[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Probably, yes, perhaps this fall.

It's just frustrating knowing all the significant ambitious plans that there are for the lands south of Main Street, but that they are being held up 1-2 years because of necessary infrastructure work.

Agreed. But if the Galco building and St. Bernard's Square project were to get underway in the mean time, at least something good would be happening downtown. More surface parking eliminated!

[Monctoncore]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Probably, yes, perhaps this fall.

It's just frustrating knowing all the significant ambitious plans that there are for the lands south of Main Street, but that they are being held up 1-2 years because of necessary infrastructure work.

Exactly, that’s the frustrating part because all these developments are waiting in the new infrastructure. The city is doing good though, we just have to be patient

[new kid in town]

First time I drove from Gunningsville into Vaughn Harvey and I was surprised at how Avenir pops out, demanding your attention, and how the rest of downtown unfolds the moment you go down the slope off of Riverview.

Originally Posted by Monctoncore

Exactly, that’s the frustrating part because all these developments are waiting in the new infrastructure. The city is doing good though, we just have to be patient

Hopefully Infinity starts foundation work this year at least, and that it isn't shortened.

[Leroy321]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

There may be movement afoot for the vacant lot on the SW corner of Queen & Steadman.

If you recall, there used to be a three storey yellow (I think) tenement on that corner, which was under renovation for a time, until they discovered the property could not be salvaged and it was subsequently torn down.

The proponents have since come up with this design for the lot:



The building will contain 19 residential units, is completely planned, and a contractor has been secured, but the owner does not want to proceed with
construction himself. He is looking for a buyer for the property. As such, it is not guaranteed this project will proceed, but it looks like decent infill, and I hope this will happen.

Was this cancelled?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Leroy321

Was this cancelled?

<crickets>

[MonctonianHaligonian]

Greetings fellow skyscraper enthusiasts! I am a passionate admirer of architecture and urban development, eager to immerse myself in discussions about Moncton's impressive ever evolving skyline!

[MonctonRad]

Welcome to the forums.

Are you a recent arrival to the city?

Please note there are about 15 or so active Moncton threads, general, neighbourhood specific, project specific and topic specific (eg retail, active transportation etc).

[Mattyyy]

Is anybody else shocked by the lack of progress downtown this summer or am I really overthinking it? With the incredible population growth I would have assumed things would be moving forward quicker than anticipated. No new progress on building aside from the Three Sisters, and zero movement on the road construction (expansion on Downing, new road behind the Assumption building, and makeovers of Westmorland, Robinson and Lutz).

[MonctonRad]

I am disappointed, yes.

The Three Sisters is going gangbusters, and construction fencing has gone up for 1299 Main (the "tomato building"), but, aside from this, it has been <crickets>.

There are numerous approved projects ready to go, including Ashford and St. Bernard Square. Are the conditions just not right? What other factors are at play? I know that street reconstruction projects are causing some delays, especially for Ashford, but the inactivity is frustrating.

[jnaygull]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I am disappointed, yes.

The Three Sisters is going gangbusters, and construction fencing has gone up for 1299 Main (the "tomato building"), but, aside from this, it has been <crickets>.

There are numerous approved projects ready to go, including Ashford and St. Bernard Square. Are the conditions just not right? What other factors are at play? I know that street reconstruction projects are causing some delays, especially for Ashford, but the inactivity is frustrating.

I would think that the capacity for labour etc is near its peak for this area. Also, inflation is likely hampering large investments as cost certainty isn't exactly rosy. That being said, I thought the Assumption Street work was supposed to start this summer. My guess is that Ashford is likely a little gunshy until the city actually starts putting dozers on the ground.

[Mattyyy]

Originally Posted by jnaygull

I would think that the capacity for labour etc is near its peak for this area. Also, inflation is likely hampering large investments as cost certainty isn't exactly rosy. That being said, I thought the Assumption Street work was supposed to start this summer. My guess is that Ashford is likely a little gunshy until the city actually starts putting dozers on the ground.

Agree but the Ashford project has been in development for years. If they were serious about breaking ground this summer they would have everything lined up.

In terms of the new street I’ve heard the opposite. The city is waiting for Ashford to commit prior to starting. If I was the city I’d like to know the developer has concrete plans to break ground prior to spending millions on adding a new street.

