[Saint John] Uptown Thread

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by ColSJ

Grabbing this article from the 99 King thread as there are mentions of the uptown area in general.

https://huddle.today/2022/10/04/changing...n-for-old-woolworths-site-in-saint-john/

Office space is being swapped for residential units which will bring the total # of units to around 110. That's a lot of people who will be living on the top of King. The ground floor will remain commercial and Percy is consistent that he wants a grocery store on this spot.

He mentions the new k-8 school that's coming and how that will attract families into the core.

This snippet caught my attention... "He has a hopeful vision for a vibrant Saint John core and is confident his developments both at King St. and whatever projects lie ahead in the future, can be a part of that."

... a clear hint Percy will not be finished after 99 King is complete.

I think that's a smart move especially with the amount of work from home jobs out there. I'd rather see people living in 99 king then 3/4 empty office spaces on a lot of the floors.

[Itme]

Anyone know when we will find out what’s happening with the barbours general store?

[MonctonRad]

Found on CCD Canada:

KALEIDOSCOPE SOCIAL IMPACT, ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTRE

CCD Ref. Number : NB167499-22-09

Stage : 3-Planning or drawing

Published : September 15, 2022

Starting Date (estimated) : Not available

Size : Small ($637,000)

Work type : Renovation / Alterations / Modernization

Sector : Private

Category : 2-Commercial

Subcategories : 2F-Recreation & Entertainment

Disciplines : ARCH, ELEC, EQUI, HVAC, MEC-B, STRUC, OTHER*

Location :

SAINT JOHN (NB)
(Saint John - St. Stephen)

Description :
CREATIVE FACILITY FIT-UP -
Located in Saint John, 58 Broad St., this project (Kaleidoscope Social Impact, Entrepreneurship Centre) estimated at $637 000 is in the planning stage. It is slated to be completed in December 2023. Works concern the conversion of a religious building into a creative facility.

- Initiator: INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS

Do you guys know anything about this???

[JHikka]

58 Broad St is the former Church of St. John the Baptist. There was a proposal to convert it into a climbing gym last year which fell through this spring due to design challenges. Kaleidoscope provides working space for social impact...I think they're on or around Prince Edward but i'm not 100% certain.

[ColSJ]

A 30-36 unit affordable housing building is planned for the land behind the church as part of the project.

[gtsoc]

The owners of Rocky's Sports Bar have taken over the former HSBC location on the first level of 7 Market Square and will be opening up a new establishment separate from the sports bar.

[UptownJeff]

Originally Posted by gtsoc

The owners of Rocky's Sports Bar have taken over the former HSBC location on the first level of 7 Market Square and will be opening up a new establishment separate from the sports bar.

That's great news - it's been vacant for a long time and I was wondering what was going on as they have put their signage in the windows on that level. Anyone know what type of restaurant?

[ColSJ]

Two articles in the TJ in the past day on provincial projects in the uptown area...

NB Museum leaving Market Square
https://tj.news/greater-saint-john/101992916

a new [NBM Boutique shop] uptown Saint John location will be announced in the coming weeks and will be open for the holidays. Taylor said a permanent
exhibition and collections facility is expected to be constructed in the Saint John area. Earlier this year the museum received $8.4 million for the planning
phase of its revitalization project. Taylor said they continue to put in the required time to plan the project well.

Location for new school to be revealed this winter
https://tj.news/greater-saint-john/101990780

The city manager said a few weeks ago they had narrowed the site selection down to 2. In the last budget, the province allocated $2.2 million to acquire land.

It's estimated the total project will cost $32 million.

According to Saint John Harbor MLA Arlene Dunn, the announcement will be part of the 2023-2024 capital budget.

[DyAm00394]

NB Museum Prepares To Leave Market Square

"The New Brunswick Museum’s Exhibition Centre at Market Square in Saint John will close its doors for good within the next two weeks.

The Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture made the announcement in a statement on Friday.

“The lack of climate controls and arrangement of the space has greatly limited what could be displayed to the public,” said communications director Mark Taylor.

