The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[Taeolas]

Just on the CBC: Port Saint John finally secures federal funds for expansion

One year after it was initially announced, $68.3 million dollars in federal funding has been confirmed for Port Saint John.

The infusion will give the port the rest of the money needed for a $205-million expansion and modernization of its west-side facilities.

...

The project involves upgrading the Rodney and Navy Island terminals to allow the port to accommodate larger vessels and new technology will be installed to enhance the ability to handle cargo.

[KnoxfordGuy]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIIhnNWAQuL/

Great helicopter video of uptown Saint John!

[Wolkenkratzerliebhab]

Originally Posted by KnoxfordGuy

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIIhnNWAQuL/

Great helicopter video of uptown Saint John!

Thanks, that was cool. Makes the city look bigger than it actually is, impressive!

[Wolkenkratzerliebhab]

"Port Saint John has signed a long-term lease agreement with DP World for the operation of the west side container terminal, the largest private sector investment in the port in decades."


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/port-saint-john-dp-world-terminal-lease-1.3696869

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunsw...velopment-fundy-quay-macintyre-1.3699164

[Ire Narissis]

Simms Corner will be fun if that investment leads to higher levels of rail traffic to and from the port, as the news seems to suggest.

[SJTOKO]

I'm strongly considering purchasing a unit. Does anyone have any information about the building? What's the word on the street? Do you know anyone who lives there? Have there been any complaints/issues? Please advise.

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by SJTOKO

I'm strongly considering purchasing a unit. Does anyone have any information about the building? What's the word on the street? Do you know anyone who lives there? Have there been any complaints/issues? Please advise.

I toured a couple units for an uptown living open house. HOA fee is $0.50 / sq ft
Gary MacDonald (radio personality) acted as an ambassador for the building during the tours and is willing to offer guidance on any questions. I contacted him on Facebook for an inquiry and he was helpful. The residents that were showcasing their properties seem to really enjoy the lifestyle it offers. I wasn't impressed with some of the fits and finishing (but I'm a bit fussy in that regard). I'm not aware of any complaints / issues - but every place will have some whether it's a 5 star resort or Admiral Beatty
I think the residents tend to be on the mature side although my friends live there and they are in their 30's

[WharfRat]

Should not go unmentioned...

Elsie Wayne, former PC MP and Saint John mayor, dies
Ex-Saint John mayor served in the House of Commons from 1993 to 2004

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/elsie-wayne-obit-1.3732050

Uptown Saint John is realizing its potential because of this women's vision, a transformation she started back in the 80's, a true champion of this city. Know matter where you fall on the political spectrum (i'm much more left than Elsie) she commanded respect. I remember my parents discussing the fact the city would not be represented in the new government if Elsie won her seat in 93 but they voted for her anyway.

RIP Elsie

[WharfRat]

Hmmm… more beer for Uptown SJ.

Another Brewing Company opening uptown, on Water street to boot!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/craft-beer-buzz-1.3745744
http://www.thewave.ca/news/521212651/loy...ompany-opening-brewery-uptown-saint-john

Moosehead's blog states a location decision should be made this month also.

[MStuart]

Has anyone seen any information on the development on the corner of Millidge Ave & University Ave? I see they cleared the trees and tore down the old green building this weekend.

[kwajo]

It's a Jean Coutu pharmacy

[KnoxfordGuy]

Well this is sad:

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/new-brunswick/synagogue-saint-john-surplus-demolish-1.3751583

[UptownJeff]

I'm going to rant for a moment. In the 8 years that I have lived uptown, the constant complaint I hear from many who also live uptown is that there is no grocery store nearby. I also hear this from many from outside the core who say they would never live here for the same reason. Well, in many ways it's the cart and horse scenario. No one is going to build a grocery store until there is a population to support it and people won't move uptown until there's a grocery store.....who's going to win? While yes, we don't have a sobeys at the top of King...that would be nice....but we do have a full City Market full of fresh fruit and vegetables, a full service butcher, bakery and many other conveniences. In addition to this, we have the weekly Queen Square market, Giant Tiger, Real Food Connections and many very well stocked convenience stores. Urban living is so much more than being close to a grocery store. I do believe that eventually a small full service grocery store will open but in the meantime, let's support our growing, vibrant and unique city core!

[Scarface]

Originally Posted by UptownJeff

I'm going to rant for a moment. In the 8 years that I have lived uptown, the constant complaint I hear from many who also live uptown is that there is no grocery store nearby. I also hear this from many from outside the core who say they would never live here for the same reason. Well, in many ways it's the cart and horse scenario. No one is going to build a grocery store until there is a population to support it and people won't move uptown until there's a grocery store.....who's going to win? While yes, we don't have a sobeys at the top of King...that would be nice....but we do have a full City Market full of fresh fruit and vegetables, a full service butcher, bakery and many other conveniences. In addition to this, we have the weekly Queen Square market, Giant Tiger, Real Food Connections and many very well stocked convenience stores. Urban living is so much more than being close to a grocery store. I do believe that eventually a small full service grocery store will open but in the meantime, let's support our growing, vibrant and unique city core!

