The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[Jimmy]

hi, been lurking for a while, but first post...

Curious if anyone has any info on the rumored Sobey's going up on Harrisville Blvd.?

There's been a little work done at the site, but no signage indicating a Sobey's or anything else.

Thanks! Jim

[ErickMontreal]

Busy month of November

Dieppe – The building sector was once again active in the City of Dieppe for the month of November, with the issuance of 33 building permits with a value of $2,036,262 according to statistics released from the municipality`s Building Inspection Department.

The municipality issued 12 permits in the residential sector with a value of $1.1 million and 8 in the commercial sector worth approximately $800,000.

The total for the first 11 months of the year is $77.2 million compared to $71.1 million for the same period in 2007, an extremely busy year in Dieppe.

“With these figures in hand, it is obvious that our growth continues to the benefit of our residents”, said Mayor Jean LeBlanc.

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by Jimmy

hi, been lurking for a while, but first post...

Curious if anyone has any info on the rumored Sobey's going up on Harrisville Blvd.?

There's been a little work done at the site, but no signage indicating a Sobey's or anything else.

Thanks! Jim

Welcome to the forums, Jimmy!

They were clearing land and putting in utilities along Harrisville and the Veterans Highway this summer. I don't think there's a firm date yet, but I would expect in the next year or two we'll see an announcement. The rate that end of town is growing, they'll need one soon enough.

[mmmatt]

Originally Posted by Jimmy

hi, been lurking for a while, but first post...

Curious if anyone has any info on the rumored Sobey's going up on Harrisville Blvd.?

There's been a little work done at the site, but no signage indicating a Sobey's or anything else.

Thanks! Jim

Hi Jim! Welcome to the forum

Like Myles said there has been no offical announcement as of yet, but I would expect to see one soon as well. Sobeys seems to be on the ball right now with opening new stores.

[mmmatt]

Employment on the rise in Moncton

Total Employment in Atlantic Canadian CMAs 2007-2008 (in thousands)

CMA---------Sept. 2007----Sept. 2008----Change

Halifax----------211.0--------209.4---------- - 0.8 %
St. Johns-------98.7---------101.6---------- + 2.9 %
Moncton--------73.8---------74.1----------- + 0.4 %
Saint John------67.5---------64.6----------- - 4.3 %


Data sources:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/081127/t081127d1-eng.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/071128/t071128d-eng.htm

[C_Boy]

Originally Posted by Jimmy

hi, been lurking for a while, but first post...

Thanks! Jim

Welcome to the forum Jimmy! Always good to have more peeps!

[MonctonRad]

Sales good, customers upbeat: Metro retailers
Published Friday December 5th, 2008

Local stores says it's 'business as usual' as holiday rush kicks into high gear
By Cole Hobson
Times & Transcript Staff

If you listen to forecasts of North America's economic future, it's a picture of gloom and doom.

If you listen to retailers in Metro Moncton, many are reporting that it's still business as usual this holiday season, despite fears over economic turmoil.

"Customers aren't down, they're happy and I find that traffic is more so than last year," said Barb Hambrook, store manager of Bowring in the Trinity Power Centre. "I think everybody is still happy-go-lucky and still spending and having a great time. There are definitely lots of sales." Heath Applebaum, a spokesman for retail-giant Champlain Place, says they remain "quite optimistic" about the holiday season.

"Based on our latest data, both the number of visitors and retail sales have increased compared to this time last year," he said, noting the number of visitors to the mall has increased by more than two per cent and sales from October were up three per cent as compared to last year. It's certainly an extremely important time of the year for retailers as well. Applebaum estimates that November and December sales at Champlain Place accounted for 26 per cent of the entire year's sales in 2007.

Amanda Wood, assistant manager of Stokes in Champlain Place, has noticed a small change in consumer habits this year, but says it hasn't necessarily affected sales.

"I think we expected a bigger hit (to sales) and we didn't really receive that, we're doing very well. I just find that people are more cautious in what they buy. They just spend extra time trying to find the exact right gift," she said. "It's still a madhouse in here though."

