The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[kwajo]

Well I was hoping for something taller on Water street, and now part of the building will be 6 floors instead of 4, so I guess my prayers have been answered (well somewhat, I'm pretty sure I prayed for 12 floors ). Now well's just have to wait and see if it turns out to be an attractive building or not. If it is, I could honestly see myself considering a condo in it when I move back to Saint John, especially if Rocca holds true to his word of having a large number of units under 200k.

[PersonPlaceorThing]

Originally Posted by kwajo

Well I was hoping for something taller on Water street, and now part of the building will be 6 floors instead of 4, so I guess my prayers have been answered (well somewhat, I'm pretty sure I prayed for 12 floors ). Now well's just have to wait and see if it turns out to be an attractive building or not. If it is, I could honestly see myself considering a condo in it when I move back to Saint John, especially if Rocca holds true to his word of having a large number of units under 200k.

Does 6 on Princess William end up being 9 on water?

[kwajo]

Not sure, but that would be nice!

If you look at the old rendering, which apparently was 4 floors high, it does appear that the floor count begins with the Prince William street level, not Water St, so it is conceivable that it could now be 8 or 9 floors from Water.

[thefishingnut]

It's very encouraging that these 2 significant projects were able to include a public consultation without it creating undue delay, resulting in something which seems a reasonable compromise and acceptable by all. Job well done all around.

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by Alberta Bound

Great news that both these projects are moving forward. I was starting to have my doubts that North of Union would proceed.

I was beginning to think North of Union was going to be delayed till the election then scrapped; it's good to see it go ahead one way or the other.

As for the Rocca condos, it's funny to hear four floors called a tower let alone six floors. But at least it'll fill up some empty land and get ppl uptown.

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by Helladog

I was beginning to think North of Union was going to be delayed till the election then scrapped; it's good to see it go ahead one way or the other.

As for the Rocca condos, it's funny to hear four floors called a tower let alone six floors. But at least it'll fill up some empty land and get ppl uptown.

Well in Uptown Saint John, 6 floors is fairly tall, wouldn't that be the tallest new structure since the Mercantile Centre? Even more so if it is being measured as 6 floors from the Prince William street-level.

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by kwajo

Well in Uptown Saint John, 6 floors is fairly tall, wouldn't that be the tallest new structure since the Mercantile Centre? Even more so if it is being measured as 6 floors from the Prince William street-level.

It was originally going to be ten, then I was under the impression it was down to seven along Water Street with parking which would be four along Prince William. So now it's six on PW, that is good. I know parking is supposed to take 2-3 floors so it must be 8-9 on Water St.

Like this:

[Helladog]

With all of the new projects comes the potential for some density and height. Nothing huge, but there's a possibility of one-two North of Union, three at the Coast guard site, Ellerdale Investments has both the Water street condos and has hinted on a hirise on the east side if the refinery goes ahead, a hotel off the highway, Irving HQ, and Three towers at Port Duffern. I'm not sure what the City Rd apts will look like.

That makes a potential of 12-14 mid/hi rise buildings in the near future if all of them are a go...

[Helladog]

Projects near and dear

Published Saturday March 29th, 2008
Appeared on page B5


The following is a list of 11 major public projects in Saint John either underway or slated to begin soon. They are listed in order of expected cost.

Water filtration plants (safe, clean drinking water)

Estimated cost: $135.8 million.

Cost structure: Unknown. Council is studying the possibility of partial privatization. City's portion would come from water bills.

Size: Even larger than harbour cleanup (and doesn't include maintenance and reconstruction of the pipe system itself).

Construction: City staff estimate construction, once started, will take between 18 and 24 months.

Details: Project is essentially mandatory; without it, Saint John will not meet Canadian drinking water standards.

Harbour Cleanup

Estimated cost: $88 million.

Cost structure: Spread evenly between city's water utility, province, and Ottawa.

Size: Billed as the largest public infrastructure project in Saint John history.

Construction: Began in earnest last year, slated for completion in 2011.

Details: The key is the Eastern Wastewater Treatment Facility, at a cost of $46 million; by end of project, 100 per cent of Saint John's sewage will be treated

Provincial Justice Complex

Estimated cost: $47 million.

Cost structure: Public-private partnership. A private developer will construct, own, and operate the new facility, then lease it back to the province.