My Brother had lived in Uptown Saint-John a long time ago, and for him the lack of a grocery store was not an issue because we are so used to our parent buying fresh produce, and use to go to the Butcher Shop, and even bakery. But he had 2 roommates who had found it hard going from buying prepackaged at a grocery store to buying fresh in a City Market. but all 3 where friends with Saint Johner's and it's almost all they would hear on the topic of grocery shopping ti'll my brother pointed out what a waste it was to buy prepackaged. It does not changed everyone perception of the situation in the uptown but you can change some minds.

I went to Saint-John a few weeks ago with a friend, and while ordering at Tims overheard a woman behind me say "It's not fair. Even Moncton has a Sobeys, and even a superstore downtown." I almost wanted to point out we have a Giant Tiger as well but that would have been mean.

I actually explained that it was the differences in the concentration of the populations in the 2 cities that made Sobeys, and Superstore build a store in Downtown Moncton but avoid Uptown Saint John in the first place. The gentleman she was talking to said that it made sense while she replied "It's not fair".


I will take a guess neither Sobeys nor Superstore will build in Uptown unless they have a guarantee it would be profitable. Specially Sobeys since they are trying to avoid loosing money at the moment, and it's not certain but a little bird told me Superstore was in the same boat a few years back.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Scarface

My Brother had lived in Uptown Saint-John a long time ago, and for him the lack of a grocery store was not an issue because we are so used to our parent buying fresh produce, and use to go to the Butcher Shop, and even bakery. But he had 2 roommates who had found it hard going from buying prepackaged at a grocery store to buying fresh in a City Market. but all 3 where friends with Saint Johner's and it's almost all they would hear on the topic of grocery shopping ti'll my brother pointed out what a waste it was to buy prepackaged. It does not changed everyone perception of the situation in the uptown but you can change some minds.

I went to Saint-John a few weeks ago with a friend, and while ordering at Tims overheard a woman behind me say "It's not fair. Even Moncton has a Sobeys, and even a superstore downtown." I almost wanted to point out we have a Giant Tiger as well but that would have been mean.

I actually explained that it was the differences in the concentration of the populations in the 2 cities that made Sobeys, and Superstore build a store in Downtown Moncton but avoid Uptown Saint John in the first place. The gentleman she was talking to said that it made sense while she replied "It's not fair".


I will take a guess neither Sobeys nor Superstore will build in Uptown unless they have a guarantee it would be profitable. Specially Sobeys since they are trying to avoid loosing money at the moment, and it's not certain but a little bird told me Superstore was in the same boat a few years back.

What people seem to fail to realize is that big grocery chains like Loblaws or Sobeys don't need a massive footprint to build a large suburban-style grocery store in a Downtown setting. Larger Canadian cities have plenty of examples of urban-style grocery stores. Sobeys and Loblaws are capable of shoe-horning tiny stores in any tight, urban location as long as there's a potential market there for some revenue and profit. They don't need a lot of space to operate. One of these urban style locations would be ideal in the Uptown so long as the number of people living nearby and willing to support it are there.

The battle isn't so much getting a big chain grocery store into the Uptown as much as it is changing people's expectations of what it means to live in an urban environment. People don't go to Downtown Moncton for a suburban Sobeys, and if they are they're likely driving in, parking, and then leaving once they're done. That woman can feel that it's unfair all she wants, that Sobeys is a blight on the kind of development Moncton is trying to attract in their Downtown, and that sort of development would be a blight on Uptown as well. If your idea of living in an urban area is having a big box store nearby I have news for you: that's not urban living.

A grocery store in the Uptown can't be built for people to drive in, use, and leave - it needs to be built for its residents. As of now I see plenty of options (Market, GT, number of other stores) where food can be bought.

[RaginRonic]

The only way I could see a Sobeys or Superstore built Uptown is if A] they built a whole 3rd floor to Market Square, just for them, or B] use the whole 3rd floor of Brunswick Square. Outside of that, I don't think there's room for a store of that type anywhere in the core.

The only place I could see a grocery store being built would be, interestingly, Haymarket Square, though it would require the demolition of the building already there, and I think that the store banner best suited for that place would be a FreshCo, the primary discount brand for Sobeys.

=P

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by RaginRonic

The only way I could see a Sobeys or Superstore built Uptown is if A] they built a whole 3rd floor to Market Square, just for them, or B] use the whole 3rd floor of Brunswick Square. Outside of that, I don't think there's room for a store of that type anywhere in the core.

Like I said previously these large chains can build urban locations quite easily. They don't need massive amounts of space. Examples here, here, and this article outlining them.

"It's a challenging format to operate, however. City bylaws limit truck delivery times, as does the need to keep vehicles from blocking traffic. The store on Toronto's busy downtown Yonge Street strip has only a small alley and no receiving docks, forcing staff to drop everything to empty each truck immediately. "It's like a ballet," says Dalimonte. Sobeys has its own fleet of smaller trucks to service its Urban Fresh locations, which require smaller, more frequent deliveries. The compact stores have no room to store garbage, and inventory is managed in individual boxes, not cases or pallets. And because so much of the traffic is walk-in, sales go up and down with local events or the weather.

