[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[josh_cat_eyes]

I drove by the new condo building on Victoria today, it looks really good. It’s a shame that it basically has no street frontage. The building would have been a welcome addition to any street in downtown.
I also drove up Canada towards Main Street. I think that the new Hyatt place hotel, while still being a bit small, actually compliments the Dominion building rather nicely height wise. Coming up from the subway also makes it feel taller than it actually is. Just a couple observations.

[OUIR@random]

The Hilton Garden Inn is integrated much better with its surroundings than the Hyatt Place. The Hyatt should have been an 8 story building at least and underground parking, this was prime, prime, prime land for the future (next 25 years). This should have been protected by the municipal plan and or zoning by-law; No ifs ands or buts about it. The scale, proportion, size, height, setback, density and on and on and on of the Hyatt Place is all wrong for this intersection; Main and Canada. People don't like the Crowne Plaza for several reasons mostly because it doesn't look trendy or looks tired, but it "fits" there (Highfield and Main) for all the reasons that the Hyatt doesn't.
As for the Hilton property, just look at the perspective, height and setback from the Dominion building and the continuation of the height with the new Hilton, it's very cohesive.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

The Hilton Garden Inn is integrated much better with its surroundings than the Hyatt Place. The Hyatt should have been an 8 story building at least and underground parking, this was prime, prime, prime land for the future (next 25 years). This should have been protected by the municipal plan and or zoning by-law; No ifs ands or buts about it. The scale, proportion, size, height, setback, density and on and on and on of the Hyatt Place is all wrong for this intersection; Main and Canada. People don't like the Crowne Plaza for several reasons mostly because it doesn't look trendy or looks tired, but it "fits" there (Highfield and Main) for all the reasons that the Hyatt doesn't.
As for the Hilton property, just look at the perspective, height and setback from the Dominion building and the continuation of the height and with the new Hilton, it's very cohesive.

As I said in a previous post, the more I look at the Hyatt the more I realize that it should have been much taller. It's one of the most prime locations downtown, and we really missed the boat.

Talking about the Crowne Plaza, the billionaire Aquilini family purchased that whole block several years ago. When I look at their website, I drool over some of the developments they've done. I would really like to see them pull the trigger and do something in Moncton. That frontage along Main Street where Reid's is is very dated and drastically underdeveloped. I'm sure they didn't acquire that whole block for nothing. Will we ever see it developed? Has the city even reached out and talked to them lately?

[MonctonRad]

And this is the plan for Main Street downtown this summer, up until the end of October.

Stay tuned for a major shift in traffic flow on Main Street later this month! In support of downtown restaurants wishing to increase their seating capacity for their sidewalk patio, now limited to respect physical distancing guidelines, City Council has just done its first reading of the by-law amendment required to turn a section of Main Street (between Botsford and Lutz) into a one-way (westbound) temporarily. ������������♂️ A bidirectional bike lane will also be added! Details coming soon!

I am not a big fan of this, as Main Street is the principal cross town route through the downtown core. I know for a fact that personally, this will make me travel downtown less, not more. I imagine I am not alone in this opinion.

Nevertheless, I am not unsympathetic to the plight of downtown restaurant and bar owners who want increased patio space during the times of COVID, and I am grudgingly prepared to accept this proposal on a ONE TME PROVISIONAL BASIS. If this pops up again next summer, I will be most displeased.........

[Sunnybrae]

As for myself, I have no problem with this. I have always avoided Main St. as a cross town commute in the summer. I find it slower than other routes because of pedestrians, buses and people "cruising" in fancy cars. Lots of other options.

[jonny golden]

Does anybody know if Ashford has plans to start any of their proposed developments this summer? I was thinking about the Paramount Theater property, or the one on Highfield & Gordon? It would be great to see either one of these projects get going, or better yet both of them.

