[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[MonctonRad]

I read the article. Apparently Colliers International has merged with Platinum Atlantic Realty and have moved to new digs on Bonaccord Street.

The Colliers building has very attractive bones and sits on a prominent corner (SW corner of Main/Downing). It apparently has strong heritage preservation status. Hopefully it will sell to a reputable new owner at auction.......

[tmacdougall]

Any idea when the second phase of Downing Plaza is set to begin?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by tmacdougall

Any idea when the second phase of Downing Plaza is set to begin?

Nope.

I suspect there will be considerable delay before phase two kicks in. The city is running out of money for special projects (especially with the new police HQ and the north end community centre in the offing).

In addition, the city has to figure out exactly what they're going to be doing as part of "phase three" as well before proceeding with phase two. For example, are they going to build a new east/west street in the core connecting Downing to Lutz? Are they going to relocate the city market to Downing? Will they also move the library to the west side of Downing? What about commercial/residential development along the south side of Downing? Are they really planning on building a roundabout at the Downing/Assumption intersection? Will the new police HQ be built where the old jail used to be on Assumption?

All this has to be figured out before they move on phase two.

[Ammn_guy]

July PAC:

Valmond Robichaud (Harper Building Inc.) rue Harper Street, Moncton to rezone a
portion of PID 70628888 from UR (Urban Residential Dwelling Zone) to CBD (Central
Business District Zone) to accomodate a hotel and parking structure/ Pour rezoner une
partie du NID 70628888 de UR (Zone résidentielle urbaine) à CBD (Zone du quartier
central des affaires) (Fileédossier : 17-41394

[Mattyyy]

Originally Posted by Ammn_guy

July PAC:

Valmond Robichaud (Harper Building Inc.) rue Harper Street, Moncton to rezone a
portion of PID 70628888 from UR (Urban Residential Dwelling Zone) to CBD (Central
Business District Zone) to accomodate a hotel and parking structure/ Pour rezoner une
partie du NID 70628888 de UR (Zone résidentielle urbaine) à CBD (Zone du quartier
central des affaires) (Fileédossier : 17-41394

That's very interesting. Maybe we will get our 12 story building??

[Ammn_guy]

could just be another another proposal i suppose, the renderings are pretty generic... but its a "8 TO 14 STOREY HOTEL
BUILDING" ....

Originally Posted by Mattyyy

That's very interesting. Maybe we will get our 12 story building??

[Mattyyy]

Originally Posted by Ammn_guy

could just be another another proposal i suppose, the renderings are pretty generic... but its a "8 TO 14 STOREY HOTEL
BUILDING" ....

It must be a bit more serious than a proposal if he is considering building such a large hotel and switching his focus. Unless he is attempting to capitalize on the limited amount of hotel rooms in the Moncton area and now trying to attract a hotel. I'm not sure this is a good idea or not and I wonder if he will just be competing against the proposed Hilton on Vaughn Harvey.

[Scarface]

Originally Posted by Mattyyy

It must be a bit more serious than a proposal if he is considering building such a large hotel and switching his focus. Unless he is attempting to capitalize on the limited amount of hotel rooms in the Moncton area and now trying to attract a hotel. I'm not sure this is a good idea or not and I wonder if he will just be competing against the proposed Hilton on Vaughn Harvey.

At the end of Main street where the lot is he would be competing more with

Residence Inn by Marriott
Rodd Hotel & Resort
Chateau Moncton Hotel & Suites

The Proposed Hilton that it seems there curently working on the location for would be more in competition with Crowne Plaza, and the Motels on West Main Street.

(IMO) Of course. It seems Moncton is a different landscape then other cities as building a hotel at one end of the city does not effect a hotel at the other. Unless the proprietors have different rules but that's almost never the case.

[MonctonRad]

So here are the renders of what Valmond in currently proposing:









Of note is the fact that this is Valmond's fourth proposal for this bit of land in the last 6-7 years. The first three proposals were all for residential projects, initially spectacular and exotic but gradually becoming more plebeian and generic with time.

I'm not sure what to make of this. I think Valmond has come to realize that the apartment/condo market in Moncton will likely be somewhat depressed for some time with Hall's Landing, Horizon Place and FiveFive Queen (as well as several smaller projects) all coming on line. There will likely be a couple of other significant projects upcoming in the west end in the next 2-3 years (Tannery Place at the Junction and a probable condo/apartment tower on the old Bay parking lot).

He might be better off looking at a hotel project, especially since Moncton has the best occupancy numbers east of Montreal. The question is - has he actually talked to any hotel chains or is he just throwing this proposal together in order to go fishing? I suspect the latter, especially since he lists the hotel as "8-14 floors", which shouts to me as being "will build to suit".

I won't hold my breath on this one, but I wish him well..........

[NBNYer]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

He might be better off looking at a hotel project, especially since Moncton has the best occupancy numbers east of Montreal. The question is - has he actually talked to any hotel chains or is he just throwing this proposal together in order to go fishing? I suspect the latter, especially since he lists the hotel as "8-14 floors", which shouts to me as being "will build to suit".

I won't hold my breath on this one, but I wish him well..........

It does seem like he's grasping at straws here. The design does seem quite bland, it reminds me of the Hampton Inn on Brunswick street in Halifax built a few years ago. The last proposal for this site also had parking in front of the building and some landscaping or lawn along the street. I can't see the city allowing this but looks like it's still part of their plan. Still, I think it is better than the very suburban "Junction Urban Village" development. With a few minor adjustments, it could be great for that part of downtown if it can get off the ground. Good luck to him.