Wood says she has also seen a change in what consumers are buying, with a greater emphasis on entertainment items.

"I find in past years, pots and pans and dishes were really popular, but it's kind of switched that the entertaining comes first and the dishes come second," she said.

Along with reporting normal or above average sales, some retailers also claim more consumers are paying with cash as opposed to credit this holiday season, which seems to bode well for the amount of disposable income and planning consumers have.

"I find it's been more of a cash Christmas this year. We see debit, which is cash, being used more," said Steve Clerke, co-owner of Gifts Galore on Moncton's Main Street. "People are balancing themselves out this Christmas. If they have 20 people to buy for, they budget it through the year and make sure they have enough to cover that."

Clerke, like other area retailers, says his store has enjoyed great sales thus far this season. While Christmas can bring with it a hectic pace and feelings of being rushed, Clerke thinks shoppers are taking his commonly repeated advice to simply enjoy the season.

"We always tell people to try to enjoy the holiday season and to avoid places that give them stress and make them feel a little down . . . If they find they are getting grumpy, stay home and don't go shopping that night."

Brian MacPherson, store manager for the Mountain Road Canadian Tire, also says there have been more cash purchases this holiday season. Although he says consumers aren't shying away from popular big-ticket items like digital cameras, GPS systems and LCD televisions, he says the store has recently noticed a dip in sales.

"The last few weeks have been good for us, but this week is slower. I don't know whether it's related or not, the last month has been strong, but this week is definitely softer than last year," he said.

Bryan Moreau, floor manager of Sounds Fantastic on Bonnacord Street says with "very aggressive price points", they have been able to overcome any potential economic concerns on big ticket items like TVs.

"It's very, very busy," he said. "Honestly, I don't think we've been affected that much by the whole economy downturn."

[MonctonRad]

Aberdeen Cultural Centre sets sights on major renovation project
By Yvon & Gauvin
Times & Transcript staff

Moncton's Aberdeen Cultural Centre has a new director whose first duties will include overseeing plans for a major renovation campaign to upgrade the former Moncton school.

René Légère is a great addition with his credentials and vast experience helping produce major cultural events in the past, Marie-Renée Duguay, board chairman for the cultural centre, said this week.

"The centre is at a turning point in its existence as we will be undertaking an important revitalization project in the near future. Thanks to Mr. Légère's vast experience, we are confident in his abilities to steer this project to completion, allowing the centre to continue serving the community by offering an adequate infrastructure that meets the needs of artists and art organizations," said Duguay. Légère is a graduate of de Université de Moncton and Laval University in social sciences and radio journalism. Some of the projects he's been involved with in the past are FrancoFête en Acadie, Les défricheurs d'eau and 15 août des fous.

Légère also participated in the organizing the Summit on Acadian arts and culture in New Brunswick.

His prior experience includes the position of executive director of the Société Nationale de l'Acadie, where he was involved in several important projects on national and international levels including the first Acadian cultural events in Poitiers, Andrézieux-Bouthéon, Capbreton, and Île-de-Ré in France and helping organize as many as 20 official Acadian missions in France, Belgium, Italy, Louisiana, Saint-Pierre et Miquelon and on the African Continent.

Planning for "revitalizing" the three-storey building has begun, with the work expected to cost more than one million dollars, said Duguay. The fundraising portion of the project is to begin soon, she said.

The actual renovations could begin as early as next year, she explained, adding the work won't affect the look of the heritage building.

[MonctonRad]

Old YMCA sparkles with new life
Published Friday December 5th, 2008

Marketing and communications company Colour/Couleur NB moves into downtown building

To a chorus of "oohs" and "aahs" as each new guest entered, the "who's who" of Metro Moncton dined on gourmet delicacies and old memories yesterday when they attended the official opening of new headquarters for Colour/CouleurNB in the building at 68 Highfield St., Moncton. The structure had previously served for many years as the Moncton YMCA.

The rejuvenated building, which many guests remembered fondly from their youth where they took their first swimming lessons, played their first basketball and jived to their first rock 'n roll, had been vacant since the YMCA moved to its new location at the corner of Vaughan Harvey Boulevard and John Street in 2004.

