[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[KnoxfordGuy]

Originally Posted by Vorkuta

Yup, nice to see the infill. The buildings aren't perfect, but they're an improvement. Great to get some feet downtown!

Could we get a picture of the building?

[Hogie75]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The study performed in 2007 was deemed flawed, in part because at the time of the study, the city was still sparring with the feds over the standard subsidy available for municipal policing that almost every city in the country was getting besides Moncton. Because Moncton was not getting the rebate, there was a very real possibility that the city would revert to an independent municipal force.

The city is now getting the subsidy, and as such, the future of the RCMP is secure. As a result of this change, a new study was felt necessary to again look at whether a new police HQ should be built as apposed to extensive renovations to their current building.

Given the rapid growth rate of the metropolitan area, and the lack of space in the existing building, I think there is pretty good odds that the new study will recommend a new regional police HQ building. As such, we may very well have our own Moncton version of Peel Plaza in the next 5-7 years. Apparently a project of this magnitude would likely cost $40-50M.

The obvious choice for a location for the a new police HQ would be on the site of the former provincial jail on Assomption Blvd next to the new lawcourts.

This coming from the government that thought it was obvious to have the jail 45 minute drive from the law courts and a Major High school at the very edge of the city limits. I predict it will be built on the other side of Dorchester.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Hogie75

This coming from the government that thought it was obvious to have the jail 45 minute drive from the law courts and a Major High school at the very edge of the city limits. I predict it will be built on the other side of Dorchester.

It was the province that misplaced Moncton High School and the regional jail. It will be the city building the new police station. As such, I have some hope that sanity will prevail....

[josh_cat_eyes]

It's probably faster to get to the federal prison in Dorchester then it is to get to the regional jail in Shediac haha.

[Monctoncore]

Does anyone know if this is going to happen or not? This article was from 2010 but I haven't heard anything since.


Fountain work could cost $10,000

Friday, July 16, 2010
Times & Transcript

By: Alan Cochrane
Location: A3
Topics: Downtown Vision
The marble fountain in Downtown Moncton's Oak Park may soon be running again, but it could take $5,000 to $10,000 to bring it up to modern standards, the interim executive director of Downtown Moncton Centre-Ville Inc. said yesterday.

Lawrence Forbes was hoping to have the fountain back in operation in time for last weekend's Atlantic Nationals Automotive Extravaganza, but there are problems with the plumbing and it could be a while before they are resolved.

The ground-level water fountain was first constructed in the late 1980s, but it has not been operating for several years and is now clogged with dirt, leaves and other debris. The fountain includes a metre-wide circular pool and a narrow trough that runs at ground level to another fountain closer to Main Street. The second fountain is covered by an archway.

In recent weeks, staff of Downtown Moncton cleaned up and painted the archway to make it more appealing for the summer, but the fountain is not operational.

Oak Park is located on Main Street near the Capitol Theatre. It is an alley between tall brick buildings housing Nubody's Gym and the RCMP auxiliary detachment. Oak Park was spruced up in the mid-1980s with decorative brick paving stones, a marble water fountain and round wrought-iron picnic tables. The park was designed with the idea of being an artists' alley where buskers and vendors would mingle with pedestrians - a place where you could have your lunch in the shade while listening to music.

Mayor George LeBlanc said yesterday he has high hopes for Oak Park but there are problems with the fountain because it does not conform to the city's own water backflow protection bylaw, and it has been prone to breakdowns and a headache for city staff.

But LeBlanc said the bigger picture is that Oak Park could become an artist's alley once more and its hoping that will work.

Some artists have already been seen working in the area and for the summer Downtown Moncton has hired well-known entertainer Norm The Jammer to play music in the area two days a week.

[MonctonRad]

Colour for the Page:

A couple of shots of City Hall Plaza and downtown, taken today from the mezzanine connecting City Hall and the BMO Building. If there seems to be a peculiar tint to the photos, I presume this is because of shooting the pictures though the tinted window glass.....

[Mattyyy]

Not sure if it's much, but looks like they're digging up some land at the corner of Vaughan Harvey and Assumption.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Mattyyy

Not sure if it's much, but looks like they're digging up some land at the corner of Vaughan Harvey and Assumption.

Which corner? At one point, there was a proposal for an office building on the northeast corner of the intersection.....

[Mattyyy]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Which corner? At one point, there was a proposal for an office building on the northeast corner of the intersection.....

Same corner - Northeast. Just noticed it briefly while driving by so I suppose it could be anything. I do however remember a proposal a few years back.

[NBNYer]

Hopefully that's what it is! If I remember correctly, that proposal was around 5 stories.

