[Moncton] Northwest/Magnetic Hill Developments

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Over60

The sign is Avondale not Acadian Construction on that site. They are also the contactor for the PlazaCorp building on the other side of the DQ.

my bad.

There are so many Acadian Construction signs on Mountain Road that I got them mixed up.

[Over60]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

my bad.

There are so many Acadian Construction signs on Mountain Road that I got them mixed up.

That has something to do with the family connection between one of the owners of Acadian and one of the major Mountain Road developers.

[JasonL-Moncton]

Originally Posted by mmmatt

2. The city/province are doing something behind...At first glance I was hoping maybe they were building a road and overpass to connect to Ryan Rd finally as part of the revamp of Ryan...but I'm sure this would have been news long ago if that was the plan.

This was what I was hoping too...that would be sweet...but highly unlikely.

[MonctonRad]

They are now putting in the forms for the foundation for the new PlazaCorp building under construction at the site of the old Irving station next to the Mountain Rd off ramp from Wheeler Blvd.

[MonctonRad]

Mountain Road Strip Mall Update:

(1) - They are now putting up the structural steel for the new strip mall that will house Aaron's etc. in front of the NBCC campus.

(2) - They are starting to do grading and site preparation work for the expansion of the Shoppes at Hastings Ridge


(3) - They are nearly ready to remove the three houses from the site of Plaza 1909 between the Swiss Chalet and Barnaby's Furniture

[MonctonRad]

It would appear that they are beginning work on the extension of Twin Oaks Drive to the roundabout at Horsman/Ryan. There is equipment on site near the roundabout and some early grading work has been done.

I presume this work is being accelerated because of the imminent construction of the new French school at the northwest corner of this intersection. The school is a $22M project on 25 acres of land, scheduled to be open for the fall of 2013.

[Over60]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

It would appear that they are beginning work on the extension of Twin Oaks Drive to the roundabout at Horsman/Ryan. There is equipment on site near the roundabout and some early grading work has been done.

I presume this work is being accelerated because of the imminent construction of the new French school at the northwest corner of this intersection. The school is a $22M project on 25 acres of land, scheduled to be open for the fall of 2013.

This is only an access point for school construction for now

[MonctonRad]

They are installing the framing for the new Starbucks at Lounsburys Plaza. Curiously, they are using wood framing instead of structural steel.

[mmmatt]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

They are installing the framing for the new Starbucks at Lounsburys Plaza. Curiously, they are using wood framing instead of structural steel.

Yes but it appears it will have lots of glass...unlike the new pet store across the street...

[MonctonRad]

The Magnetic Hill Zoo has plans for a $1.1M expansion to create a new Asian habitat. The largest expense will be for a new display area for amur tigers and leopards from Siberia. This will mark the return of tigers to the zoo, which have been absent since the death of "Tomar" in 2007.

I have been continually impressed at the ongoing rejuvenation and expansion of the zoo, which has been progressive since the mid 1990s. They tend to choose a single exhibit each year and renovate or replace it. Over the last 5-6 years, they have started to display the animals on a geographic rather than a taxonomic basis. This makes sense.

I like what they're doing, and every time I go back to the zoo, there is always something new to see. The changes have no doubt had a positive effect on attendance. The zoo apparently is the second most popular (paid attendance) attraction in NB, superceded only by the Hopewell Rocks.

The zoo is considered the fourth best in the country, and last year, the Magnetic Hill Zoo received three out of the six major awards at the CAZA annual meeting - the first time a single zoo has done this.

We are lucky to have this facility in the province.

[mmmatt]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The Magnetic Hill Zoo has plans for a $1.1M expansion to create a new Asian habitat. The largest expense will be for a new display area for amur tigers and leopards from Siberia. This will mark the return of tigers to the zoo, which have been absent since the death of "Tomar" in 2007.

I have been continually impressed at the ongoing rejuvenation and expansion of the zoo, which has been progressive since the mid 1990s. They tend to choose a single exhibit each year and renovate or replace it. Over the last 5-6 years, they have started to display the animals on a geographic rather than a taxonomic basis. This makes sense.