Property developers Ashford Investments Ltd. acquired it and initiated renovations in 2007. The Atlantic Ballet Theatre was the first tenant. Scotia McLeod and Colour/CouleurNB soon followed.

"We're delighted to participate in the restoration of a building that has played such an important role in the lives of so many Monctonians over so many years," said David Hawkins, president of Colour/CouleurNB.

"In our view, the ability of a community to recognize the value of its past and to re-purpose it for the future is a key indicator of a creative culture. Innovative projects like this are building Moncton's reputation as a leading edge city in Atlantic Canada."

Commenting on the project, Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc, who was present for the opening, said: "We are delighted with Couleur's continuing investment in our city and with the growth of the marketing and communications sector overall. It says a lot about the impressive talents of our people and the central role that the three-community region plays in Atlantic Canada's economy."

Interior designer Kim Murphy, who designed the Colour/Couleur NB offices, shared his enthusiasm.

"Designing for a creative agency is very rewarding," she said. "It affords an exciting opportunity to explore new media. I had the opportunity to try avant garde concepts that might never have even been considered in a more conventional office setting."

"Close integration of business and the arts is a hallmark of what Richard Florida calls the 'creative economy,' Hawkins said. "It's promising for the future of our city, our region and its people, that projects like this are taking place."

With offices in Halifax, Moncton and St. John's, Colour helps clients get closer to their customers, focusing on people and making meaningful connections.

Their work has helped to build brands including Atlantic Lottery, the Province of New Brunswick, City of Moncton, Major Drilling, Stewart McKelvey, Killam Properties, Fortis Inc., Petro Canada, The Chronicle Herald, Exxon Mobil Canada and more.

[ErickMontreal]

Dieppe looks to expand city hall
Proposed construction to develop building's third floor would cost $39,314



Published Thursday December 4th, 2008
A1
BY NICK MOORE
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

As the population of Dieppe continues to grow, Mayor Jean LeBlanc says it only makes sense City Hall will need to grow too.

During a public budget meeting this week, council was told $39,314 should be reserved in the 2009 budget for new construction inside City Hall, a building which held its official grand opening last summer.

LeBlanc says the reserve of $39,314 in the budget for City Hall construction would specifically go towards developing unused space on the building's third floor. The space would be developed into offices which would be for staff the city expects to hire into permanent positions.

"We have new staff, but we don't have any place to put them," said city treasurer Nicole Rioux when introducing the figure at the meeting.

LeBlanc said nothing has been confirmed or passed by council yet, but said it would be responsible to include the figure because putting it off would be ignoring inevitable costs to the city.

"It may be prudent that we put some money aside to be able to finish those offices and make use of that space," he said. "Just in case we need it."

"We're obviously still in the deliberation stage."

This comes at a time when being frugal with municipal budgets is being recommended, and just a week after an additional $1.8 million was pegged to go towards the city's aquatic centre and sport complex. LeBlanc said the money for the aquatic centre is needed in order to finish the project, which began under a different mayor and council.

On Tuesday Greg Byrne, Minister responsible for Service New Brunswick, suggested all municipalities in the province should work to find cuts in their budgets wherever they can, now more than ever.

"Yes, they have increased costs," said Byrne of the province's many municipal budgets on Tuesday. "(But) in this time of restraint, perhaps it is time to look at whether they can be a little more prudent in how they manage their budgetary funding."

LeBlanc says all Dieppe councillors are dedicated to cutting all they can from the proposed budgets before them. However, he says he can't ignore the fact the city's population is growing. According the census results from 2006, Dieppe saw its population grow from 14,951 in 2001 to 18,565 in 2006 -- an increase of 24.2 per cent. LeBlanc says at the end of the day, a growing population will mean a growing budget.

"There's no way you're going to increase your population and lower the amount of expenses that you're going to use to serve that population," he said. "That equation just doesn't go."