[MonctonRad]

It was on CBC this morning that the city plans on moving the downtown tourism information centre to the expanded Moncton Museum when it reopens this year

After this happens, the tourism centre's current home (the historic Treitz Haus) at Bore View Park will be renovated ao that it's interior will be historically accurate to it's time.

The Treitz Haus is Moncton's oldest building (c1770).

[MonctonRad]

Further to the above.......
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=10744

Treitz Haus needs new purpose
Times & Transcript
Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Moncton's oldest building will lose tourism centre to museum this fall

Moncton's oldest building has had a number of lives.

The Treitz Haus, at the foot of Steadman Street overlooking the Petitcodiac River, has been a private home, an inn and a tavern, and most recently, the City of Moncton's tourist information centre.

Now the building, carefully restored over the past decade and a half, will soon be looking for a new role in the community.

When the Transportation Discovery Centre opens in October, the city's tourist information centre will move to the expanded Moncton Museum at the opposite end of Steadman on the corner of Mountain Road.

The City of Moncton is searching for a new use for the Treitz Haus, though the city's tourism director Ben Champoux says it will continue to serve tourism in some way.

The building was originally the home of Jacob Treitz, one of the founding fathers of Moncton. It was built in the late 1700s.

Treitz was born in Germany in 1726 and died in Moncton in 1792.

Personal note - so, the status of the Treitz Haus is currently uncertain. Given the fact that this is the only building that can be dated back to the Pennsylvania Dutch era, and that it is at least 240 years old, it needs to be prominently featured as a principal cultural asset by the city. It is also strategically located on the riverfront immediately adjacent to Bore View Park. If it is no longer going to be the downtown tourism bureau, it should still be a major civic attraction of some form. I would propose that the building contain an interpretive centre highlighting the early history of the community, as well as a seasonal tea room, targetting tourists and serving period confectionaries and treats from the late 18th century. This could be appealing to tourists. The building after all predates the American Revolution......

[MonctonRad]

The pedway between (the former) Highfield Square and the Dominion Public Building will be taken down this weekend.

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The pedway between (the former) Highfield Square and the Dominion Public Building will be taken down this weekend.

That's gonna look wierd for a bit...

[MonctonRad]

They have renamed the Moncton Museum.

When the building reopens after the current expansion and renovations are completed, it will be named Place RESURGO Place. I think they have taken a page from the book in St. John's where the provincial museum is called "The Rooms" - ie: the building containing the museum isn't even called a museum!

Place Resurgo Place will contain:
- The Moncton Museum
- The Transportation Discovery Centre
- The Moncton Tourism Information Centre

Each of the tenants of the building will retain their own individual identity....

[pierremoncton]

I was looking through the St George St Conceptual Plan published in 2008 (http://downtownmoncton.com/webcura/files/222832_stgeorgestconceptualplan.pdf) and thought I'd share that we might start seeing some interesting changes this year:

YEAR/L'ANNÉE 2013
.
5.1 Create a Great Street / Créer une excellente rue

Begin 3 year major streetscape reconstruction program (sidewalks,
curb, trees, lights)
Funding: City of Moncton Budget $1.8M

NOTE: Streetscape project is contingent on available funding .

The city's 2013 capital budget (http://www.moncton.ca/Page15240.aspx) includes "more than $11 million on road and sidewalk construction and improvement projects", so hopefully some of that is targeted at improving St George.

[mmmatt]

Originally Posted by pierremoncton

I was looking through the St George St Conceptual Plan published in 2008 (http://downtownmoncton.com/webcura/files/222832_stgeorgestconceptualplan.pdf) and thought I'd share that we might start seeing some interesting changes this year:



The city's 2013 capital budget (http://www.moncton.ca/Page15240.aspx) includes "more than $11 million on road and sidewalk construction and improvement projects", so hopefully some of that is targeted at improving St George.

Great! The single largest issue on st George right now (in terms of beautification) is the power lines...nothing worse than a nice streetscape with wires hangin and crooked power poles. Try getting a nice clear picture of the cathedral and you will know what I mean...bury those things already!

[MonctonRad]

Roadwork news:

- The Killam/Collishaw roundabout project will proceed this year.

- They will be widening and re-aligning Lewis Street so that it will meet perfectly with Assomption at Main Street. This will entail sacrificing a portion of that city parking lot near Gifts Galore. I am a little sad about that, because that's my favourite place to park downtown but this re-alignment is probably a very necessary project....

There is lots of other roadwork going on DT this summer, but since they don't impact traffic flow per se, I will ignore them.....

[MonctonRad]

Demolition of the old lab and x-ray wings at the Moncton Hospital to make way for the new oncology clinic is imminent.

Expect to see wrecking balls and bulldozers in the next few days....

[mylesmalley]

Are wrecking balls still used? I kinda figured buildings like that would be more disassembled than knocked down, considering the value of things like recycled bricks and steel.