction would likely take a year."

[MountPleasant]

He has a good understanding of the importance of maintaining our urban fabric. Good man.

Fantastic day SJ, cheers eh!

[CdnEh]

Woo lawd somebody who finally wants to do something with a parking lot. It's a miracle.

Any movement on the former Paramount Theatre lot? Be nice to see something fill that ASAP.

[JRocca]

Originally Posted by CdnEh

Woo lawd somebody who finally wants to do something with a parking lot. It's a miracle.

Any movement on the former Paramount Theatre lot? Be nice to see something fill that ASAP.

It would be great if this time a project happens.
You should know that we submitted a 2nd proposal-a $4 million project complimentary to the adjoining architecture that had retail on the ground floor, almost the same number of suites and 7 parking spaces and it didn't go ahead because the City wanted a lot more money for the land than the economics of the project could support.

[Southpaw78]

And the positive news for SJ just keeps rolling in this week!

An announcement today that Saint John will become a Home Port for cruises along the Maine and Fundy coasts starting in 2015!

[Ire Narissis]

Originally Posted by Southpaw78

An announcement today that Saint John will become a Home Port for cruises along the Maine and Fundy coasts starting in 2015!

That could also be an enormous boon to the airport if they can take measures to get embarking cruise ship passengers to fly directly into Saint John in lieu of flying into Moncton or Bangor instead.

[Fischbob]

Great news on the home port front - if the price is right I may even book a ticket!

Originally Posted by JRocca

It would be great if this time a project happens.
You should know that we submitted a 2nd proposal-a $4 million project complimentary to the adjoining architecture that had retail on the ground floor, almost the same number of suites and 7 parking spaces and it didn't go ahead because the City wanted a lot more money for the land than the economics of the project could support.

I remember seeing a staff report that summarized the previous RFP results for the site - the one that you and Commercial Properties submitted to. It was buried in an old Council agenda packet and I was surprised that I hadn't heard about it in the news during the time that the process was ongoing (though perhaps I missed the coverage - I was in high school after all! ).

I hope that with the publicity this proposal already has going for it, as well as the increased community understanding that infill development is crucial to SJ's future, that this one has a better chance of coming to fruition. We need to do what we can to enable high-quality real estate investment in our urban neighbourhoods - it's a shame people weren't listening as keenly 5+ years ago!

[JHikka]

http://creastats.crea.ca/sjnb/

Originally Posted by CREA

Saint John home sales jump in February

Residential sales activity reported through the MLS® System of the Saint John Real Estate Board numbered 115 units in February 2014. This was a 24 per cent increase from a year earlier.
“Following a weak January home sales really picked up in February,” said Sheila Henry, President of the Saint John Real Estate Board. “It was actually one of the better February sales figures ever in the region, so quite a bit stronger than expected.”

The average price for homes sold in February 2014 was $162,556, down five per cent from the same month in 2013.

New residential listings on the Board’s MLS® System numbered 299 units in February, up one per cent from February 2013.

There were 1,496 active residential listings on the Board’s MLS® System at the end of February, down three per cent from the same time last year. While still elevated, overall supply has plateaued over the past year and may now be at the start of a declining trend.

There were 13 months of inventory at the end of February 2014, down from 16.5 months at the end of February 2013 but above the long-run average for this time of the year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

The total value of all residential sales was $18.7 million in February 2014, up 17 per cent from a year earlier.

Sales of all types of properties in Saint John numbered 121 units in February, up 10 per cent from February 2013. The total value of these property sales was $18.9 million, a one per cent decrease from year-ago levels.

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Great to hear about the Home Port expansion for the Harbour. My one suggestion, moving forward, would be to provide additional floating docks available to pleasure craft as well.

I wonder how feasible it would be to have one of these miniature cruise ships on the Saint John River? It would certainly be scenic and could provide stops in the Kennebecasis River valley, Grand Bay-Westfield, Gagetown, Minto, Oromocto.

[MountPleasant]

Originally Posted by JHikka

http://creastats.crea.ca/sjnb/



- - - - -

Great to hear about the Home Port expansion for the Harbour. My one suggestion, moving forward, would be to provide additional floating docks available to pleasure craft as well.

I wonder how feasible it would be to have one of these miniature cruise ships on the Saint John River? It would certainly be scenic and could provide stops in the Kennebecasis River valley, Grand Bay-Westfield, Gagetown, Minto, Oromocto.

I can't see that being profitable, no matter how much of a niche market this expedition cruise line is...

I can't see a cruise ship docking in a suburb either.
Nothing to see in terms of culture, heritage, architecture etc.
Just imagine
"Next stop on our cruise is Quispamsis— itinerary: Canadian Tire, McDonalds and Shopper Drug Mart!"

What these people will be looking to see the Bay of Fundy and its fishing villages with a different lifestyle than what they are used to.

[MonctonRad]

Oh, I think I could see maybe a 1-2 day excursion from downtown SJ up the lower Saint John River to Fredericton with perhaps a stop in Gagetown along the way. It's an interesting little village…….

But I agree, it would make more sense to do a tour of the Fundy coast with stops at Saint Andrews, Campobello, Grand Manan, Digby, Alma and Saint Martin's……...

[CdnEh]

I'm assuming the Canterbury/Princess lot that the retail/apartment building proposal is for is this one?

[Fischbob]

Originally Posted by CdnEh

I'm assuming the Canterbury/Princess lot that the retail/apartment building proposal is for is this one?

That's the one. A very egregious hole as it currently stands!

[Walk then Run]

The Tim's on King Street West finished up its make-over. It looks great, and most definitely sticks out among the other "less attractive" buildings. Hopefully more renovations are coming for the lower west side with the city sprucing up Market Place over the next few years.

[KnoxfordGuy]

Nice to see an almost full page of good news for Saint John!

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by KnoxfordGuy

Nice to see an almost full page of good news for Saint John!

Let's keep that ball rolling:

Originally Posted by CHSJ News

A Chilly Groundbreaking For The New Y


On a bitter day in the North end, many excited members of the extended Saint John Y family reaching a crucial milestone...a groundbreaking on the new facility.

MP Rodney Weston told the chilly crowd everyone has been waiting for this for a long time and he wanted to thank everyone especially Dale Knox, Shilo Boucher and everyone from the Y.

Some kids joined Y CEO Shilo Boucher and the politicians to big in the ground with gold shovels.

Dale Knox also announced that the campaign has reached $4.8 million dollars and they will happily accept donations from the community.

The new Y is set to open on Churchill Boulevard in the late fall of 2015.

http://country94news.blogspot.ca/

[MountPleasant]

Has anyone heard anything new about the Marco Polo II?

I understand it is finished but without a place for public display

[Wolkenkratzerliebhab]

The link below, from Cities Journal, says that Saint John is one of the top cities in Canada that one should MOVE AWAY FROM! Personally, I think they are full of you-know-what? Further, they list Saint John in another post as being one of the best cities in Canada, as the other links show, , only it seems to be describing St. Andrews, again... .what-in-hell-gives?

http://www.citiesjournal.com/top-15-cities-and-towns-to-move-away-from-in-canada/14/

http://www.citiesjournal.com/top-13-small-cities-in-canada/12/

[dhottawa729]

I wouldn't give that site much credit..... They also say in another article that Saint John is the #2 small town/City in Canada.

http://www.citiesjournal.com/top-13-small-cities-in-canada/12/