An interim Collections and Research Centre is being prepared to house the museum’s collections and research activities while a permanent Exhibition and Collections facility is constructed in the Saint John area, he said.

The temporary facility is expected to open by appointment sometime next year. Until then, all collections will be curated in its existing facilities under the supervision of highly qualified professional curators and conservators.

Delilah, the 13-metre-long North Atlantic right whale artifact, is being moved to the Huntsman Marine Centre in Saint Andrews where it will stay temporarily.

Meanwhile, Taylor said the province is “getting closer” to making announcements about the future location of the New Brunswick Museum.

Details will be shared once they have been finalized with the long-term revitalization plan, he said.

Earlier this year, more than $8 million in funding was announced to support the planning phase of the New Brunswick Museum revitalization project.

The government plans to “put in the required time to plan the project well,” said Taylor.

In the meantime, Market Square’s museum gift shop will close in November before a new location in uptown Saint John is added for the holiday season.

The museum’s online store will stay open, and the AREA 506 Container Village location will remain open until November 6".

https://www.country94.ca/2022/10/22/nb-museum-prepares-to-leave-market-square/

[NewIreland]

Wouldn't the area in green be the most logical site to build a new school?

[ColSJ]

Originally Posted by NewIreland

Wouldn't the area in green be the most logical site to build a new school?

I’ve always thought the same myself.

A while ago some residents on St. James Street between Sydney and Charlotte posted they received letters from the province regarding the new school. I don’t know exactly what it said but it’s my understanding they were asking if they’d be interested in selling. I haven’t heard of any other street receiving these letters but if they went with the block you mentioned there would be minimal amount of property owners they’d have to go through and could avoid demolishing any residential buildings.

Green space is a huge aspect of this project I’m told so the St. James site really ticks that box with the neighbouring Rainbow Park.

[adamuptownsj]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

Not sure if this is the right place to post, but there's some interesting tax sale properties that have gone neglected for years up in October, including one with a good piece of vacant land. Something to watch re: future small scale development...

295-305 Charlotte Street (corner of Charlotte/St. James, beat up duplex and vacant lot near proposed school location)

259-261 Germain Street (corner of Germain/Queen, brick 4plex)

259 Duke Street (near Duke/Wentworth, vinyl triplex)

97 Hazen Street (halfway between St Joe's and Garden, brick, no idea if it's a SFH or duplex/triplex)

Assuming Charlotte is a teardown and new build, that's 8-10 refurb units that could come online by this time next year. They add up!

295-305 Charlotte ended up selling for roughly $70,000, 259 Duke for $80,000, and I picked up 97 Hazen for a steal at $40,000 (it will be a duplex). 259 Germain was sold privately before the tax sale. Presuming the 2-unit on Charlotte is demolished for a bigger project or consolidated into Victor Train's block, 9 new units for a net seven units. Good to see a lot of interest in uptown, deep south, Queen Square, and Waterloo Village vacant properties alike.

There were quite a few Old North End lots (Main and Victoria mostly) that went for mid four figures or didn't sell at all. I remain very surprised at how cheap land acquisition is there and expect a minor north end renaissance if trends continue. There aren't even that many vacants around there these days, location is extremely central, and the city would green light almost anything (low income, condos, SFH, live/work, etc) a developer would want to build.

[ColSJ]

To add to the list of smaller projects:

276-278 Prince William has been gutted and they are completely replacing portions of the brick facade.

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by ColSJ

To add to the list of smaller projects:

276-278 Prince William has been gutted and they are completely replacing portions of the brick facade.

I was afraid they were tearing it down at one point - back was basically removed. Excited to see final project.

[DyAm00394]

‘It just used to be booming’: Another business leaves Brunswick Square

"The tables at the once vibrant food court in Brunswick Square were empty Wednesday morning. In recent years, one by one, businesses have left the mall in Uptown Saint John, and now another one of those businesses – Pizza Hut – is on the move.

Tourism from cruise ships plus the busy lunch rush by students of a nearby school have helped keep Brunswick Square afloat. The building housed more than 60 businesses in 2012, but that number is now somewhere in the low 20s, with nearly 40 storefronts vacant in the mall.