I like what they're doing, and every time I go back to the zoo, there is always something new to see. The changes have no doubt had a positive effect on attendance. The zoo apparently is the second most popular (paid attendance) attraction in NB, superceded only by the Hopewell Rocks.

The zoo is considered the fourth best in the country, and last year, the Magnetic Hill Zoo received three out of the six major awards at the CAZA annual meeting - the first time a single zoo has done this.

We are lucky to have this facility in the province.

Thats great news! I agree...I am always blown away every time I visit...such a jewel for Moncton and NB in general.

[JasonL-Moncton]

Awesome news about the zoo, will be glad to have the Tigers back...they've been missed. I hope it's a structure/habitat like the Lions that your view is unimpeded by things like a chain link fence.

Love that we have this zoo here...

[MonctonRad]

More strip mall news for Mountain Rd.

There is a new small strip planned for the narrow bit of land in behind the Second Cup and Royal Bank buildings at the corner of Mountain and Gorge Rd.



I was wondering about this little bit of land behind the back driveway into the development. It had been left fallow and I thought something might be planned for it.......

[MonctonRad]

Article in the T&T today about the new French school on Ryan St. I'll post something more on that a little later..........

Even more importantly, buried at the back of the article was a single paragraph of some interest:

The provincial government also announced a $1.5M project to create an extended right turning lane from Berry Mills Rd onto Edinburgh Ave!!!

So, in other words, the province has acknowledged their egregious error from last year, when they created a double left turning lane from Horsman onto Berry Mills, only to have Berry Mills revert to a two lane street 200M down the road. Soon, Berry Mills will have two inbound lanes from Horsman to Edinburgh!!



This of course is something that the members of this forum knew was necessary from the very beginning. The logic of this however took well over a year to permeate the bureaucracy in Fredericton......

[macas539]

Finally!! I hope that construction on that lane will start this summer. I knew the province would eventually see the need for this. Better late than never.

[MonctonRad]

Ryan Street Construction Phototour

Ryan St (formerly known as Ryan Rd) is a hive of construction activity these days. This has been going on for the last couple of years but is accelerating. This activity is mostly thanks to the Mountain Rd subdivisions "breaking through" onto Ryan, the upgrading of Horsman Rd and also the construction of Northrop Frye School and the imminent construction of the new French K-8 school.


The middle part of Ryan Rd is in the process of being gentrified. The culverts are gone and are replaced by curbs, gutters and sidewalks. The east end of Ryan has already undergone upgrading, as has also the extreme west end of the street around Northrup Frye School.


Site preparation for the new French school is well underway. The foundation in fact is being poured. The school will be on the northwest corner of the Ryan/Horsman roundabout, will cost about $23M, and will house between 450-650 students.


This shows what the finished school will look like. I'm not sure about the colour scheme......


This is the Ryan/Horsman roundabout. You can see subdivision encroachment along the edges of the roundabout in the background. I imagine the growth rate in the immediate area will mushroom with the construction of the new school.


A couple of new apartment buildings being constructed about a block east of the roundabout, within easy walking distance of the new school.

Ryan Rd ain't in the country no more Martha!

[MonctonRad]

Current status of the new Starbucks in the Lounsburys Centre.



New store in the Lounsburys Centre - Inspire Collections

[MonctonRad]

This is the current proposal for the land at the corner of Trinity Drive and Mountain Rd currently occupied by the dental clinic next to Old Navy.



This is a much better proposal than the previous one for this site. I'm not sure when this development is going to proceed, but there is some internal demolition work occurring at the east end of the existing dental clinic.

[NBNYer]

Does anybody have info on what's under construction at Cake Box or at the southwest corner of Wheeler and Mountain?

[JasonL-Moncton]

Originally Posted by NBNYer

Does anybody have info on what's under construction at Cake Box or at the southwest corner of Wheeler and Mountain?

Beside the cake box is a Pet Supply store...an employee in the Cake Box told me the name but I can't remember now...