Size: 130,000 square feet.

Construction: Razing began in January; to open by September 2010.

Details: amalgamates three courthouses in Saint John and two rural courthouses; includes 13 courtrooms and office space for the judiciary, court services, public prosecutions, the Barristers Society, sheriff services, Public Safety, and policing; will keep accused, judiciary, and public separate.

One-Mile Interchange

Estimated cost: $43.5 million.

Cost structure: Split 50/50 between the federal and provincial governments.

Size: Described as one of the biggest engineering projects Saint John has ever seen.

Construction: Part of the province's 2008-09 budget; expected to be completed in four years.

Details: Overpass will off-load traffic from Highway 1 to near Russell Street on the east side; Trucks will no longer need to drive uptown, improving the flow of goods, making the uptown more pleasant, and taking stress off Saint John's streets.

North of Union parking garage and public space

Estimated cost: $33 million, including $18 million for the parking garage.

Cost structure: Unknown, could be a public-private partnership; city and province will likely share costs of parking garage; city expects its final share to be $41.65 million.

Size: Estimates about the number of parking spaces needed for the development are between 400 and 500; proponents have promised a structure that will blend in with its surroundings.

Construction: Police station in development is slated to be open by September 2010.

Details: a 2006 study said the city needed to build four multi-million dollar parking garages in the uptown over the next 15 years.

Saint John Regional Hospital expansion

Estimated cost: $30-million-plus.

Cost structure: $30 million from province, as well as an unspecified amount from Ottawa.

Size: ER expanding from 16,800 square feet to 27,000 square feet.

Construction: Starts in 2008 and lasts three years; oncology department, which treats cancer, needs completion by spring next year to be eligible for federal funding.

Details: Emergency expansion was top recommendation of a coroner's jury in 2006; Oncology expansion will create more space to provide radiation treatment for patients.

Saint John Police Force Headquarters

Estimated cost: $22.15 million.

Cost structure: Unknown, could be fully funded by the city, or partially privatized; some cost sharing with province on holding cells and tunnel connecting to provincial justice building.

Size: 70,000 square feet.

Construction: To begin in April, 2009, and open in Sept., 2010.

Details: includes environmentally friendly shooting range and easy-to-access public area; connects underground with justice complex.

Saint John Transit Operations Centre

Estimated cost: $22 million.

Cost structure: City $14 million, federal government, $8.1 million.

Size: 115,000 square feet.

Construction: Began in March.

Estimated completion: May 2009.

Details: Room for 64 buses; will meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards; should last 50 years.

Saint John Energy headquarters

Estimated cost: $10 million.

Cost structure: Paid for by Saint John Energy, an independent city utility, money comes from power bills.

Size: 75,000 square feet.

Construction: Official groundbreaking was last April; employees to be completely moved west by June.

Details: CEO has said building will be more energy efficient, better located, and will eliminate the need for satellite storage.

Cruise Ship Welcome Centre

Estimated cost: $8.7 million.

Cost structure: Saint John Port Authority.

Size: 24,000 square feet.

Construction: Began this winter, scheduled to open in August.

Details: Two-storey brick building will include an information booth with an interpretation centre focusing on the Bay of Fundy.

Canada Games Stadium refurbishment

Estimated cost: $3.5 million.

Cost structure: $1 million from city, $600,000 from Brunswick Pipeline, $500,000 from university; waiting for $1 million commitment from province.

Size: Refurbishment seen as better option than building new stadium from scratch at cost of $15 to $17 million.

Construction: Waiting on money from the province; slated to be completed in 2009.

Details: includes an artificial turf field, synthetic track, grandstand renovations, new dressing rooms, an equipment storage building, lighting, and a natural turf field.

[random11]

TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
Published Saturday March 29th, 2008
Appeared on page B6
SAINT JOHN - The construction of a seniors' complex at the corner of Millennium and Donlyn drives by Shannex, a Halifax-based company, has fallen by the wayside.

The company's application to have Donlyn Road rezoned and building-height restrictions relaxed faced too much opposition from residents and the company is withdrawing it, said Jason Shannon, chief operating officer with Shannex.

"Unfortunately, we are unable to adequately address the concerns of local citizens and maintain a successful and viable development on the original site," Shannon said, in a press release. The location will now be changed to a "nearby piece of land", according to the company.

