The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[kwajo]

Harbourfront (built 2011-12) is at least as tall as the Mercantile Centre, I'm not sure of the exact height, but hey at least it is slightly more contemporary.

[jeddy1989]

Originally Posted by Joe

In the works would be the Fundy Quay developement.

http://www.sjwaterfront.com/documents/FundyQuayRFP-FINAL.pdf

ohh that one will be nice!!

I wish we had room in ST St. John's to do developments of entire sections (could add more pedestrian interest)

I ask because even St. John's was VERY stagnant for many many years and I was wondering if it was only Halifax that was developing it's downtown though out the years

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by jeddy1989

hey guys just out of curiosity, when was the last major office tower was built or highrise?

are there any big projects in the works?

The last high rises would be Chateau Saint John (Hotel) and Harbourfront Resideces (three years ago and one year ago)

[ErickMontreal]

Saint John vacancy rate hits 10-year high
Worst on list of 35 major centres

CBC NewsPosted: Dec 19, 2012 11:44 AM AT
Last Updated: Dec 19, 2012 11:34 AM AT


Landlords are feeling the effects of New Brunswick's slow economy, especially in Saint John where the vacancy rate has climbed to a 10-year high.

Saint John landlord Donald Hazen says this year's rental market is slower than last.Saint John landlord Donald Hazen says this year's rental market is slower than last. (CBC)

The city's vacancy rate of 9.7 per cent is the worst on a list of 35 major centres, surveyed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The national average is 2.6 per cent.

Moncton is also reporting a high vacancy rate at 6.7 per cent, but for slightly different reasons.

"This year's a little slower than last and last year was slower than the previous year," said landlord Donald Hazen, whose family owns 400 rental units in Saint John.

Saint John's population isn't growing, but Moncton's is, said Claude Gautreau, CMHC spokesman.

Moncton has also seen new construction.

"It's essentially a supply and demand issue. When you look at Moncton, for example, in this case, the vacancy rate went up in 2012, mostly because supply went up a little bit faster than demand," said Gautreau.

"And when you look at Saint John, it's the opposite, where the vacancy rate is up — not so much because you have an increase in supply — but in this case, it's the other extreme where you actually see demand coming down in 2012."

Ads on the classified website Kijiji show Saint John landlords advertising incentives like a month's free rent.

But some people still can't find what they need.

Anastasia Whittaker says finding a three-bedroom apartment in the upper west side that's within her budget is difficult. Anastasia Whittaker says finding a three-bedroom apartment in the upper west side that's within her budget is difficult. (CBC)

Anastasia Whittaker is looking for a three-bedroom apartment for herself and two kids at less than $800 a month in the city's upper west side.

"And a lot of them are $900 and $1,000 a month, and there's nothing included and it's impossible to afford that," said Whittaker.

CMHC says rents in Saint John have not slacked off with each year bringing a moderate increase. Currently, the average two-bedroom apartment goes for $691. It's $40 higher in Moncton.

Hazen said he's had to freeze some rents. But other years have been worse.

"Oh yes, just before the refinery expansion, we had up to 15 per cent vacancy," said Hazen.

CMHC predicts Saint John's vacancy rate could start to come down in 2014 because of a slowdown in new inventory.

[JHikka]

Correct me if i'm wrong but the actual height to classify as a high-rise is something like 7 floors, right?

[jeddy1989]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Correct me if i'm wrong but the actual height to classify as a high-rise is something like 7 floors, right?

I think it is 10 or 12 floors

Edit:

depends on who you talk to, I think SSP conciders it a highrise when it's 12 floors or more

I know in St. John's we concider a highrise above 10 floors

here's wikipedia

Various bodies have defined 'high-rise':
Emporis Standards defines a high-rise as "A multi-story structure between 35-100 metres tall, or a building of unknown height from 12-39 floors."[54]
According to the building code of Hyderabad, India, a high-rise building is one with four floors or more, or one 15 metres or more in height.[55]
The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines a high-rise as "a building having many storeys".
The International Conference on Fire Safety in High-Rise Buildings defined a high-rise as "any structure where the height can have a serious impact on evacuation"[citation needed]
In the U.S., the National Fire Protection Association defines a high-rise as being higher than 75 feet (23 meters), or about 7 stories.[56]
Most building engineers, inspectors, architects and similar professions define a high-rise as a building that is at least 75 feet (23 m) tall.[citation needed]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-rise

We would think of 7 floors as a midrise

But depends on who you talk to

[CdnEh]

I love this pic; it makes the city look so much larger than it actually is.

[Peter_johnns]

Does anyone think this city needs a real civic flag?

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by Peter_johnns

Does anyone think this city needs a real civic flag?

I kinda like our flag to be honest.

[jeddy1989]

St. John's has the same style flag



funny though because many of the other municipalities in the region have flags that are more than the crest on white

Mount Pearl:


Paradise:


Prtugal Cove St. Philips:



Halifax has a not very attractive one:

[kwajo]

Fun story about our coat of arms: originally the animals on either side were caribou, not moose, but it was later revised after caribou were expatriated from the city (and eventually, the province). Some parts of the city still carry remnants of this, with names such as Caribou Plains out by Mispec.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by jeddy1989

Halifax has a not very attractive one:

If 'white' were also used, it would help calm the somewhat jarring colour contrast between the blue and orange.

[jeddy1989]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

If 'white' were also used, it would help calm the somewhat jarring colour contrast between the blue and orange.

I agree

[mylesmalley]

I think Halifax's would look a lot better if they just dropped one of the elements. I'm sure there's a historical significance to everything, but do you really need a bird, two ships, and four arrows? Maybe the ships and the bird, or the bird and arrows?

[JHikka]

I see nothing wrong with Saint John's municipal flag. City flags often are not used for a whole lot, to be honest, so I don't see it as a big deal either way.

[Peter_johnns]

For a city with such heritage as SJ the seal, to me, is inappropriate. It feels very 'corporate' with no identifiable imagery.
Personally, I love Halifax's flag. I suits the city well, and is distinguishable from Nova Scotia's Flag
I suggest looking at Toronto and Montreal for other good examples of civic flags. It is a small problem, but at
the same time a small problem is easily fixed.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Peter_johnns

For a city with such heritage as SJ the seal, to me, is inappropriate. It feels very 'corporate' with no identifiable imagery.
Personally, I love Halifax's flag. I suits the city well, and is distinguishable from Nova Scotia's Flag
I suggest looking at Toronto and Montreal for other good examples of civic flags. It is a small problem, but at
the same time a small problem is easily fixed.

Given the current financial and economic situation within Saint John I would think that our resources could be better focused on areas not pertaining to our municipality's flag. When the time comes that we have the funds and resources to devote to the flag we could consider it.

In other words, things like these cost money, and that's money that we either don't have or that which could be spent in better places.

That's my political response. Seriously though, it's only a municipal flag. It's not really a big deal. Saint John has a great logo (the loyalist w/ telescope thing) and we use that on all of our promotional events/press releases. Not the flag.

[kwajo]

Exactly. I can't even think of a recent instance where the flag was used on anything broadcast or sent to the world outside of Saint John, as we always use the "explorer" logo these days.

[cdnguys]

Some economic news:
JDI recently consolidated payroll for all their companies and chose Saint John for their location - hiring is ongoing.

The reservation calls for new leisure airline Air Canada Rouge will be received at the Millidgeville call centre.

TD expansion well underway at their Rothesay Avenue centre - adding another story to the building.

[DizzyEdge]

When it comes time to redesign the flag, use the explorer logo.

There.

You may paypal me my consulting fee.

Thanks