The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[SJLad]

There is construction happening at the old NB Liquor location in Lansdowne Plaza, anyone know what their building?

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by SJLad

There is construction happening at the old NB Liquor location in Lansdowne Plaza, anyone know what their building?

I heard a rumour about a CannabisNB/Cannabis-related building but i'm not 100% certain.

[NB_ExistsToo]

Originally Posted by JHikka

I heard a rumour about a CannabisNB/Cannabis-related building but i'm not 100% certain.

It most certainly is... There were conflicting reports a few months back because they announced the Cannabis building would be built in Lansdowne Place parking lot, but they own area over in West End as well.

Huddle updated their location after it was clarified. (http://huddle.today/province-announces-locations-of-cannabisnb-stores/)

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by NB_ExistsToo

Huddle updated their location after it was clarified. (http://huddle.today/province-announces-locations-of-cannabisnb-stores/)

Ah, that explains it. Originally it was reported as being on Fairville Boulevard (as you mentioned). Good to see some of the empty space at Lansdowne being filled once more.

[Fischbob]

Here's a video that profiles Commercial Properties Limited. Take it for what it is (a promotional video), but there are some neat shots of the uptown and their office buildings.

• Video Link

I remain disappointed by the new Liquor Store development Uptown. I think the site deserved more density (including a mix of uses) and better street presence at the corner. I don't necessarily blame Commercial Properties for this - I think it was ANBL that didn't really 'get it' and of course the developer is under pressure to build to client spec.

I would love to see Commercial Properties Limited become 'Commercial and Residential Properties Limited' someday - their development and property management experience in the Uptown coupled with a new willingness to add residential elements to their developments could be transformative for the city.

[cdnguys]

Burgerology closed down on Germain Street - will be location for the new vegetarian restaurant Vegolution. Check out Huddle mag for the write up

[Fischbob]

So it came out at Monday night's Council Meeting that the proposed restaurant at the redevelopment of the Bayside Drive Petro-Canada is to be an A&W.

However, the rezoning application hit a hurdle as it was referred back to staff by Council after local residents expressed concerns about noise impacts. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/a-w-east-saint-john-1.4573655

[RR Drummer]

Originally Posted by Fischbob

So it came out at Monday night's Council Meeting that the proposed restaurant at the redevelopment of the Bayside Drive Petro-Canada is to be an A&W.

However, the rezoning application hit a hurdle as it was referred back to staff by Council after local residents expressed concerns about noise impacts. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/a-w-east-saint-john-1.4573655

Wow, just wow! Some people With Tim Horton's & Linn Chau's on 2 other corners, then Subway, Down Home Diner & Pizza Delight down the street I'm fairly certain the rats are already full In all seriousness though A & W is a national chain and would have strict operating guidelines and health inspection protocols to follow that I am certain this is a non issue. Not to mention nobody would want the PR nightmare to deal and would do anything possible to avoid such an occurrence or infestation. Bring on the develpoment

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by RR Drummer

Wow, just wow! Some people With Tim Horton's & Linn Chau's on 2 other corners, then Subway, Down Home Diner & Pizza Delight down the street I'm fairly certain the rats are already full In all seriousness though A & W is a national chain and would have strict operating guidelines and health inspection protocols to follow that I am certain this is a non issue. Not to mention nobody would want the PR nightmare to deal and would do anything possible to avoid such an occurrence or infestation. Bring on the develpoment

Their concern was the noise from the car wash. Ironic considering across the street is a major rail to pipeline oil terminal with trains coming and going and the loud traffic from trucks along busy Bayside Drive. Only neighbor I see is the church above the car wash proposed area.

[RR Drummer]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

Their concern was the noise from the car wash. Ironic considering across the street is a major rail to pipeline oil terminal with trains coming and going and the loud traffic from trucks along busy Bayside Drive. Only neighbor I see is the church above the car wash proposed area.

Oops wrong article lol, sorry. Although also worthy of a Wow! Noise all around & lots of it. Some people are glass half full people, some are half empty, others just always have an empty glass & nothing good to say. :cheers:

[Ire Narissis]

There was also already a car wash there previously, and I feel like that might be cited as some sort of precedent for the viability of a new one.

[Helladog]

Those A&W Restaurants tend to get some rowdy on Sunday afternoon.

[ColSJ]

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/new-brunswick/marshalls-mcallister-place-saint-john-1.4586958

Im in no way the kind of person who enjoys going to malls to shop but I was out on the east side in the mall district the other weekend and one thing that struck me was how busy it was. Without a doubt the busiest area in Saint John. I went into Winners and for the amount of people there you’d think it’s christmas season, and based off of what I observed that’s a trend at the stores/malls out there. With that being said I don’t understand why high profile clothing lines or retailers are only going to Moncton and not Saint John. There’s not a doubt in my mind we could support them but nothing seems to change. I wonder if it’s a case of a lack of outreach by the city or if there’s something I’m missing about this whole equation. Thoughts anyone?