[MonctonRad]

From the June PAC agenda:

Amico Construction on behalf of/au nom de 647290 NB Inc., 79 rue Cameron Street, Moncton (PID/NID 70556113) variances to (1) locate the driveway within 3 metres of the side and rear lot line; (2) not provide a public entrance facing a street (west façade - Cameron Street); (3) increase the permitted maximum height of the building within ten metres of a street from 13 meters to 15.42 meters; (4) reduce the flankage yard setback from 2 meters to 1.38 meters for a residential use located at grade to construct a 32 unit building

Location map:


Site plan:


Rendering:


Opinion - reasonable infill on a small lot. Could be worse.

[jonny golden]

I'd also like to see the redevelopment of 100 Cameron St. get off the ground. The former home of McKenzie College was slated for an approximately $10-million building project that would see it expanded and turned into a residential offering. Another project that would bring more people downtown, and it would also be within walking distance to the Avenir center.

[C_Boy]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

From the June PAC agenda:

Rendering:


Opinion - reasonable infill on a small lot. Could be worse.

I see Spitfire has made drastic design changes from their other work.

[MonctonRad]

I meant to post this the other day, but it slipped my mind.

Riverfront Trail, between Bendview Court and 54 Assomption Boulevard (Premiere Suites), will be closed to pedestrian and bicyclist activity starting on Monday, June 8, 2020 for a period of two to three weeks. The closure is necessary to allow for the application of a protective layer of riprap on the existing Petitcodiac River bank.

[jonny golden]

Signage is now up for the MacGillivery Law office at 840 Main St. Good to see this new building in the city core finally occupied. A few more downtown workers added to the Main Street mix.

[MonctonRad]

From Mayor Dawn Arnold's update on city council proceedings:

(We) awarded a tender for site preparation on Albert Street for the new RCMP facility (MacDonald Paving & Construction = $1,093,985).

So, things are going to start moving on the new RCMP headquarters.

[flyer99]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

Does anybody know if Ashford has plans to start any of their proposed developments this summer? I was thinking about the Paramount Theater property, or the one on Highfield & Gordon? It would be great to see either one of these projects get going, or better yet both of them.

Quite a few construction types were walking around the Highfield and Gordon property on Monday and pointing out various areas on the property.

Today (Tuesday) I noticed there is a fence erected around the entire parcel of land. Something must be going to happen there soon.

[MonctonRad]

Indeed. I noticed the construction fencing this evening too. This is strong evidence that this will indeed be Ashford's new project this year.

[flyer99]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Indeed. I noticed the construction fencing this evening too. This is strong evidence that this will indeed be Ashford's new project this year.

The windows, balconies and exterior materials look identical to the building at 170 Victoria. I wonder if the designer is the same.

Also, any clues as to how many units, parking, amenities, etc or is it too early for that? I wonder if Amico will be the general on this. They sure have been busy lately.

[MonctonRad]

Six floors, 65 units, enclosed parking on two levels (basement and 1/2 of the ground floor level), remainder of the ground floor will be lobby space and two CRUs, same designer as the Victoria Street Apartments (Spitfire).

[MonctonRad]

Interesting tidbit on Retail Talk & Share - it was noted that the other Ashford development site at the old O2 building on Westmorland Street is now enclosed by two separate sets of construction fencing, one for Acadian Construction, and the other one for Avondale Construction. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to deduce that there must be two different projects planned for this land assembly. Since the fencing is now up, I think we can presume some action here later this summer too. If so, I wonder how the partial street closure on Main Street will affect these projects...........

[jonny golden]

Would the one closest to Main Street (Avondale) be a building that would include that remaining portion that they didn't demolish? I hope not, it's a real eyesore on Main Street. When they're ready to proceed, I think it would be better to tear down that old sports bar and replace it with something modern, incorporating it into the new build.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by flyer99

The windows, balconies and exterior materials look identical to the building at 170 Victoria. I wonder if the designer is the same.

Also, any clues as to how many units, parking, amenities, etc or is it too early for that? I wonder if Amico will be the general on this. They sure have been busy lately.

According to a post on Retail Talk & Share, Ashford will be tearing down one more house to make way for this project.

[MonctonRad]

Hilton Garden Inn - current status:





The hotel exterior is now virtually complete, and they are progressing towards sidewalk reconstruction, basic landscaping, and the creation of the outdoor patio for the hotel restaurant.