[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[Aging Hipster]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

This would be a huge step forward for the core area............

Agreed!

[MonctonRad]

Also of note, Lafford Realty recently purchased the old downtown Co-op property for redevelopment. This appears to lie squarely in the so called "Brownstone District" on that planning document.

Lafford is currently building this beauty off of Highlandview Drive, near Lewisville Middle School.



This building is now easily visible when travelling northbound on the Shediac Four-Lane.

Lafford would likely be up to the task of creating a brownstone neighbourhood...........

[jonny golden]

The renderings of Lafford property (Birch Meadows) look very nice, with a primarily brick exterior. It's a great addition to this area, and a $30 million investment in the Moncton market by Lafford. From what I've read, they've already pre-leased several of the units, targeting the seniors demographic.

Quote from Huddle story: "Mr. Lafford hinted at another major development project in Downtown Moncton coming once Birch Meadows opens its doors to the world. More to follow on that as information becomes available."

The Birch Meadows apartments are slated to open in the fall of 2021. After that, they intend to build something on the old co-op property downtown. Lafford are certainly very capable of creating something significant on that prime piece of property.

[David_99]

Remember the big stink people were making when the city denied the original parking lot proposal for this lot?

[NBNYer]

Originally Posted by David_99

Remember the big stink people were making when the city denied the original parking lot proposal for this lot?

I nearly forgot about that. Hopefully this can embolden city council in not caving so easily to developers' requests for cheap fixes that are counter to the city's objective of improving the urban landscape downtown.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by David_99

Remember the big stink people were making when the city denied the original parking lot proposal for this lot?

I know theres a pandemic now and no one could have predicted that but imagine how silly that would have looked right now. The downtown core is eeriely empty these days, with nothing but empty surface lots with thousands of workers working remote. It is a stark reminder of how we need to grow the density in the core beyond just office buildings.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by lirette

I know theres a pandemic now and no one could have predicted that but imagine how silly that would have looked right now. The downtown core is eeriely empty these days, with nothing but empty surface lots with thousands of workers working remote. It is a stark reminder of how we need to grow the density in the core beyond just office buildings.

That's a good point. You'd have to think that a lot of people who work at the Blue Cross building are now working from home. So their parking issues are not as dire as they were when they wanted to turn the Co-op property into a surface parking lot. I really hope that Lafford builds something significant on this property.

[MonctonRad]

Apparently Acadie Nouvelle is reporting that the downtown Main Street location of Starbucks will be closing in the next few days.

Very sad, but Starbucks is apparently closing hundreds of locations nationwide, and with the hollowing out of the downtown business community due to COVID, I can see this happening. It appears that the other six locations in the metro area are currently safe.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Apparently Acadie Nouvelle is reporting that the downtown Main Street location of Starbucks will be closing in the next few days.

Very sad, but Starbucks is apparently closing hundreds of locations nationwide, and with the hollowing out of the downtown business community due to COVID, I can see this happening. It appears that the other six locations in the metro area are currently safe.

I was there today around 10:30 (usually peak activity) and there was no one in the store. October is typically a pretty busy time for them with their fall drink offerings. This location in particular often has their seating areas filled throughout the day pre-pandemic. Individuals from various downtown business would use it as an impromptu- meeting area has they have lots of seating compared to other coffee shops and large tables that can fit 6+

At this point its essentially a take out only location with only a fraction of their customers still in the downtown area. I'd imagine some of the other cafes downtown will get a small uptick now like C'est La Vie, Duo (both offer seating) Copain, and to a lesser extent Tim's.

Its a terrific space, high ceilings. Interesting opportunity for an entrepreneur with the empty former piatto right next door as well.

[MonctonRad]

The Hilton Garden Inn is now officially open. Monk10 will officially open on Thursday.

Here's a photo of the interior of Monk10 from Retail Talk & Share.



In addition to fine food and craft beer, Monk10 will apparently be holding jazz nights two nights a week. It could be a happening place.

My initial impression of the dining room was that it looked kinda austere and empty, but then it occurred to me that the tables are spaced the way they are because of COVID - stupid me. Of course when this is all over, the seating will be more congested and the place will look more lively..........

[Photo1]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The Hilton Garden Inn is now officially open. Monk10 will officially open on Thursday.

In addition to fine food and craft beer, Monk10 will apparently be holding jazz nights two nights a week. It could be a happening place.

My initial impression of the dining room was that it looked kinda austere and empty, but then it occurred to me that the tables are spaced the way they are because of COVID - stupid me. Of course when this is all over, the seating will be more congested and the place will look more lively..........

Monk10? What a very odd name...

[MonctonRad]

Province offers reasons for Moncton school site decision
New K-8 school location has drawn ire of some parents and politicians
Shane Magee · CBC News · Posted: Oct 21, 2020 7:30 AM AT | Last Updated: October 21
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/moncton-west-end-school-site-selection-1.5770483





The second image shows the site plan for the proposed BMHS location for the new school. The new K-8 school will be built very close to BMHS, essentially swallowing up the current parking lot in front of the school, with the new sports field paralleling the entrance driveway.