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by ColSJ

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/new-brunswick/marshalls-mcallister-place-saint-john-1.4586958

Im in no way the kind of person who enjoys going to malls to shop but I was out on the east side in the mall district the other weekend and one thing that struck me was how busy it was. Without a doubt the busiest area in Saint John. I went into Winners and for the amount of people there you’d think it’s christmas season, and based off of what I observed that’s a trend at the stores/malls out there. With that being said I don’t understand why high profile clothing lines or retailers are only going to Moncton and not Saint John. There’s not a doubt in my mind we could support them but nothing seems to change. I wonder if it’s a case of a lack of outreach by the city or if there’s something I’m missing about this whole equation. Thoughts anyone?

We're in the midst of a retail apocalypse right now. I think a lot of retailers are being cautious when it comes to expansion.

[Taeolas]

It seems to me that we're caught in a pinch basically.

As noted, we're in a Brick and Mortar Retail Apocalypse right now, which is making a lot of chains skittish about expanding too much.

But on the other hand, if Saint John (and Freddy) had modern day numbers 10 years ago, those chains would probably be tripping all over themselves to move into both cities.

It seems to me that due to Moncton's position and demographics, it will get the stores no matter what; chains are often expanding their supply chains to reach Halifax anyway, so adding a stop along the way to better serve another million folks (all of NB, PEI and the NS Penninsula) is a no brainer/trivial addition.

Saint John wasn't on the way to Halifax, and Freddy was too small, so both cities tended to be left out to Moncton's benefit.

Nowadays, Freddy and SJ are certainly getting the numbers and demos to support many of those chains; but the chains aren't as eager to expand, so we're stuck waiting and hoping.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by ColSJ

With that being said I don’t understand why high profile clothing lines or retailers are only going to Moncton and not Saint John.

Because the Moncton CMA has ~25K more people than SJ and its surroundings areas are more populated. Southeast NB (including PEI) has ~100K+ more people than Southern NB (Sussex-St. Stephen). There's simply more people, the demographics are better (see: younger), and there's continued growth in most sectors.

I feel as if a lot of people really underestimate just how many people live in Moncton's sphere these days. Southeast NB is somewhere around 220K and if you tack on PEI you're getting close to 375K

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by JHikka

I feel as if a lot of people really underestimate just how many people live in Moncton's sphere these days. Southeast NB is somewhere around 220K and if you tack on PEI you're getting close to 375K

Plus the fact that it's easier for the 200k people in northern NB to get to Moncton than to Saint John, and another 25k people live in Cumberland County NS too. These people also tend to shop in Moncton rather than Halifax. The market population for Moncton is really therefore about 600k.

No offense meant.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Plus the fact that it's easier for the 250k people in northern NB to get to Moncton than to Saint John, and another 25k people live in Cumberland County NS too. These people also tend to shop in Moncton rather than Halifax.

Firstly, your numbers are a bit off: Northern NB doesn't have 250K - it's 200K (down from 235K in 2000). Roughly split 150K in the Northeast and 50K in the Northwest.

Secondly, once you get far enough North it starts to make more sense to head to Quebec City. People living in Edmundston/Madawaska or even Campbellton might be more inclined to make a trip to Quebec City than Moncton given that region's ability to bring in retailers. If you lop off that population you're left with the additional 150K in Northeast NB that could be potential shoppers in Moncton as opposed to Fredericton/SJ/at home.

For people living that far away I think we're being a bit ambitious in their inclusion into business metrics, though. If a company is looking at expanding into Moncton they're likely looking at populations within certain radiuses (20KM/50KM/etc.) as well as general age demographics and spending trends - Northern NB doesn't bring much to the table in that regard.

[MonctonRad]

Yes, I thought better of my numbers immediately after I posted and I corrected them (but you beat me to the punch).

I agree with what you say about Madawaska area residents going to QC. I'm not so sure about Campbellton area residents though. I think they still come to Moncton, just not as often.

Similarly, people from Bathurst would tend to come to Moncton but I agree that they probably don't make the trip more than once every month or two (probably mostly because of Costco).

Still, the tertiary market population for Moncton remains 550-600k

[Freddypop]

I also believe that the amount of disposable income and spending patterns tend to influence the decision on whether to locate or not to a specific city. As an example, looking at the major malls in the Atlantic provinces, McAllister Place is historically at the bottom based on sales per sq ft. This may be due to a number of reasons including the of the selection of stores at that location or it may be due to the higher level of poverty that is included in the Saint John population figures.

Freddy is just coming into its own now from the perspective of a population centre. Over time will likely see an increase in higher-end stores locate here. Sephora opening up here later this spring is such an example.A major influx of $$$ into the local economy due to big projects like the Mactaquac refurbishment and the Sisson Mine would likely result in a more serious eye cast towards Freddy as a viable location for new stores/services.

You have to have a critical mass of high earners to garner the attention of the stores that we are talking about. Right now, in the yes of the decision-makers, Moncton has that due to its location, population density and the proven record that people will spend if the product is there.