[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Scarface

I love the second option but it seems to be missing something. It might just be me personally but when fountains are siting directly on the ground it seems like it's missing a base.

The reason why the fountain is sitting level with the surrounding plaza is that the plaza is doing double duty as a semi-splash pad. There are user controllable water jets that can spurt water at random times. This feature can be turned on and off by a control panel, but adds some fun and spontaneity to the water feature. That's why there is no surrounding pool like in the current fountain.

[josh_cat_eyes]

I don't think this has been mentioned but work is well underway replacing the culverts at Jones lake and on Wheeler as well. I don't know about the other areas.

[MonctonDowntown]

I was at Heritage Court this week and much to my surprise there was quite the atrium there. Not my style but pretty impressive nonetheless. I did a Google image search and found a pic here to show you. It comes from skyscraper forum member mmmatt actually..

[Philbilly]

not sure if mention before but what going across Vaughn Harvey blvd were the storage place (train track) .lot of machinery and industrial size digging like a lot lol

[josh_cat_eyes]

Originally Posted by Philbilly

not sure if mention before but what going across Vaughn Harvey blvd were the storage place (train track) .lot of machinery and industrial size digging like a lot lol

They're replacing the Jonathan creek culvert under the tracks.

[lirette]

Looks like Moncton pizza (former alexandrias) is closing up shop (or moving locations). There's a uhaul parked in front and they are loading up all their gear.

Is it possible the high rent thats forced out Nav's is also forcing them out?

One thing I noticed that I thought was odd that RCMP were over seeing them move the equipment out. Has anyone ever seen something like that before? It may have just been a safety measure because their uhaul was parked on the sidewalk/partially on main st.

[MonctonRad]

They may not be moving. Here's a link to a video from Retail Talk & Share on Facebook showing a guy doing a major mural on the wall in there earlier this week. maybe he's just finished and they were removing the scaffolding etc.

https://www.facebook.com/rexhepidesign/videos/1140068622683011/

[FarmerTom]

I just read that it was a repo

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by FarmerTom

I just read that it was a repo

Damned auto-correct. I'm sure you meant "reno".

[Mattyyy]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Damned auto-correct. I'm sure you meant "reno".

It was definitely a repo. Couldn't help but notice the sheriff's and police standing there this afternoon while everything was removed.

[lirette]

Looks like they posted on their fb page 4 hours ago they are renovating.

Thats good to hear, it could definitely use an overhaul from the old Alexandrias to make it stand out. I'd say they are losing business to Mama's which is a much more inviting place late at night. Definitely room for 2 late night pizza joints downtown, especially as we see more vacancies filling up in the core.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by Mattyyy

It was definitely a repo. Couldn't help but notice the sheriff's and police standing there this afternoon while everything was removed.

Funny that is what I saw too. 3 officers watching all the equipment being removed..but why would they be posting on their FB page 4 hours ago they are renovating? Would someone else be able to take over a repo'd business that quickly?

[Mattyyy]

Originally Posted by lirette

Looks like they posted on their fb page 4 hours ago they are renovating.

Thats good to hear, it could definitely use an overhaul from the old Alexandrias to make it stand out. I'd say they are losing business to Mama's which is a much more inviting place late at night. Definitely room for 2 late night pizza joints downtown, especially as we see more vacancies filling up in the core.

I'm sure they did post that it is a renovation. However when the Sheriff's and police officers stand there all afternoon while a guy stands there and cross references every item that is removed with a list - it's a repo...

[emad]

From that article in the Acadie Nouvelle : http://www.acadienouvelle.com/actualites...-haute-surveillance-policiere-a-moncton/

They say it's a disagreement between business partners... So look like one partner took back all the equipment. That's maybe why their facebook page say it's a renovation if the other business partner want to re-open... Don't know anything more, just speculations

[L'homard]

Looks like half the forum was there. I happened to be there as well.
Indeed someone repo'ed a bunch of equipment. The cops were called when one of the partners raised a big stink over losing his stuff but it seemed pretty clear the law was on the repo man's side.
I guess you could call it renovations when you are suddenly forced to buy most of the stuff in your shop all over again. I seriously wonder if he'll reopen though. It would seem to be quite a blow to me but I'm not a restauranteur.

[lirette]

Cafe Diem , a new artistic cafe is opening soon @ 1035 Main St. Directly under the crowne plaza.

This is interesting since there was discussion speculating they were going to try and move all those street level tenants after the chocolate placed moved.

[pierremoncton]

Bringing this over from the retail thread.