Property owners were concerned about the structure being too high and casting a shadow over their properties. The company said it tried to redesign the structure, but was unable to make it agreeable to residents and viable for the company.

"It became clear that the neighbhourhood felt the development was incompatible with their vision for how the property should be developed," Shannon said. "We respect their opinion and therefore have decided to withdraw our application.

The development will now be constructed at the corners of Millenium Drive and Gondola Point Arterial in Quispamsis. The town's planning and advisory committee has recommended to council the rezoning of the land so the development can move ahead.

[random11]

JOHN MAZEROLLE
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
Published Saturday March 29th, 2008
Appeared on page B1
SAINT JOHN - If you're a city taxpayer, you're spending a lot during this economic boom, whether you know it or not.

The Port City's bid to become a so-called 'energy hub' has had nuclear plants, natural gas, and oil refineries at the centre of it all. But look around the hub and one realizes it's also an incredibly busy time for public projects in the city - so much so that political scientist Geoff Martin of Mount Allison University chuckled in amusement when the government spending was laid out for him.

Eighty-eight million dollars for harbour cleanup. More than $100 million for clean drinking water. Almost $100 million on the police-justice complex. New homes for Saint John Transit ($22 million) and Saint John Energy ($10 million). The One Mile interchange ($43.5 million). Add to that the Saint John Regional Hospital expansion ($30 million or more), the Cruise Ship Welcome Centre ($8.7 million), or even small potatoes like the Canada Games Stadium refurbishment ($3.5 million).

Total price tag: At least $400 million. And that doesn't include day-to-day concerns like roads and highways, or needs that have yet to come before council, such as a competitive and refurbished Trade and Convention Centre.

"This is a discussion that the whole community has to get involved in," Martin said, noting that the large number of municipal files in the list and their possible effect on the tax rate could easily become a municipal election issue this May. In fact, a few incumbent candidates, such as Coun. Stephen Chase and Deputy Mayor Michelle Hooton, have made noises about changing the way the city does business.

"Maybe there's a few items that can wait just a few years," Martin said.

City manager Terry Totten doesn't know if this is the busiest time in the city's history, but he's sure it's the busiest time since the boom in the mid-1980s spurred on by a strong economy and the recreation facilities needed for the 1985 Canada Games. "Circumstances are such that everything is coming together at the same time," he said recently in an interview.

The city and its water utility have a large number of projects on the go at once - three separate north of Union components (police, parking, public space), huge water and wastewater improvements, the transit headquarters, and the Canada Games refurbishment, plus other, smaller-ticket items. The city's long-term projections has it borrowing as much as $221 million from the beginning of this year to the end of 2012.

Totten rejects any notion that the glut of files is the result of poor planning: He stresses the necessity of the projects, the economic spin-offs the city hopes to gain from them, and the lack of funds available through most of the 1990s and the first part of this decade. "We just do not have a choice," he said, referring specifically to water spending. "We are long overdue."

Many of the projects, municipal or otherwise, are considered long overdue: Removing the raw sewage from the harbour was the number one priority of both the public and the current council; each of the new buildings is replacing an old building or buildings that officials consider woefully inadequate; and the Canada Games Stadium refurbishment is meant to save the city from constructing a new facility that would cost $15 million or more.

Yet concerns remain.

Totten says there's always a risk that with so many projects on the go that a legal document or transaction could be done improperly in haste, and city treasurer Greg Yeomans warns council about worst-case scenarios concerning the tax rate - a possible three cents for the police-justice complex alone, which could cost individual homeowners in the range of $25 to $60 or more a year, depending on the value of their property.

Said Totten: "Significant public investment is ultimately paid by taxpayers, whether by tax rate or (increases) in assessments," he said.

The next council may have more on the go than the councils that dealt with tough times, but their decisions about spending, the tax rate, and where to cut will not be any easier.

"I don't think it's easy one way or the other," Yeomans said.

[random11]

[QUOTE=Helladog;3448237]Projects near and dear

Published Saturday March 29th, 2008
Appeared on page B5


Am I the only person who thinks the new Transit building looks cool?!? I really like the look of this thing and it's fantastic to see it become a reality - To me, it reminds me of an Airport Terminal, lol - but it still looks sharp

[Alberta Bound]

Originally Posted by random11

JOHN MAZEROLLE
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
Published Saturday March 29th, 2008
Appeared on page B1
SAINT JOHN - If you're a city taxpayer, you're spending a lot during this economic boom, whether you know it or not.

