[Moncton] Centre Avenir Centre | 26.65m |~6 Fl | Completed

[ErickMontreal]

Here's some renderings I came across :

[stephan.richard]

Now with this I think now it will solidify MOncton on hosting big events. I would like to put together a bid for Moncton to become host city for the World Junior Hockey tournament and I think that we can be self sufficient in holding the event in Moncton alone or even work with Halifax to do a joint bid like Montreal and Toronto did.

[MonctonRad]

Thanks for those renderings Erick, I saw some of them before but you have posted the high resolution originals which is great!

The events centre is supposed to have 15 corporate boxes, and it's interesting to see how they line up on one side of the arena. I'm really intrigued to see what the concession area will look like, and what the concessions will be. There is also supposed to be a "game day restaurant" on site as well as the Wildcats Boutique. Some renderings of this will be great to see sometime.......

[Scarface]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Thanks for those renderings Erick, I saw some of them before but you have posted the high resolution originals which is great!

The events centre is supposed to have 15 corporate boxes, and it's interesting to see how they line up on one side of the arena. I'm really intrigued to see what the concession area will look like, and what the concessions will be. There is also supposed to be a "game day restaurant" on site as well as the Wildcats Boutique. Some renderings of this will be great to see sometime.......

It looks like the Concession area, and Restaurant will be on the same side then the Corporate boxes. I see a few areas that it looks like you can go I'm also wondering how many washrooms they will have, and if they will have any accessible areas.

I'm wondering what else will be built on this lot Since it looks (from the renderings) that there will be 4 separate buildings. It's a little strange tho that they seem to have taken all the land except for the strip right beside The Glass Houses where Unitel, and what seems to be whats left of the Highfield Square Sobeys store.

[UptownJeff]

Well, I know it isn't common but I would like to congratulate Moncton for this project as a citizen of Saint John! As I continue to say - what is good for Moncton is good for the province and what is good for Saint John is good for the province etc etc......We must start thinking and acting like one unified region - we do not have the population to continue the isolationist thinking that has been so prevalent here. Way to go Moncton!

[mctnguy]

Interesting to note Lot 950, and how it's labelled as "Private Publicly Accessible City Lot/Garage

Originally Posted by ErickMontreal

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by mctnguy

Interesting to note Lot 950, and how it's labelled as "Private Publicly Accessible City Lot/Garage

I think the "950" refers to the number of parking spaces available in that lot. All the yellow lots are labelled "private publically accessible city lot/garage" but I take issue with this. This designation appears to include the Sobey's parking lot for example as well as the parking lot for the Rogers call centre. I would think these businesses would take some umbrage if their parking areas were suddenly filled by Wildcats fans on game nights.

I would agree with most people on the forum however. The easiest solution to the parking dilemma would be to put a structure on the "950" lot. It could be connected via a pedway over the railway tracks directly to the events centre, and would be close enough to downtown to give a parking option for downtown businesses as well........

[NBNYer]

Bird's plan seems vaguely reminiscent of Architecture 2000's proposal from 2013 in terms of color scheme and orientation.

Even the two residential towers on the East side of Highfield look the same.

Originally Posted by Monctoncore

ARCHITECTURE 2000

I am assuming that all that commercial and residential space is not part of what is planned to be built at this point and that they will be looking for private investments for these projects. In the overhead shot, building 2 facing Main street appears to be separate from the main Events Centre building. Given the amount of residential and retail vacancies in the area, I fear these might be vacant for some time. Look at all the delays 55 Queen has had. Maybe even worst, to have the Events Centre surrounded by ''temporary'' surface parking.


One of the councillors mentioned the possibility of extending Weldon street South to the Highfield extension and reestablish more of the street grid, hopefully this gets some serious consideration.

[MonctonRad]

According to the T&T, Kevin Silliker (the city's economic development manager) states that he is aware of 12 projects worth $83M within walking distance of the events centre which are "in the pipeline", and have been awaiting the announcement of the centre.

[Monctoncore]

So 12 projects, that's amazing news, I assume, that will be cut back, but even if we got half of those projects that would be amazing! Cannot wait to hear more about them.

[pierremoncton]

Longer & better-quality flyby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcaRdkEBJ8g

[pierremoncton]

More screenshots sourced from the RFP document: http://www.moncton.ca/Assets/Busines...+RFP+award.pdf

[Monctoncore]

In Pierre's post, the fifth picture down, there is a woman in a white dress on top of one of the tables and everyone is dressed very fancy... They must be planning on making the arena very upscale hahaha

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by Monctoncore

In Pierre's post, the fifth picture down, there is a woman in a white dress on top of one of the tables and everyone is dressed very fancy... They must be planning on making the arena very upscale hahaha

The place is already haunted. She doesn't cast a shadow.

[MonctonRad]

from CBC:

Moncton downtown centre plan lacks parking lot
Isabelle LeBlanc of city says Halifax, Montreal also have arenas with dispersed parking model
By David Bartlett, CBC News
Posted: Aug 14, 2015 12:05 PM AT|
Last Updated: Aug 14, 2015 12:28 PM AT

Moncton's decision to not include dedicated parking at the new downtown centre is in line with what other cities across the country have done, says city spokeswoman Isabelle LeBlanc.

