The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[Franco401]

Is the plan already settled to remove the beach volleyball courts and fill Market Slip with water?

[kwajo]

A better view:



Material choices are really going to make or break this design. Does anyone know if the sections to the left of that image are planned to be actual copper? That would be a must IMO.

[cdnguys]

CHSJ saying it will be open in 5 years ! Really going to take that long?

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

CHSJ saying it will be open in 5 years ! Really going to take that long?

I wouldn't really consider CHSJ any sort of insider on this sort of project. In saying that, the project still has to:

• Finalize design;
• Confirm funding;
• Complete site remediation and demolition;
• Finally, construction.

Five years is probably ambitious but likely accurate. Projects of this size don't just happen overnight like magic. This is not a final render or anything close to it which is why it has Preliminary slapped all over it.

[southieSJ]

Originally Posted by Franco401

Is the plan already settled to remove the beach volleyball courts and fill Market Slip with water?

Last time I checked the plan is to move the volley ball courts to the SJ Energy substation area.

[saintjohnirish☘]

Building materials certainly will make or break this I agree there. Seems that the copper should blend into the glass and those interior supports would be some kind of timber. I am hopeful!

Quite the game changer I'd say for uptown!

[Taeolas]

Oops wrong thread. This should have been in the Freddy thread.

[Ire Narissis]

I was lurking at the museum open house for the full 2 hours.

Regarding the construction timeline - I did hear one of the architects saying that the fitting-out process for a museum building, after it's handed off from the building contractors, is extensive and would take as much as 8 months on its own.

There's also demolition of the old coast guard building on the site, and a lot of site prep work to be done.

Regarding the facade, the tentative plan is to have a sort of pixellated effect where it transitions from opaque terracotta toward King Street to a fully glazed curtain wall toward the water, hence the stepping from reddish to blue in the conceptual drawing. The curved front is meant to evoke the ribbed structure of ships, canoes, and whalebone framed dwellings, with the internal rib members to be made of laminated wood. Malcolm Boyd was comparing the intended design of the ribs to the ceiling beams in the Q-Plex.

The public galleries would all be in the glassy end of the building, toward the water, with the collections and archives (which have to be protected from sunlight) toward the street side. That end of the building will have a perimeter corridor around the archival spaces so as to facilitate climate control (because it's much more difficult and energy-intensive to regulate a room with one or more exterior walls). You can see this on the floor plans as there's a white strip of hallway isolating all the archives from the nearest exterior wall.

Regarding the artist rendering: everything aside from the museum building itself is creative liberty taken by the artist. Malcolm Boyd said they rendered it with a high water level so that they could have the reflection in the image to accentuate the building. Any plans to move the volleyball courts would be on the city to decide and not part of the museum project (you'll also notice if you look at the lower-right of the concept drawing that the moose statue has been moved across the slip; this was purely the artist's doing and there are no plans to actually move the moose).

There was one guy there asking an architect about how the project would affect the view and property value for his nearby condo in the block between Water and Prince William, which has a rooftop patio overlooking the site. Don't suppose that was one of you?

[NB_ExistsToo]

It looks exciting! I was expecting the museum to be a long ways away, but I think 5 years seems about right. I would like to see it be built sooner, but public forum projects like this can be dragged out.

Either way it will be an exciting process going forward!

[MonctonRad]

I like the design quite a bit.

According to this CBC article:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunsw...ew-brunswick-museum-fundy-quay-1.4768783

The "landmark" four-storey, 120,000 square foot building is intended to present a glass and terra cotta front on two sides facing the harbour and Market Square, and a more traditional look toward the uptown.

I think this is wise. This will preserve the historic streetscape where it needs to be protected, but at the same time presenting a fresh avant garde face towards Market Slip and Market Square.

This is precisely the proper location for the NB Museum. Right in the very heart of downtown SJ and next to the cruise ship terminal. It will be a highlight of the city.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Ire Narissis

The curved front is meant to evoke the ribbed structure of ships, canoes, and whalebone framed dwellings, with the internal rib members to be made of laminated wood. Malcolm Boyd was comparing the intended design of the ribs to the ceiling beams in the Q-Plex.

This is good because those beams in the Q-Plex are great to look at.

It's a shame when artists take artistic liberties in renders sometimes which may or may not alter our expectations or perceptions, though. Just give us what's going to plausibly happen.

[Fischbob]

The Church of St. Andrew and St. David has sold, according to the real estate agent's Facebook. No word yet on who the buyer is or what their plans are.

Part of me is surprised to see it sell so quickly, but then again the congregation did set the price quite low in order to attract a buyer. Hopefully we see a good quality adaptive reuse project come to fruition.

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by Fischbob

The Church of St. Andrew and St. David has sold, according to the real estate agent's Facebook. No word yet on who the buyer is or what their plans are.