In a statement to Global News, the owner-operator said they’ve been working with the City of Saint John to revitalize the space.

“We have generated positive leasing momentum at Brunswick Square: ARC Clean Energy expanded its presence within Brunswick Square; we welcomed Envision Saint John, the economic development entity dedicated to propelling growth for the Greater Saint John region, as a tenant in Brunswick Square; we finalized leasing terms with Let’s Hummus Food Inc. to move into a retail unit within the mall; and in June, Cooke Aquaculture moved into 11,000 square feet of space in the Brunswick Square Office Tower,” said Karolina Kmiecik from Slate Asset Management.

“We remain encouraged by the reopening momentum we’ve seen in the region to date – utilization rates are up, and many businesses are opening their doors once again.”

Former City of Saint John Mayor Don Darling posted to Twitter saying Brunswick Square had felt “neglect” and that Slate hasn’t followed up with the City of Saint John.

Slate noted in a news release on Oct. 25 that it has launched a comprehensive review of “strategic alternatives” and that they’ll look to other partners during the review. They also said a special committee will look into “acquisitions, divestments (and) corporate transaction.”

Retail analyst Bruce Winder said that many malls across Canada have already started to see changes, one of the biggest being the West Edmonton Mall, which has added a car dealership to the retail space.

“Malls have changed, the tenants have changed. It used to be stores, and there are still stores, but there are all kinds of services, including dentists, tutoring, massage and wellness. Some malls are looking at that space and saying, ‘Hey, lets put in car detailing.'”

He said that many stores shifted to e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic and then switched back to the hybrid model we see today.

Outside Brunswick Square, students who went to the mall for a slice of pizza contemplated where they would go next week after Pizza Hut closes its doors for good this weekend.

Many students said that since McDonald’s left nearly two years ago, the mall hasn’t been the same, and they’re quickly running out of options for a place to get a bite to eat during lunchtime.

Longtime shoppers used the word “sad” or “depressing” when describing what the inside of the mall looks like now.

Pizza Hut Manager Cindy Lockhart said she’s looking forward to opening their new location on Rothesay Avenue, but, the tenant since 1987 said that a lot has changed over the years at the mall and that she will carry memories of the thousands she served over the years".

https://globalnews.ca/news/9228446/brunswick-square-vacancy-pizza-hut-leaving/


Mentioned in the video clip of this story, but not in the article write up, is apparently Slate Asset Management is investing $20,000,000 into Brunswick Square and will continue to invest into businesses opening throughout the mall.

[JakeNB]

Not a good week for Uptown with the Museum packing up and Pizza Hut closing. Market Square and Brunswick Square need serious attention from our political and business leaders.

[ColSJ]

Originally Posted by JakeNB

Not a good week for Uptown with the Museum packing up and Pizza Hut closing. Market Square and Brunswick Square need serious attention from our political and business leaders.

I think these both present new opportunities. The NB museum in market square was never what it deserved. Small cramped dark space in a mall is just embarrassing. Plus loads of artifacts weren’t even on display because there simply wasn’t any room. If the province pulls through on a new location (hopefully uptown) it will be a win in the long run.

As for Brunswick Square as more and more businesses leave more pressure is mounted on Slate to do something.

[JakeNB]

I would love to see a new Museum uptown. But sadly I doubt that will happen and the operation will be shoehorned into Douglas Ave. My concern for Market Sq is what will happen to the Museum space. Having that facility underutilized as well as Brunswick Sq. Is not positive for the uptown.

[UptownJeff]

As I see it, a museum is essentially a warehouse. I would hate to see the entire museum uptown or on the waterfront. What I hope for is a storage and research facility somewhere practical outside the core with a dynamic and fluid exhibition space uptown. Exhibits could be changed regularly and would attract tourists and locals alike. I would also like to see Douglas Ave restored but I’m not sure having 3 locations is practical.

[darkharbour]

At least Douglas Avenue is still with 10-15 walk of the uptown business core along a beautiful landscaped harbour walk, we could do a lot worse than a $100+ million investment in culture that close to the core.