[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Hotel is Canvas, part of the Tapestry brand of Hilton hotels.

The onsite restaurant is Gahan House , which does room service to both hotel guests and condo residents. There is also a rooftop bar as well (Palette Cocktail Bar).

Yes, the condo residents can organize cleaning services through the hotel as well (for a price).

The hotel has been operational for about the last three years.

I found the website. It's interesting to see so many of the condos still unsold if it's been up for that long. Especially in the recent red hot real estate market. Are condos a hard sell in Moncton the way they are in Saint John?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by sailor734

I found the website. It's interesting to see so many of the condos still unsold if it's been up for that long. Especially in the recent red hot real estate market. Are condos a hard sell in Moncton the way they are in Saint John?

Yes, condos are a very hard sell in Moncton. I think it has something to do with the idea of condo fees, and a need to pitch in for necessary maintenance. ie - "How can I say I own my condo if I have to pay $1000 a month in condo fees, that's God damned ridiculous!!!!"

I can understand the rationale to a degree.

In any event, the Moncton mindset is that "apartments are to rent, houses are to own."

[jonny golden]

Originally several of the condos did sell. They wisely marketed a "downtown lifestyle", which was great when downtown Moncton was an attractive place to hang out. However they were very expensive, and the market didn't support a sell-out of the units. They did a pivot and rented out the unsold units. AFAIK these condos are still available for sale and are rented out in the mean time. There could be some vacancies now, which would be available for sale or rent.

There's also a very popular Experience by ANBL store, and a main floor café. Overall, 55 Queen has been a great success.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Yes, condos are a very hard sell in Moncton. I think it has something to do with the idea of condo fees, and a need to pitch in for necessary maintenance. ie - "How can I say I own my condo if I have to pay $1000 a month in condo fees, that's God damned ridiculous!!!!"

I can understand the rationale to a degree.

In any event, the Moncton mindset is that "apartments are to rent, houses are to own."

yep, I think with the possible exception of downtown Halifax that might well be a Maritime thing.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

This whole area should be re-designed. There's so much surface parking - a lot of it going unused. A parking structure would be a logical element to add to any master plan of the area. An aquatic center and getting rid of the old telegraph building would be an incredible addition next to the Avenir center. The synergy would be fantastic.

And rejuvenating 1222 Main Street would a no brainer. A hotel wouldn't be out of the question, as Crombie already manages Scotia Square in Halifax which includes Hotel Halifax. I'm not sure that converting the whole building to hotel rooms would be the best option as there already are a lot of hotel rooms close by. Maybe a residential component on the upper floors, and of course ground floor commercial/retail.

The whole area could be a crown jewel for downtown Moncton.

Here is an idea of how a competition pool/diving aquatic facility could work on this lot.



I have done measurements, and, a 50M pool and diving complex could fit in this footprint with room for a modest spectator area. The "hotel" is the existing 1222 Main building. An atrium/lobby area in the back would serve as an expansive entrance into the diving facility. The lobby could be accessed through the hotel, or, through the existing breezeway between 1222 & 1234 Main. An indoor parking structure in behind would serve both the aquatic centre and the Avenir Centre. The commercial space along Main Street would provide a continuous facade along the streetfront, and would give space for a restaurant and/or a sports pub and perhaps a sports merchandise store.

[MonctonRad]

I've been thinking of that relatively small structural steel footprint they have erected for the new Baton Rouge restaurant at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

- Is this just because they are waiting for the spring to complete installation for the structural steel? Or, could this be because of the design of the restaurant?

A rendering of this building has never been made public. I wonder if the majority of the building could be glass faced, and that the majority of the restaurant may be built as a glassed in atrium? Another thing to consider is whether or not they will also have an outdoor restaurant patio as well. They could easily do this by placing the patio along the side of the restaurant itself, and adjacent to the Bunker golf simulator/bar.

This actually is an interesting point, and could affect the entire character and feel of that portion of Main Street. The Bunker is supposed to have the largest outdoor patio in downtown Moncton. Imagine immediately adjacent to this an expansive outdoor restaurant patio belong to Baton Rouge.

This could create quite the lively streetfront atmosphere, and very close to the Avenir Centre too!

Thoughts???

[jonny golden]

The steel that's in place now does seem like a small footprint for a Baton Rouge restaurant. So if they aren't erecting more steel, could they possibly be incorporating some of the existing building at street level? It would be better than having it vacant, and they could do a nice upgrade to it. And that would significantly improve the appearance of the whole block.