Unconditional grant numbers were released by the province yesterday, and LeBlanc expects a complete budget will be put on the table at Monday's regular council meeting. He said the city's operating budget for 2009 is expected to tally more than $32 million, the biggest ever in Dieppe's history.

"That's to go along with the biggest population the city has ever seen and the biggest building boom the city has ever seen," he said. "This year has seen a record amount of building permits and construction in the city's history. We're talking about the fourth largest city in New Brunswick with the highest growth rate, so you can't take things in isolation."

City Councillor Dave Maltais said he found $600,000 worth of cuts that could be made during Tuesday's meeting. He wouldn't specify what they were, but said none of them would affect essential services the city provides such as roadwork and garbage pick up.

LeBlanc said Dieppe is in a unique situation where its high level of population growth means they have to acknowledge growth within City Hall.

"I can only look at our own city," he said. "In our city, we've had an increase in infrastructure and people moving to our city. We have to make sure those people have services. It's not something we can avoid."

"If we had a municipality that had a 10 or 15 per cent drop in its population over a few years then maybe you'd have to make those kinds of evaluations," he added. "But, for a city which is one of the fastest growing in Atlantic Canada, whose population is exploding, to consider you can serve more and more people, more and more infrastructure and more and more subdivisions with less and less money, I think that's an unrealistic expectation."

[someone123]

Originally Posted by stu_pendousmat2

Employment on the rise in Moncton

Total Employment in Atlantic Canadian CMAs 2007-2008 (in thousands)

CMA---------Sept. 2007----Sept. 2008----Change

Halifax----------211.0--------209.4---------- - 0.8 %
St. Johns-------98.7---------101.6---------- + 2.9 %
Moncton--------73.8---------74.1----------- + 0.4 %
Saint John------67.5---------64.6----------- - 4.3 %


Data sources:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/081127/t081127d1-eng.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/071128/t071128d-eng.htm

I guess this roughly amounts to trolling, but your data doesn't really make sense. You are using numbers from federal employment figures (as in, tables meant to show how many federal government employees there are, with the overall employment numbers being there just to give people a rough idea of the total) and the base employment numbers for the two years appear to be calculated differently.

These are the actual labour force statistics:

http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/lfss03a-eng.htm

They don't have Moncton listed in this yet for some reason.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by someone123

I guess this roughly amounts to trolling, but your data doesn't really make sense. You are using numbers from federal employment figures (as in, tables meant to show how many federal government employees there are, with the overall employment numbers being there just to give people a rough idea of the total) and the base employment numbers for the two years appear to be calculated differently.

These are the actual labour force statistics:

http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/lfss03a-eng.htm

They don't have Moncton listed in this yet for some reason.

I think Someone that the statistics are in complete agreement. Matt's post compared employment in the CMA's from Sept. 2007 to Sept. 2008. Your source compared employment between October 2008 and November 2008.

According to Matt, the employment level in September 2008 in Haligonia was 209,400. Your value for October 2008 is 209,000. I fail to see any significant difference.

Halifax (N.S.)--------Oct. 2008-----Nov. 2008
Population-----------318.1---------318.4
Labour force---------220.8---------224.2
Employment----------209.0---------212.5

The reason why Moncton's stats don't show up in all of StatsCan's data is that we are a brand new CMA. We only achieved CMA status in the last census. It will be 5-10 years before we are included in all the statistical analyses that StatsCan does.

[mmmatt]

^ As MonctonRad stated Moncton is a new CMA and so our figures will not be included in most surveys for a while. That is why I had to use the stats from the Fed. Employment table, otherwise I would have used the normal Labour Stats tables. Sorry for any confusion.

The stats are correct as of Sept. (If you notice note #2 on the bottom of the pages I referenced it says: "2. Data obtained from the Labour Force Survey" which is the table you referenced)

If I had seen more recent info for Moncton I would have posted it, unfortunately its hard to come by at this point. (plus StatsCans website is a disaster )

[mmmatt]

Skyline Silhouette

From Champlain Place I assume. The pointy building in the center is the Marvens building.