[Scarface]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

So here are the renders of what Valmond in currently proposing:









Of note is the fact that this is Valmond's fourth proposal for this bit of land in the last 6-7 years. The first three proposals were all for residential projects, initially spectacular and exotic but gradually becoming more plebeian and generic with time.

I'm not sure what to make of this. I think Valmond has come to realize that the apartment/condo market in Moncton will likely be somewhat depressed for some time with Hall's Landing, Horizon Place and FiveFive Queen (as well as several smaller projects) all coming on line. There will likely be a couple of other significant projects upcoming in the west end in the next 2-3 years (Tannery Place at the Junction and a probable condo/apartment tower on the old Bay parking lot).

He might be better off looking at a hotel project, especially since Moncton has the best occupancy numbers east of Montreal. The question is - has he actually talked to any hotel chains or is he just throwing this proposal together in order to go fishing? I suspect the latter, especially since he lists the hotel as "8-14 floors", which shouts to me as being "will build to suit".

I won't hold my breath on this one, but I wish him well..........

I'm going with the "Hey hotel chains will build to suit right here"

But then again with him you never know look at how long it took between demolition of all the houses on the High/Dominion block, and the construction of 25 Dominion. But if you look at other projects he had he was much quicker. It seems as he gets older he might be second guessing himself more, and not jumping in with both feet.

[Monctoncore]

Festival inspire started! The first finished art work downtown is amazing! It's a turtle completely made out of trash

19956139_1993454980898926_2333794991865860310_o by 21c3b2803a80ebbed945f6f190bb0907

Photo credit: Festival Inspire facebook. Artist: Bordalo II

[MonctonRad]

Very neat. I had a look at it personally this evening. I love the three dimension texture of it.

I wonder how long it will last???

[Monctoncore]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Very neat. I had a look at it personally this evening. I love the three dimension texture of it.

I wonder how long it will last???

That is what a lot of people are wondering, from what I gathered everything has been screwed into the wall, and with it facing south it should miss the brunt of the winter winds etc., I guess we have to wait and see! I really hope it does, I think this festival is amazing, it's adding so much brightness to the city, it's welcoming, this is one of the best festivals the city has done.

[MonctonRad]

Here's another interesting tidbit from the upcoming July PAC meeting:

Gene and/et Susan Cormer rue 5 Euston Street an application to rezone PID 00694570 from IP (Industrial Park Zone) to CBD (Central Business District Zone) to accommodante a seasonal outdoor patio, bar, restaurant

An interesting concept - essentially an outdoor patio with window service from a modified shipping container. Actually, the design looks not bad. I like how it's fenced in and how they integrate the foliage. This obviously would be a seasonal restaurant/bar with service probably from June to September. I'm not sure where the clientele would come from, but this proposed site lies very close to the entrance to the Hal Betts Sports Complex on the riverfront. I suspect they might want to take advantage of the apres-baseball crowd........

[Monctoncore]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Here's another interesting tidbit from the upcoming July PAC meeting:











An interesting concept - essentially an outdoor patio with window service from a modified shipping container. Actually, the design looks not bad. I like how it's fenced in and how they integrate the foliage. This obviously would be a seasonal restaurant/bar with service probably from June to September. I'm not sure where the clientele would come from, but this proposed site lies very close to the entrance to the Hal Betts Sports Complex on the riverfront. I suspect they might want to take advantage of the apres-baseball crowd........

I like this. I know there are a lot of younger people who frequent the Chris Rock, which could help, but looking at the design, a lot of people would see this as the hip place to go, I would definitely check it out. Though it will all come down to if they hire a good bartender/bartenders and servers as well as a good atmosphere, because with it being outside the regular bar district they will need a good brand ambassador. Serve maritime/Canadian and worldly craft beers, different ciders, wines and interesting mixed drinks, so that you can attract a continuous clientele.

[David_99]

I saw something very similar in Halifax a couple weekends back, at the busy corner of South Park and Spring Garden Road. It was labeled as a community beer garden and served a BBQ menu. It was packed every time we walked by. The smell of the food was what drew us in. I'm not sure how much foot traffic this location will provide though. I wish them luck!

[gehrhardt]

Originally Posted by David_99

I saw something very similar in Halifax a couple weekends back, at the busy corner of South Park and Spring Garden Road. It was labeled as a community beer garden and served a BBQ menu. It was packed every time we walked by. The smell of the food was what drew us in. I'm not sure how much foot traffic this location will provide though. I wish them luck!

Stillwell Beer Garden, next to Your Father's Moustache. Great atmosphere and beer selection. BBQ and ice cream too. We were there last summer after the Seaport Beerfest.

The design is a typical German/Austrian biergarten, down to the lighting, fencing, and gravel lot. After being to a few Biergartens in Austria, I love these places. It's a great place to grab a meal on a summer day.

The location is a bit odd, but they may be banking on its proximity to the Events Centre. Hopefully some form of foot bridge or tunnel over/under the tracks will shorten the walk in this area. It still won't have anywhere near the foot traffic of Spring Garden Rd.

[MonctonRad]

Goodlife Fitness at the Junction Urban Village, getting close to opening......



There is no sign of activity yet for either the Tannery Building or the Hilton branded hotel. Since they claim a 2018 opening date for both these buildings, they will have to start soon - unless construction for whatever reason is delayed........

[FarmerTom]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Goodlife Fitness at the Junction Urban Village, getting close to opening......



There is no sign of activity yet for either the Tannery Building or the Hilton branded hotel. Since they claim a 2018 opening date for both these buildings, they will have to start soon - unless construction for whatever reason is delayed........

According to their website it says fall but I doubt it will be that long either