One would think that if there was more steel to come, they would have done it already.

[monctonwatch]

Great Idea about the pool but here's a crazy idea. Partner with Via rail to move their current station to one that straddles over the tracks. Train station over the tracks will create a bridge to the parking lot owned by Heritage, I'm sure they will have no issues in a partnership to improve the value of their property. With all the recent land transactions occurring in the neighborhood I'm guessing we will be seeing quite a few construction announcements in the near future

[monctonwatch]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/199949202@N04/53482741288


sorry i have no clue how to post pictures yet hah

[MonctonRad]

Posted it for you.



In essence, at the bottom right of the page that your link pointed to, you will find a curved arrow. Click on that and it will give you the option of a BBB code which you can copy and then paste into your post here. This allows you to embed the image into your SSP post. It is not completely intuitive, but, if you play around with it, you can figure it out.

[jonny golden]

A pedway over the tracks would be an excellent idea as part of a development of that large parking lot. A no-brainer really, since once once you cross the tracks you're right at the Avenir center. In the future, it would be a major convenience for the residents of the 3 sisters and the 2 brothers.

I can't see it happening unless that parking lot gets developed though, including a major parking structure to service the existing parking needs. If it ever does happen, it would make an excellent neighbourhood addition to Lafford's projects.

[MonctonRad]

They have mounted signage on the facade of the new Obstetrics & Newborn Care Wing of The Moncton Hospital:



Despite this sign of progress, the opening of this wing has been delayed again, until the fall.

Construction on this new wing has been agonizingly slow - at least four years. They are just starting work on the new Cardiac Care Wing of the hospital (in the old staff parking lot in behind, well out of view by passers-by). Hopefully this other new project will progress more quickly!!!

[Buck17]

Parts of tower crane being dropped off at Icon site today!

[Leroy321]

Originally Posted by Buck17

Parts of tower crane being dropped off at Icon site today!

If there starting this early in the year they must of kept the original height.

[Monctoncore]

Originally Posted by Buck17

Parts of tower crane being dropped off at Icon site today!

This is very exciting! Hopefully someone get get a photo!

[jnaygull]

That is great news! This is the most defining skyline changer for Moncton since the construction of the Assumption building in 1972! I am surprised they are dropping off a crane before any excavation has taken place. I know nothing about construction so maybe this is common.

[Leroy321]

With infinity, St. Bernard place, the three sisters, the tomato building and the Atlantic science centre being built this year, are downtown will have the most tower cranes it’s ever had at once.

[new kid in town]

I'm so excited for our downtown even though I really don't even pay attention to the tomato building anymore! I hope moving forward, majority of the projects in the downtown core are at least 10+ floors mixed use.

[MonctonRad]

Speaking of the Tomato Building, the first floor of the building is now complete. This is useful as it aids in assessing the footprint of the building, and imagining the effect the building will eventually have on the streetscape at Main & Vaughan Hervey.

I know people deride the stunted six storey height of the building, but, there is no question this building will still have a big impact on the density and built form in this neighbourhood. In fact, I really think the "tomato lady" and her ilk. have really only achieved a pyrrhic victory for their efforts. Their neighbourhood will remain forever changed, and this change will only progress as the rumoured 10 storey building across the street in the Junction Urban Village gets built.

You do not create urbanity and achieve densification by building only 30-50 storey buildings. The true character of a city is created at ground level and within the pedestrian realm. Residential towers are impressive, but tightly packed urbanity is what truly creates a city. Many of the great cities of Europe are defined by 6-8 storey residential buildings with ground level retail/commercial. We should remember this.

[NBNYer]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I know people deride the stunted six storey height of the building, but, there is no question this building will still have a big impact on the density and built form in this neighbourhood. In fact, I really think the "tomato lady" and her ilk. have really only achieved a pyrrhic victory for their efforts. Their neighbourhood will remain forever changed, and this change will only progress as the rumoured 10 storey building across the street in the Junction Urban Village gets built.

.

Indeed. The whole controversy has highlighted the absurdity of some of their claims (like the tomato issue) to many who had previously no interest in urban form and planning issues. Particularly at a time of dire need for more housing. Also, having local officials commenting on the situation and linking rising housing costs to limited housing availability has also helped to improve general public knowledge and interest in the matter.

I agree that the intersection already feels improved and way more urban coming from the east on Main Street, even with just with a single story built. It’ll be interesting to see it get taller.