Most critically, finding available locations is exceedingly hard. That's why, seven years after the first Urban Fresh opened, there are still only 15. "We're opening stores as fast as is reasonably possible," says McEwan. "But there aren't any downtown locations left!" Rival Metro scored some choice city-centre sites when it acquired A&P Canada's Dominion brand in 2005, and Dalimonte can't hide her envy when she compliments the Metro supermarket in the young, hip Liberty Village neighbourhood a few blocks west of this Urban Fresh outlet. Loblaws is chasing the urban consumer as well, next year planning to open a supermarket on fashionable Queen Street West, over a Joe Fresh store. As it hunts for existing locations, Sobeys is making do with "new build," signing leases with condo developers to situate stores in their buildings. And in B.C., it plans to use the 23-store Thrifty Foods chain it bought in 2007 to carry the urban format there."

They literally cannot find urban locations to open grocery stores in Central Canada and yet it seems to be an impossible task to find a full non-market grocer to open in the Uptown. It's beyond frustrating.

Originally Posted by RaginRonic

The only place I could see a grocery store being built would be, interestingly, Haymarket Square, though it would require the demolition of the building already there, and I think that the store banner best suited for that place would be a FreshCo, the primary discount brand for Sobeys.

Haymarket Square doesn't do anything for Uptown residents, and there's already a Superstore on Rothesay Ave & Thorne. Doesn't really improve the current Uptown situation.

[UptownJeff]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Like I said previously these large chains can build urban locations quite easily. They don't need massive amounts of space. Examples here, here, and this article outlining them.

"It's a challenging format to operate, however. City bylaws limit truck delivery times, as does the need to keep vehicles from blocking traffic. The store on Toronto's busy downtown Yonge Street strip has only a small alley and no receiving docks, forcing staff to drop everything to empty each truck immediately. "It's like a ballet," says Dalimonte. Sobeys has its own fleet of smaller trucks to service its Urban Fresh locations, which require smaller, more frequent deliveries. The compact stores have no room to store garbage, and inventory is managed in individual boxes, not cases or pallets. And because so much of the traffic is walk-in, sales go up and down with local events or the weather.

Most critically, finding available locations is exceedingly hard. That's why, seven years after the first Urban Fresh opened, there are still only 15. "We're opening stores as fast as is reasonably possible," says McEwan. "But there aren't any downtown locations left!" Rival Metro scored some choice city-centre sites when it acquired A&P Canada's Dominion brand in 2005, and Dalimonte can't hide her envy when she compliments the Metro supermarket in the young, hip Liberty Village neighbourhood a few blocks west of this Urban Fresh outlet. Loblaws is chasing the urban consumer as well, next year planning to open a supermarket on fashionable Queen Street West, over a Joe Fresh store. As it hunts for existing locations, Sobeys is making do with "new build," signing leases with condo developers to situate stores in their buildings. And in B.C., it plans to use the 23-store Thrifty Foods chain it bought in 2007 to carry the urban format there."

They literally cannot find urban locations to open grocery stores in Central Canada and yet it seems to be an impossible task to find a full non-market grocer to open in the Uptown. It's beyond frustrating.



Haymarket Square doesn't do anything for Uptown residents, and there's already a Superstore on Rothesay Ave & Thorne. Doesn't really improve the current Uptown situation.

I agree - a small footprint would be nice - when we lived in Toronto, Sobeys had opened a small grocey store near us at Yonge and College area - it closed after a few years but the concept was great - a full sized uptown store isn't necessary or feasible in my mind but something small with a reasonable selection would definitely work. Again, alot of it is about expectations of urban living.

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by UptownJeff

I'm going to rant for a moment. In the 8 years that I have lived uptown, the constant complaint I hear from many who also live uptown is that there is no grocery store nearby. I also hear this from many from outside the core who say they would never live here for the same reason. Well, in many ways it's the cart and horse scenario. No one is going to build a grocery store until there is a population to support it and people won't move uptown until there's a grocery store.....who's going to win? While yes, we don't have a sobeys at the top of King...that would be nice....but we do have a full City Market full of fresh fruit and vegetables, a full service butcher, bakery and many other conveniences. In addition to this, we have the weekly Queen Square market, Giant Tiger, Real Food Connections and many very well stocked convenience stores. Urban living is so much more than being close to a grocery store. I do believe that eventually a small full service grocery store will open but in the meantime, let's support our growing, vibrant and unique city core!

I have to agree, I have lived Uptown for 10-11 years and have never struggled finding food or basic amenities, especially in the last year or two since more options have opened up. Frankly the bigger issue is the decline in support for the transit system, which would make the whole city much more accessible.

[UptownJeff]

Originally Posted by kwajo

I have to agree, I have lived Uptown for 10-11 years and have never struggled finding food or basic amenities, especially in the last year or two since more options have opened up. Frankly the bigger issue is the decline in support for the transit system, which would make the whole city much more accessible.

Agreed, but I have high hopes for transit with the new CEO. He seems to understand how to make it better and with the recent influx of cash I am VERY
hopeful.