Credit: bradburyjason on Flickr

[stephan.richard]

Is there a link to the project on the new Mapelton Power Center to see what will be going into that spot? And to see the Sony Store move out of Champlain place that will be another empty spot for the mall to fill up. But could it be because of the rent that it is taking time for Cadillac Fairview to fill up the vacant spots in the mall.
BTW the renovations done to the mall are looking great... Iti is good to see now that we have a first class mall.

[Sony500]

Two years ago there was a sign up along John St. with pictures of buildings proposed in that area of the base. The sign is gone so they must have had a change of plans. I live on one of the streets on the other side of john st. and I really wish they would do something with those old buildings.

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by Sony500

Two years ago there was a sign up along John St. with pictures of buildings proposed in that area of the base. The sign is gone so they must have had a change of plans. I live on one of the streets on the other side of john st. and I really wish they would do something with those old buildings.

Now that DMI has shifted a lot of it's focus to improvements to St. george, perhaps John Street will feel some love too. A similar thing happened to Gordon Street, which has undergone a lot of densification in the past five years.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by stephan.richard

Is there a link to the project on the new Mapelton Power Center to see what will be going into that spot? And to see the Sony Store move out of Champlain place that will be another empty spot for the mall to fill up. But could it be because of the rent that it is taking time for Cadillac Fairview to fill up the vacant spots in the mall.
BTW the renovations done to the mall are looking great... Iti is good to see now that we have a first class mall.

I am aware of no good link for the Mapleton Power Centre development. As for stores that may be moving in there, the potential line-up includes:

- The Brick (new)
- Best Buy (new)
- Jacob Connexion (new)
- La Vie en Rose (new)
- Trade Secret (new)
- Swiss Chalet (new)
- Starbucks (new)
- Bank (name to be announced)
- ? Cleve's Sources for Sport (moving from Trinity)
- ? Sony Store (moving from Champlain)

This is only a partial list. There are many more spaces available in this development for lease. The developer unfortunately is very tight lipped.

I have a strong suspicion that there will be at least one other restaurant in this development and there is space for a gas bar as well. It is possible that Mountain Equipment Co-op may move in there, but this is only an unsubstantiated rumour.

As for Champlain Place, the big announcement is that Swedish clothing store H&M is moving into the mall in the new year. There was a rumour that a Boston Pizza franchise might move into the old Don Cherry's space but I have seen no evidence of this happening.

Finally, I strongly suspect we might see a Baton Rouge Steakhouse franchise in the city in the next year. It is after all part of Bernard Imbeault's IMVESCOR empire. This could either go to Mapleton or Champlain.

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I am aware of no good link for the Mapleton Power Centre development. As for stores that may be moving in there, the potential line-up includes:

- The Brick (new)
- Best Buy (new)
- Jacob Connexion (new)
- La Vie en Rose (new)
- Trade Secret (new)
- Swiss Chalet (new)
- Starbucks (new)
- Bank (name to be announced)
- ? Cleve's Sources for Sport (moving from Trinity)
- ? Sony Store (moving from Champlain)

This is only a partial list. There are many more spaces available in this development for lease. The developer unfortunately is very tight lipped.

I have a strong suspicion that there will be at least one other restaurant in this development and there is space for a gas bar as well. It is possible that Mountain Equipment Co-op may move in there, but this is only an unsubstantiated rumour.

As for Champlain Place, the big announcement is that Swedish clothing store H&M is moving into the mall in the new year. There was a rumour that a Boston Pizza franchise might move into the old Don Cherry's space but I have seen no evidence of this happening.

Finally, I strongly suspect we might see a Baton Rouge Steakhouse franchise in the city in the next year. It is after all part of Bernard Imbeault's IMVESCOR empire. This could either go to Mapleton or Champlain.

I have it on good authority that Imvescor plans on expanding Baton Rouge into Halifax first. Now that's not to say they won't do both, but Baton Rouge is aimed at the larger markets.

[mmmatt]

Speaking of the Mall...I snapped a few pics when I went there a couple days ago to grab something just before close, worked out great for pictures, because at any other time of day you cant even see anything due to the number of shoppers haha.