The BMHS parking lot will have to be moved, and the bus drop off likely reconfigured. I wonder if the main entrance into BMHS will also have to be reconfigured or moved...……..

[Photo1]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Province offers reasons for Moncton school site decision
New K-8 school location has drawn ire of some parents and politicians
Shane Magee · CBC News · Posted: Oct 21, 2020 7:30 AM AT | Last Updated: October 21
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/moncton-west-end-school-site-selection-1.5770483





The second image shows the site plan for the proposed BMHS location for the new school. The new K-8 school will be built very close to BMHS, essentially swallowing up the current parking lot in front of the school, with the new sports field paralleling the entrance driveway.

The BMHS parking lot will have to be moved, and the bus drop off likely reconfigured. I wonder if the main entrance into BMHS will also have to be reconfigured or moved...……..

From what I'm reading the parents are not happy with this decision, at all. Especially with kids having to make their way up St. George and now across it to get the the school. The bike lane in front of Centennial is a constant scene of auto/cycle related incidents (as drivers don't pay attention to bike lanes) so this could be an issue...maybe they need to look at a pedestrian/bike bridge over St. George at the intersection by the school entrance?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Photo1

maybe they need to look at a pedestrian/bike bridge over St. George at the intersection by the school entrance?

I get the impression that one of the biggest reasons why they went with this site for the new school location (at least over the Millennium Blvd location) is that land acquisition was not necessary, and the government could save a couple of million bucks.

If instead they have to pay a couple million dollars for a new pedestrian overpass, I imagine the government would be most displeased.........

[Photo1]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I get the impression that one of the biggest reasons why they went with this site for the new school location (at least over the Millennium Blvd location) is that land acquisition was not necessary, and the government could save a couple of million bucks.

If instead they have to pay a couple million dollars for a new pedestrian overpass, I imagine the government would be most displeased.........

Oh I agree...may end up falling on the city if there is a great need for it.

[statbass]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Apparently Acadie Nouvelle is reporting that the downtown Main Street location of Starbucks will be closing in the next few days.

Very sad, but Starbucks is apparently closing hundreds of locations nationwide, and with the hollowing out of the downtown business community due to COVID, I can see this happening. It appears that the other six locations in the metro area are currently safe.

Starbucks is also closing their downtown location in St. John's as well. I guess these two are a part of the 200 locations slated to close. Ironically, they are in the process of opening another location in the CBS area. Go figure???

[OUIR@random]

Monk10 = Moncton

Is it because I'm French, 'cause when I said it the first time I realized I just said Moncton. Monk-ten.

It's not pretty, but cute and unique I guess.

As for the look of it, as MonctonRad said, it does look rather drab, the lightning is not cozy, hence the austere look and there's no windows, in this picture anyways. Other than the bar counter, it looks like a bland food court seating area.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by statbass

Starbucks is also closing their downtown location in St. John's as well. I guess these two are a part of the 200 locations slated to close. Ironically, they are in the process of opening another location in the CBS area. Go figure???

It appears, according to this Huddle article (https://huddle.today/starbucks-closing-downtown-moncton-location/), that Starbucks is preferentially closing their downtown cafe locations while keeping their suburban neighbourhood locations (with drive-thrus) open.

“We have begun our accelerated store transformation to best meet our customers where they are now, which means we will close some stores and open more next year, the majority of which will be drive-thru. We remain open in neighbouring locations and look forward to serving our customers at those stores.”

This certainly seems to be the case here in Moncton. While the downtown location will close, the other six metro locations will remain open, four of which have drive-thrus. The other two locations are at Chapters and at CF Champlain.

[acadieman]

I thought the same I don't know if it's easier for the francophone but I read Moncton (monk 10 ) from the get go .

[lirette]

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

Monk10 = Moncton

Is it because I'm French, 'cause when I said it the first time I realized I just said Moncton. Monk-ten.

It's not pretty, but cute and unique I guess.

As for the look of it, as MonctonRad said, it does look rather drab, the lightning is not cozy, hence the austere look and there's is no windows, in this picture anyways. Other than the bar counter, it looks like a bland food court seating area.

The best feature from my perspective walking by was the patio. It's sizing, how it sits just above the sidewalk and the furniture colour and style are all good choices.

Between this and Carabba's I can't help but think about what downtown could look like when the Avenir is back to full capacity, with those 2 patios full before a game. Both patios would be great people watching spots as patrons are heading to an event

What a stark difference that will be from that end of town really only collecting people in the plaza for a few minutes currently, with most restaurants currently at the other end of town. You also have the vida cafe directly on main st with a patio just across the street.

The timing of this pandemic is so unfortunate just as the entire area around avenir was really coming together. Its hard not to feel abit disappointed about that. Does anyone else wonder how some of these hotels pay the bills the next few years? I understand theres some government programs, rent relief etc. but the Hyatt so far has sat mostly empty since opening and besides Christmas shopping I dont know what will bring enough visitors to even justify having staff. You now have 5 major hotels in the downtown area, with hardly any business travel, or sports tournaments happening.