On Wednesday, city council voted 8-3 to approve the $104 million project, which will see a 9,000-seat arena built on the former Highfield Square site on Main Street.

But at that council meeting it was revealed people who want to drive to venue will have to park in one of the 3,000 public and private parking spots that are already within a 10-minute walk.

That prompted some people to weigh in through social media.

"A nine-thousand-seat sports centre with no parking? Good luck with that, Moncton," wrote Anthony Burgess on CBC New Brunswick's Facebook page.

That's also where Kanis Lupus wrote " I don't know why Moncton doesn't realize that with any new building they need to add in the construction of parking structures. Above and below ground to accommodate."

On Twitter, Weh-Ming Cho stated "3,000 spots within a 10-minute walk … Sounds like the perfect time to start a new booting business."

LeBlanc, the city's director of corporate communications, agreed many people don't understand this idea during an interview Friday on Information Morning in Moncton.

"I know it's a bit of a shift in thinking because we are all so used to walking about 30 metres before getting to the door," she said.

LeBlanc said the city adopted the dispersed parking model because there are about 3,000 parking within a 10-minute walk of where the new building will be built.

"These are privately owned lots and city-owned lots. So there are 3,000 spaces within a 10-minute walk of the facility. We average about three people per car, so that can accommodate up to 9,000 spectators going to an event, which is the capacity of the building."

LeBlanc also noted that downtown arenas in Halifax and Montreal don't have dedicated parking either.

She did note there would be some accessible parking at the new building for those with mobility issues.

"There [will also be] a drop-off zone. We're very lucky because Codiac Transpo's transit station is right on the other side of the street, which is perfect," LeBlanc added

Once people see the final traffic and parking plan they will better understand the concept behind the decision, she said.

Construction is slated to begin on the centre this spring, and is scheduled to be open by the fall of 2018.

Personal note - I will try to withhold judgement until I see the final traffic and parking plan, but I am firmly convinced that parking is and will remain the one Achilles heel for this development. This is however a great opportunity for a private developer to step in and provide a solution - a large downtown enclosed parking facility. If this centre is truly going to be busy 150 nights per year, then this could be a big money maker for a privately financed parking facility.

[David_99]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

The place is already haunted. She doesn't cast a shadow.

Neither does the Mars Ghost! It's her!

[riverviewer]

Even if a parking garage isn't built, a pedestrian overpass needs to be built over the tracks to connect the 950 lot, and all other lots along Assumption. That accessibility circle is deceiving. The only entry points for anything on the other side of the tracks are the underpasses at main and the Vaughn Harvey extension and detouring to those extends the walking distance.

[mylesmalley]

I wouldn't take that map as gospell or anything. It was just to clearly illustrate that there is in fact a lot of parking available. There's on-street parking in quite a few areas and that could be greatly expanded as well. For example, Gordon Street doesn't have any if I recall correctly. Dominion, Weldon, High, Cameron, and Highfield streets are all right there. You could have spots on at least one side of each road all the way up to St. George.

[pierremoncton]

It's in this city's culture that active and public transportation is something to be embarrassed about. Forcing people to rethink their ways is exactly what the location of the events centre is all about. It's meant to incite people to move downtown. If the centre had as many parking spots as seats, the entire project would be futile from day one; nothing would change. Walk, bike, or find a designated driver and share rides between friends. There are also legal requirements for disabled parking, so that's a non-issue.

Funny how 100,000 made it to Magnetic Hill but people bitch about this... Parking will not be a problem in the long term after people wise up. Good events = find a way to get your ass there somehow.

[MonctonRad]

Another thing about parking is that if it gets too congested downtown, it could be bad for existing businesses in the core.

I know that all the downtown restaurants are excited about the possibilities of getting Wildcats fans to chow down on pizza etc before game time but I'm willing to wager most fans will only be interested in the game itself and not the full downtown experience. They will arrive immediately before game time and leave immediately afterwards.

Personally, I could see parking as far away as the city hall parking lot in order to attend the events centre. Let's say that the city hall lot fills up with Wildcats fans on game night. What happens to the adjacent restaurants (like the Tide & Boar and the Pumphouse) if this happens? I'll use a hospital analogy since I work at the Moncton Hospital. These hockey fans become akin to "bed blockers" in the hospital.

Since these hockey fans are occupying all the parking spots downtown but not really eating at the downtown restaurants all that frequently, I can't imagine that this would be all that good for business. I don't think it would be too long before the Downtown Moncton Business Association would be howling for improved parking availability in the core. I'm sure this will happen.

Again, I'm thrilled to see the events centre being built in the core. This will be tremendous for the downtown. All I'm doing here is playing the devil's advocate. Parking is a serious issue with this development and must be addressed.

We have three years before the events centre opens. We need to use this time to find ways to properly address this issue........