The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[PersonPlaceorThing]

I came across a good article about Centerbeam Place. If you're interested in the development, it is worth a read.

http://dcnonl.com/article/id32737

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by PersonPlaceorThing

I came across a good article about Centerbeam Place. If you're interested in the development, it is worth a read.

http://dcnonl.com/article/id32737

Good reading...amazing how close these buildings may have been to meeting a wrecking ball.

[thebrad]

Holy Snow Batman!!

[kwajo]

It's snowing? I hardly even noticed on my walk to work this morning.

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by kwajo

It's snowing? I hardly even noticed on my walk to work this morning.

A good day to pull the covers over your head and hibernate.

[Ottawa]

Originally Posted by Helladog

City receives green cash and goes for more
February 20, 2009 - 6:36 pm
By: Denise Barkhouse - News 88.9 Staff

SAINT JOHN, NB - Four green city initiatives have received of a combination of funding and low interest loans totalling nearly 4.3 million dollars.

The cash comes from the Green Municipal Fund.

3.6 million dollars is being made available in low interest loans, the rest is cash that doesn't have to be repaid.

The money benefits four environmentally friendly projects ranging from the energy efficiency retrofit at the Aquatic Centre, the green Saint John Transit facility being built on the east side, the new police headquarters and the city's integrated sustainability plan

Building and Inspections Commissioner Bill Edwards said the city won't stop there either.

It's looking for funding to help extract energy out of the harbour, that will in turn be used to heat and cool city buildings

"We have a number of applications out there. Probably we wouldn't get all of it from any one particular fund. We've talked to the Climate Change Fund, those people there as well and they seem very encouraging and want to be involved. We've asked for about four million from them. So we're throwing out the nets and we'll get whatever we can." Edwards said.

He said this project doesn't come cheap adding initial start up costs will range in the 30-40 million dollar range.

Edwards said the amount of energy savings a project of this scope will have all depends on the number of buildings the city hooks into it.

Here is some background and breakdown of how the funds are allocated for each project already approved.
http://www.cnw.ca/en/releases/archive/February2009/20/c2475.html

[Ottawa]

From The Western Star

Rodd hotel chain announces it is no longer for sale
CHARLOTTETOWN
The Canadian Press

After being put on the market last year the Prince Edward Island-based Rodd Hotels and Resorts chain has announced it is no longer for sale.

New president and CEO, Ian Hurst, says the company needs $4.5 million in refinancing in order to get the business back to a competitive level.

Hurst says they will speak to government and private lenders and have other plans to raise the necessary money.

Hurst says they are planning to break into the Halifax, Saint John, N.B., and Fredericton markets to generate additional year-round revenue and plan to inject significant money into several hotels and resorts.

Rodd Hotels and Resorts is Atlantic Canada's largest privately-owned hotel chain with 10 properties.

The company employs over 1,200 people, 900 in P.E.I alone.

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by Ottawa

From The Western Star

Rodd hotel chain announces it is no longer for sale
CHARLOTTETOWN
The Canadian Press

After being put on the market last year the Prince Edward Island-based Rodd Hotels and Resorts chain has announced it is no longer for sale.

New president and CEO, Ian Hurst, says the company needs $4.5 million in refinancing in order to get the business back to a competitive level.

Hurst says they will speak to government and private lenders and have other plans to raise the necessary money.

Hurst says they are planning to break into the Halifax, Saint John, N.B., and Fredericton markets to generate additional year-round revenue and plan to inject significant money into several hotels and resorts.

Rodd Hotels and Resorts is Atlantic Canada's largest privately-owned hotel chain with 10 properties.

The company employs over 1,200 people, 900 in P.E.I alone.

The partner on the Coast Guard site hotel still hasn't been announced, perhaps this is an indication that it will be Rodd? All I know is that they damn well better be putting the hotel Uptown and not out East.

[michael_d40]

Originally Posted by kwajo

The partner on the Coast Guard site hotel still hasn't been announced, perhaps this is an indication that it will be Rodd? All I know is that they damn well better be putting the hotel Uptown and not out East.

Last year I came across conceptual drawings of the waterfront right around the coast guard project, and it had a Rodd Hotel in it, about 6 floors, all brick. It was a decent looking project. But looked too University campus-esque. For It being on the waterfront. If i can find the link again, I'l post it.