Originally Posted by josh_cat_eyes

To be fair the Chateau Moncton and CIBC aren't really that suburban, and there was supposed to be a condo building built on Harper but that guy seems to never follow through!

At the risk of being unoriginal and preaching to the choir, I'll write this anyway:

CIBC is nothing special and feels very suburban to me: two stories, largely set back, surrounded by parking and even has a drive-thru. Then Château Moncton is on its own, enclosed by more parking and underused land. For most of the stretch that I defined, there's little or no architecture of interest, no residential properties, no restaurants with outdoor eating space, no urban presence and little pedestrian traffic; instead, there's a ton of parking, and buildings are set back; it's all dependent on car culture and doesn't feel any different from driving on Mountain Rd.

Not only do they expect that it will be a catalyst, it already is! The Sobeys Extra and 55 Queen are directly tied to the events centre. I'm looking forward to 5 years from now what the area will look like!

I expect effects, but not a massive transformation. 55 Queen was first announced 3 years ago and is a little over a kilometre away from the events centre; I know the developer announced that it was related to new centre, but I suspect (without proof) that he was encouraged to say that.

What we've currently got going for downtown is a mayor and council whose mandate is to reinvigorate the centre, and I'm hopeful for change, but rationally a bit more pessimistic that Moncton is destined to keep growing out for a long while still.

Moncton's own strategic plan (adopted a few years ago; linked below) has been aiming for only 80-100 new residential units downtown per year on average over the next 25 years. In reality, the population actually dropped between 2006 and 2011 censuses, so the first few years is spent playing catch-up. Overall, the city population increases by ~1,000 yearly, so even the city's own vision still aims for 90% of growth to occur outside downtown limits - quite lacklustre. If all goes to plan, ~2040 downtown population: ~7,500. Outside downtown: ~85,000.

Municipal plan - 2014 version: https://www.moncton.ca/Assets/Government...lish/Z-113+Municipal+Plan+March+2014.pdf

Population changes: http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recens...tic/2011-98310-001-305-013-01-00-eng.pdf

Since I'm linking plans & reports, here's more:

In 2006, the city published its Downtown Moncton Development Vision. This is an interesting read, but it's full of platitudes and none of the concrete recommendations ("10 Big Moves") have taken shape (such as pedestrians first, street reconfigurations, lots of trees [easy & cheap]). It's an exciting plan with disappointing results so far.

Downtown Vision: http://downtownmoncton.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/moncton-development-vision.pdf

From 2008, the St George Conceptual Plan - another exciting vision with disappointing results: http://downtownmoncton.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/st-george-street-conceptual-plan.pdf

In 2013, a five-year plan to improve St George was announced. Some work was done in 2014 and 2015, but there likely won't be any work this year due to Dolma burning down (improvements were planned for the north side of St George between Bonaccord & Archibald).

St George Improvements: http://downtownmoncton.com/wp-content/up...rge-Streetscape-Improvement-Document.pdf

The 2012-2016 corporate strategic plan is vague and biteless: https://www.moncton.ca/Assets/Government+English/Strategic+Plan+2012-2016.pdf

Last progress report was published in 2013: https://www.moncton.ca/Assets/Government+English/progressreport.pdf

[pierremoncton]

There's a potential development arising from the influx of refugees. The Moncton Muslim Association is located at the corner of High & Gordon, where space is apparently no longer sufficient. A bit of welcome landscaping was done to the south side this week, and they already own the boxy green house just north of their main building. Though this is third-hand information that's to be treated as purely unsubstantiated, there may be plans afoot to purchase two more adjacent properties, tear everything down next year and build an appropriate mosque. I was told they're looking at purchasing to the east (one on Gordon and one on McDougall), but the subsequent two buildings north on High St are incidentally already for sale. Either way, I live nearby and the area needs some love, so I'm cautiously optimistic about this.

[Scarface]

That's right folks it seems a group called "The Greater Moncton Paranormal Society" is trying to to stop the Castle Manor Project by claiming the building to be haunted.

Does this not make people want to go there even more? It just seems to me like a group of nut bars are trying as much as they can to stop any project that would see the original building reused. This is why I think the purchaser should have been allowed to demolish the existing building, and build a brand new condo complex that way there would be no creeks, and squeaks for people to claim as haunting noises. I know the significance, and some history to castle manor but it seems every yahoo in Moncton, and surrounding areas is trying to use that to stop this project from happening.

[pierremoncton]

Are you seriously saying that you support tearing it down because some people claim it's haunted?

Work is already in progress; nothing (especially this) is going to change that now.