Part of me is surprised to see it sell so quickly, but then again the congregation did set the price quite low in order to attract a buyer. Hopefully we see a good quality adaptive reuse project come to fruition.

My source says it was purchased by same person that bought old Woolworth building and they also are purchasing 222 Water St - but take with a grain of salt because a lot of BS flies around this town lol

[ricker]

Anyone heard anything lately on the Woolworth renovations? I have not noticed much going on at least on the outside?

[ColSJ]

Originally Posted by ricker

Anyone heard anything lately on the Woolworth renovations? I have not noticed much going on at least on the outside?

Phase 1 is currently underway which involves the refurbishment of the inside. Phase 2 begins early 2019 which is when work will become visible from the outside.

[ColSJ]

http://country94.ca/news/618276493/digital-health-hub-be-created-campus-unb-saint-john

90,000 square foot Digital Health Hub to be created on campus UNB Saint John

[RaginRonic]

Originally Posted by kwajo

A better view:



Material choices are really going to make or break this design. Does anyone know if the sections to the left of that image are planned to be actual copper? That would be a must IMO.

Oddly, the Market Square Museum space would close as the whole building would turn 40 years of age.

I hope they'd bring back the full food court, and the extra entrance staircase that was there before the Museum went in there.

In terms of all that extra water, I'd have that area converted into a large outdoor swimming pool with diving boards, complete with shallow and deep ends. And in winter, a huge ice skating rink, after whatever kind of indoor connections would be built to link the new Museum up to Market Square.

=B

[Franco401]

Originally Posted by RaginRonic

Oddly, the Market Square Museum space would close as the whole building would turn 40 years of age.

I hope they'd bring back the full food court, and the extra entrance staircase that was there before the Museum went in there.

In terms of all that extra water, I'd have that area converted into a large outdoor swimming pool with diving boards, complete with shallow and deep ends. And in winter, a huge ice skating rink, after whatever kind of indoor connections would be built to link the new Museum up to Market Square.

=B

The future of Market Square should be interesting.

Adding back the third floor would be a faux pas for me. The interior is very dated, and the current movement away from indoor malls (especially in dense neighbourhoods) would hurt any attempt to put more stores in Market Square. A large tenant would be great, but that space doesn't jump out to me as being especially suited to anything.

[kwajo]

http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2018.07.1045.html

CGS Canada to create up to 100 jobs in Saint John
31 July 2018
SAINT JOHN (GNB) – Computer Generated Solutions Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of CGS, is expanding operations at its office in Saint John, creating up to 100 new jobs over the next four years with support from the provincial government.

“New Brunswick’s multi-year economic growth plan focuses our efforts on creating job opportunities across the province in a variety of sectors, including the information technology sector,” said Premier Brian Gallant. “This economic opportunity is further evidence that our economic growth plan is working and that New Brunswickers offer a strong workforce which allows business to compete on an international scale.”

The company is a provider of business applications, enterprise learning and outsourcing services. It will be adding information and communication technology jobs to the Saint John site, including project managers and co-ordinators; systems, quality assurance and business analysts; instructional designers and solutions architects. In addition, some support positions will be hired in fields such as human resources, finance administration, account management and recruitment.

“We are excited to continue the expansion of the CGS workforce in Saint John,” said company president and CEO Phil Friedman. “With the availability of highly-skilled professionals in the Saint John area, we are able to further provide best-in-class services to current and future clients globally. We are confident our new investment in Saint John will serve to help strengthen our reputation in the businesses we serve.”

Opportunities NB estimates that creating these new jobs would contribute $15.2 million in GDP for the province over four years, and generate $869,000 in provincial income taxes over the same period.

To support the creation of these jobs, the company is eligible for an investment of up to $750,000 from Opportunities NB, which is a Crown corporation that works to attract and support opportunities to grow the economy and create jobs. It provides support services for businesses across New Brunswick.

The investment will be in the form of payroll rebates, which are performance based and only given to a company once it has met criteria set out in its agreement with Opportunities NB. It will receive a payroll rebate annually, based on the percentage of the salary of every job filled that meets the conditions outlined in the agreement.

Computer Generated Solutions Canada Ltd. was established in 2001 in Saint John.

CGS has their office building in the South End near Tin Can Beach, I hope they expand their facility to fill in some of the empty spaces nearby, it’ll be great for the central peninsula.

[cdnguys]

Interesting too see the diverging archetectural styles in Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John. Seems to me new builds and plans in Saint John are a hybrid of subdued modern paying homage to surrounding area and history. Moncton seems to be pushing the envelope with modern design like the 5-5 and new buildings along Mapleton. Fredericton is maybe sleek modern from what I see with plans.

Here is a fun question ~ if you combined Moncton Fredericton and Saint John into one city ~ maybe located in SJ combining their buildings and neighbourhoods spreading out for miles ~ would it be more impressive than Halifax ?