[PersonPlaceorThing]

I have been thinking lately about the motivation for waterfront development. Are buildings more valuable when they are on the waterfront? Is public space more utilized on the waterfront? Or is the trend toward waterfront development over the past decades more a function of recapturing large tracts of land that are surplus?

I'm interested in hearing thoughts and opinions on this.

[thefishingnut]

Originally Posted by PersonPlaceorThing

I have been thinking lately about the motivation for waterfront development. Are buildings more valuable when they are on the waterfront? Is public space more utilized on the waterfront? Or is the trend toward waterfront development over the past decades more a function of recapturing large tracts of land that are surplus?

I'm interested in hearing thoughts and opinions on this.

View from the Best Western of the trailer park, or the back of I don't know how many malls. Taking a walk after supper and enjoying the peace and quiet (sic) of Westmorland or McCallister Roads. Or watching cruise ships dock outside your window and taking a stroll along Harbour Passage after supper while staying at the Hilton. Granted I'm very biased toward waterfronts, but I think public space along waterfronts are far more livable than those without. Thankfully IMO, the public is getting access to waterfronts back.

[Helladog]

Something on the nursing home in the valley...

Development First stage of campus-style facility located at the end of Millennium Drive is set to open at the end of this year or early 2010

ANDREW MCGILLIGAN
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

QUISPAMSIS - Despite a harsh winter that's wreaked havoc throughout the region, the chief operating officer of Shannex said construction on the campus style retirement community in Quispamsis is on time.


Cindy Wilson/Telegraph-Journal
Mike Bishop, community and media relations manager for Shannex N.B., left, and John Campbell, regional manager for Shannex N.B. proudly display an artist’s drawing of what the completed Parkland in the Valley will look like in five years. In the background is the facility under construction, located at the end of Millennium Drive.

The retirement home will be quickly followed by Embassy Hall, a 72-bed nursing home, set to open in late 2009 or early 2010." We're still on the same time line," Shannon said. "We're not going to be early that's for sure."

The company is ahead of schedule on the third component of the retirement community, a 60-bed special care home called Concorde Hall.

"The special care residence which was originally scheduled for 2011 will be open in the fall of 2010, so that's ahead of schedule by six or eight months," Shannon said.

The demand for senior living accommodations has Shannon confident in the quicker time line for completion of the campus.

"The demands for the special care market in New Brunswick will be strong and we also believe, from a labour perspective, we'll be better prepared, so we're confident in having the opening of the buildings closer together," he said.

The Quispamsis retirement community is one of three campus-style developments being constructed by Shannex in the province. The estimated cost for all three is approximately $118 million.

The company is confident the development will be full when it opens and that it's the right fit for not only the Greater Saint John area, but the province. Shannon said a similar development in Dartmouth, N.S. was full within a year.

"When people see the whole campus built at one time, they understand the solutions for them going forward and it's a client-centred approach from our perspective," the COO said.

Regional director of opertations for Shannex New Brunswick John Campbell said the idea is for seniors to age in one place."We see it as beneficial. As residents' service levels change over time, there are options in the same physical location to address them," Campbell said.

Shannon said the campus style can be even more beneficial for couples. It can happen that one spouse is living in one building on the campus while another building houses their significant other.

"It's a tremendous benefit compared to the alternative which is often times a spouse in a nursing home and the other having difficulty accessing the home," Shannon said.

The company is also hoping the development will spur on economic activity in the Millennium Drive area. Shannon said past developments, specifically the one in Dartmouth, created positive economic spin-offs for the area.

"Often times it will help with the residential market, further construction and further growth around it," he said.

Once the entire campus is complete, the company will employ more than 100 people."These campuses will employ a lot of full-time people with good pay and good benefits," Shannon said. "These are not minimum-wage jobs...we would have over 100 people working on that campus and those 100 will no doubt support the local economy."

Once a general manager for the Quispamsis site is found, advertising and hiring for other positions will begin. Retired school principal Mike Bishop handles community relations for Shannex and said the hiring should begin in the next couple of months.

Shannon said the priority is to hire people from the Greater Saint John area.

"We want people from the area working in these facilities, so the money stays in the community," Shannon said.

[Dmajackson]

^ I think the Dartmouth community mentioned is the new reitrement campus in the Mount Hope/Russell Lake West area of Dartmouth. And they also have a community in Clayton Park West in Halifax.