[pierremoncton]

The infrastructure work was supposed to be done last year, then this year. I was asked to keep some info to myself, so I'll just say don't hold your breath.

[jnaygull]

Sounds like the downtown development is a chicken-and-egg situation.

The drama!

If only it were SimCity easy...

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by pierremoncton

The infrastructure work was supposed to be done last year, then this year. I was asked to keep some info to myself, so I'll just say don't hold your breath.

This is disappointing news. Are we talking now about 2024, or 2025???

I don't think we will be seeing any work on Infinity before 2024, and nobody knows what's going on with St. Bernard Square. The Third Sister will be going up next year, and hopefully One Foundry may see some initial work in 2025. The Robinson Residence by Galco is probably looking at a 2024 start. It's anyone's guess when the next project at the Junction Village will commence.

About the only things for sure for this year are 1299 Main and Baton Rouge (should be starting in September).

[NBNYer]

Originally Posted by pierremoncton

The infrastructure work was supposed to be done last year, then this year. I was asked to keep some info to myself, so I'll just say don't hold your breath.

Is the problem at the city level, provincial or the developer?

[Riberview]

What if a developer who recently built a 4 to 6 storey building with 2 storey walk up townhouses on the street front.... decided that they were tired of having $20,000 worth of tools and supplies taken from their sites multiple times.

And what if that developer was one of the ones who recently purchased a currently stalled property and project.

And what if they said they weren't starting their next projects until the city figures out their homelessness/lawlessness issue.

[pierremoncton]

Originally Posted by NBNYer

Is the problem at the city level, provincial or the developer?

Sorry – I'd love to share but I was asked to keep it (the little I know) to myself. It helps to read others' posts.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Riberview

What if a developer who recently built a 4 to 6 storey building with 2 storey walk up townhouses on the street front.... decided that they were tired of having $20,000 worth of tools and supplies taken from their sites multiple times.

And what if that developer was one of the ones who recently purchased a currently stalled property and project.

And what if they said they weren't starting their next projects until the city figures out their homelessness/lawlessness issue.

An obvious reference to St. Bernard Square.

If the developer expects the city to solve homelessness/lawlessness before breaking ground, he might as well throw in hunger and world peace too. I very much agree that the city/province could be doing much more, but, these problems are intractable (especially given current immigration levels), and essentially unsolvable.

If the developer is expecting a miracle to happen, then St. Bernard Square will never get built.

[jnaygull]

Originally Posted by Riberview

What if a developer who recently built a 4 to 6 storey building with 2 storey walk up townhouses on the street front.... decided that they were tired of having $20,000 worth of tools and supplies taken from their sites multiple times.

And what if that developer was one of the ones who recently purchased a currently stalled property and project.

And what if they said they weren't starting their next projects until the city figures out their homelessness/lawlessness issue.

That has to be very frustrating to developers. However, simply holding out only shoots themself in the foot. How about being more creative with solutions to the problem instead of expecting and waiting on someone else to clean it up?

Homelessness/lawlessness is EVERYONE's problem to solve. Not just a government problem. Nothing will get done if we all wait for someone else to "clean it up."

[lirette]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

An obvious reference to St. Bernard Square.

If the developer expects the city to solve homelessness/lawlessness before breaking ground, he might as well throw in hunger and world peace too. I very much agree that the city/province could be doing much more, but, these problems are intractable (especially given current immigration levels), and essentially unsolvable.

If the developer is expecting a miracle to happen, then St. Bernard Square will never get built.

Isn't it pretty much standard to have security on site after hours for any of these developments? Even the development on twin oaks has security stationed there once the crew leaves and that's a less expensive development than St Bernard Square would be.

I'm not really sure I buy this excuse from the developer. St Bernard square has a permit of $35 million, I'm sure they can afford 100K per year to station a security guard on site. As you said, these issues aren't going away. If we don't build housing because we're scared of building housing, we aren't going to solve homelessness either. Obviously we should have done more to build housing years ago if we expect to continue to grow the population at this rate, but developers waiting around for Dawn Arnold to personally jail all the homeless isn't going to solve anything either, and its not even necessarily all homeless who are committing these crimes.