I am a city tax payer and I know enough that his accounting is suspect. Alot of the funding for those projects is coming from federal and provincial sources. More worthless crap from the TJ.

That aside, the amount of tax dollars property owners in NB pay relative to the property value is very high. The whole system needs to be redesigned in my opinion.

[Helladog]

FULL SPEED AHEAD



Published Saturday March 29th, 2008
Appeared on page b7

A worker from Summit Steel Fabricators welds the steel frame on the new Royal Bank of Canada building on the Hampton Road in Rothesay. Workers hope to have the base building completed by the first of May, weather permitting.

[Helladog]

[automated Medical Lab Fully Operational]

The Saint John Regional Hospital's Fully Automated Medical Laboratory Is Now Up And Running--making It The First Operational Automated System In The Maritimes. The Modular Pre-analytics System Will Spin Samples In A Centrifuge, Seperate Them, Barcode Them And Transfer The Samples To Other Equipment To Complete Tests. This Allows Limited Technical Personnel To Perform Other Tasks.

The Robotic Technology By Roch Diagnositics Is Expected To Handle More Than 200 Thousand Specimens Each Year.

[Seely32]

[QUOTE=random11;3448394]

Originally Posted by Helladog

Projects near and dear

Published Saturday March 29th, 2008
Appeared on page B5


Am I the only person who thinks the new Transit building looks cool?!? I really like the look of this thing and it's fantastic to see it become a reality - To me, it reminds me of an Airport Terminal, lol - but it still looks sharp

I actually love this rendering and it will be quite visible from across town at this size it should out shadow the loch lomond mall.

[PostModernPrometheus]

Originally Posted by kwajo

Well in Uptown Saint John, 6 floors is fairly tall, wouldn't that be the tallest new structure since the Mercantile Centre? Even more so if it is being measured as 6 floors from the Prince William street-level.

6 stories (or 8 from the water st aspect) sounds MORE than reasonable in terms of height for this part of town . . . keep in mind the height of the buildings nearby (the high school, up and coming cruise terminal, etc). . . anything much taller than 6-8 stories would stick out . . . save the high rises for the coast guard site / north of union development. . .

[PostModernPrometheus]

[QUOTE=random11;3448394]

Originally Posted by Helladog

Projects near and dear

Published Saturday March 29th, 2008
Appeared on page B5


Am I the only person who thinks the new Transit building looks cool?!? I really like the look of this thing and it's fantastic to see it become a reality - To me, it reminds me of an Airport Terminal, lol - but it still looks sharp

it catually looks a lot like the St. John's aiport terminal.....

You'd never guess it housed city transit operations just by looking at it....

[Helladog]

[QUOTE=PostModernPrometheus;3450189]

Originally Posted by random11

it catually looks a lot like the St. John's aiport terminal.....

You'd never guess it housed city transit operations just by looking at it....

Saint John Transit: Now offering daily flights between Uptown and the East side...

[Alberta Bound]

PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS ON TIDAL ENERGY PROJECTS
From CHSJ NEWS
11:10:55

HAVING THE HIGHEST TIDES IN THE WORLD MAKES TIDAL ENERGY PROJECTS SEEM LIKE A NATURAL CHOICE FOR THE PROVINCE--- AND THAT WILL BE THE TOPIC ON TAP LATER THIS WEEK WHEN THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT HOLDS A COMMUNITY CONSULTATION IN THE CITY ON TIDAL ENERGY.

THE CONSULTATIONS WILL BE DONE BY THE BAY OF FUNDY ECOSYSTEM PARTNERSHIP WHO WILL WRITE THE FINAL STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE PROVINCE. THE SAINT JOHN STOP IS SCHEDULED FOR APRIL THIRD AT BAYSIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL.

In New Brunswick, three general locations have been identified for potential development: Fundy Isles, upper Bay of Fundy and in the Saint John River below Reversing Falls.

Upper Bay of Fundy could potentially provide the most power (216 MW at Cape Enrage) but Saint John was also singled out because the project would be highly visible (such as adjacent to Harbour Passage along Chesley Drive) and serve to show case NB's green energy initiative to the public.