From what I've seen and heard the communities are a great addition to the areas.

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by thefishingnut

View from the Best Western of the trailer park...

I heard somewhere the owner of the land where the trailer park sits gave notice to tenants to vacate within a certain timeframe. Does this sound familliar to anyone? Not sure where I heard this.

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by Helladog

I heard somewhere the owner of the land where the trailer park sits gave notice to tenants to vacate within a certain timeframe. Does this sound familliar to anyone? Not sure where I heard this.

I think it was actually in this thread that you heard that, I recall someone posting some anecdotal story about it about a couple months ago.

[Kablooie!!]

Originally Posted by nwalbert

I think this is a nice idea but until the masses are willing to give up their automobiles in exchange for their bikes this is not realistic. It is happening in large cities with traffic congestion problems, but those traffic levels will never hit any Maritime city.

Ahh yes, the wonderful chicken-and-egg situation. We shouldn't invest in bike/walking routes until people are willing to give up their cars, but people don't feel safe giving up their cars and fighting with traffic.

I'd love to see Saint John put together a good comprehensive "active living" plan, which would include support for cycling and walking routes.

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by Kablooie!!

Ahh yes, the wonderful chicken-and-egg situation. We shouldn't invest in bike/walking routes until people are willing to give up their cars, but people don't feel safe giving up their cars and fighting with traffic.

I'd love to see Saint John put together a good comprehensive "active living" plan, which would include support for cycling and walking routes.

The support for these things is there, and both the Municipal planners and Leisure Services are both working on incorporating Active Transportation routes into forthcoming plans. In some cases it isn't even money that is the issue, it's just going to take some time to get things put together the right way.

[michael_d40]

Does anybody know when the Coras is slated to open @ Parkway?

[kwajo]

Municipal plan fix won't come overnight
Published Wednesday March 4th, 2009

SAINT JOHN - It's about time.

That's one possible interpretation of people's reaction on a survey about the city's new municipal plan.

Conducted by Corporate Research Associates on behalf of the Telegraph-Journal, the survey asked people to rate common council's performance on the issue. Thirty-four per cent of respondents said they were satisfied, while 28 per cent said they were dissatisfied.

Interpreting the results isn't easy. The municipal plan hasn't been overhauled since the early 1970s, and there have been a number of controversial developments over the last several years that have required zoning changes.

City planning commissioner Ken Forrest has pledged to introduce a new plan, which may have appeased some people unhappy with the spot zoning and fast pace of development, fueled by the city's energy boom.

Forrest has warned, however, that the plan won't be redrawn overnight. The municipal plan is a detailed document that would require a great deal of public consultations and work. He predicted it would take up to three years to complete.

Forrest said on Tuesday about $150,000 was available in this year's budget, as long as he can find someone to do the work. The department has struggled to hire another planner, something he alluded to in an email.

"The remaining issue standing in the way of commencing the municipal plan is adequate human resources within the department," Forrest wrote. "We have not yet been able to secure the human resources necessary to get the process underway."

Chris Boudreau recently moved back to Saint John after a 10-year absence. The south end resident said he and other people are getting frustrated that the city isn't reaching its potential.

What's needed, he suggested, is not only a plan but the leadership and vision from common council to see it through.

With a city of 68,000 and even fewer people paying property taxes, the last thing Saint John needs is more sprawl and expensive-to-maintain infrastructure, he said.

Instead, the city should introduce a plan that would encourage developers to create more high-quality infill projects in the older neighbourhoods, such as the lower west side, south end and north end.

"The plan really has to focus on the core areas where you can get the biggest bang for your buck," he said.

Boudreau agreed that a new plan would take time - public consultations alone are typically a six-month process on these kind of projects.

But he argued the leaders of the city had to become more creative. For instance, why isn't the private sector being asked to help work on the plan as part of a public-private partnership?

"Leadership has to celebrate a vision and any action they do has to lead to that end vision. So if we are looking for a larger community, we're looking at doing more infill, how is the leadership contributing to that?" he asked.

The survey of Telegraph-Journal readers from Jan. 13 to 19 was conducted of 402 people, and is considered accurate 19 times out of 20, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 per cent.

(emphases my own)


Well at least someone gets it, though it appears from the comments on the TJ website that many citizens do not.

[ErickMontreal]

Saint John - Autumn 2008/Winter 2009



































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