The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[Helladog]

Originally Posted by Seely32

also I want to go out and get some photos of construction tomorrow because friday I am going in to get 4 kidney stones removed so I'll be in some pain and my movement will be sparse. Does anyone on here have some suggestions or projects they want to see just let me know. So far im going to:

Lienster project
Saint Johhn Energy building
Hampton Inn
Bestwestern
New tax office
New Ellerdale BUilding
robertsons wharf
Harbour bridge
Bentley crossings

And some buildings that are being fixed up...any more suggestion post fast....the ungodly pain of a urinoscopy and urenal stint await me.

If you're going to be uptown, maybe take a swing down Cantebury and snap some shots of the Centrebeam restoration there, and further down near Saint John High there is another older multi-storey building being renovated.

There's also supposed to be a seniors building on the south eastern portion of the peninsula...I don't know if they've started building yet, but the land is cleared.

I have been reading these threads for months and tonight, finally took the plunge and joined.

Welcome...I did the same thing a month or two back...

[Helladog]

-= King Street =-



Source: Helladog's Mighty Wireless

[Seely32]

I saw they cleared the old chinese restaurant I didnt get to many pics today I was in alot of pain.

But I never noticed ho nice the turnbull home is down on wentworth and britian i beleive.

Ill post some pics later.

[Seely32]

Ellerdale




Hampton Inn and East Point









My dog


BestWestern



Tax Office



HArbour Bridge



Bentley Crossings



New SJ Energy Building



I had Nicer shots but the Fog Ruined my day

14 million dollar housing project on west side off of Lancaster.


Some photos also taken by my Fiance Katseely26

More to Come as well I keep them as smaller images so the page wouldnt take forever to load.

Link to my flickr page if you want to see them Bigger or other photos around town. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8136409@N03/ give it a look any problems let me know.

I am still working on my domain and once its up and running I'll get all you guys in the loop

[Helladog]

Nice shots, Seely! Good update.

[Seely32]

also thank you to halifaxmtl667 for updating the main page check it out.

[Helladog]

Some cool pics of Brunswick House I came across...it was constructed in 1966, the tallest building uptown at that time...Forgive the poor quality, these are wireless phone pics.






Source: Photos hanging on the wall inside oedway entrance


Source: Telegraph Journal, Sept 1966

[michael_d40]

Keg officials make visit to Port City


Khalid Malik
Telegraph-Journal
Published Saturday September 1st, 2007
Appeared on page B3

SAINT JOHN - The city could have of a new upscale restaurant if the price is right.

"It is a matter of a right location and a right developer who can put in what we need," said Rob Moore, one of the three partners of the Keg Steakhouse & Bar franchise in St. John's, N.L. The partnership is also opening the restaurant in the Marriott hotel now under construction in Moncton.

Moore was in Saint John Tuesday and Wednesday along with the general manager of their St. John's restaurant and couple of people from the chain's office in Toronto and its corporate head office in Richmond, B.C.

"We are excited about the project," he said in a telephone interview from Halifax Thursday. "Chances are certainly looking better if we can get a deal from a developer.

"Saint John seems to have an upbeat economy. Things seem to be happening and we want to be part of it."

Moore said Keg restaurants are mostly in leased locations. "It is very costly to develop (restaurants) with your own building. We need a developer with deep pockets."

They met with three developers during their visit to Saint John. "We need a developer who has got the right location and is willing to lease back to Keg," he said.

One of the developers they met has an existing building and the other two would build new properties, he said.

James Henderson, vice-president business development for Keg, said in an interview from Vancouver they were in Saint John about a year-and-a-half ago and found the city was not large enough.

"It was not going to be successful. But things have changed. The economy is buoyant and they wanted to go have a second look," he said.

Henderson said if the franchisee decides to proceed with the project "we will come here (to Saint John) to approve the project."

He said the chain looks at three factors before deciding to open a new location - population, demographics and disposable income. "We are very particular where we place Keg. We want to be successful where we open," he said.

Henderson said their restaurants come in two sizes - 8,200 square feet and 8,800 square feet. The Saint John restaurant would be of smaller size and could employ 90 people.

Moore said they would like to be in the uptown area. "Keg is pretty much a downtown concept. We like to be close to water. We like to be near corporate travellers. They throw out parties for special occasions.

"Hotels are big for us. They have the convention business. Those attending conventions tend to stay in bigger hotels. Keg will be a great addition to your uptown," he said.

Keg could open in Saint John "within the next couple of years," Moore said. "We need a developer to develop the site and it takes between 16 to 20 months... Ideally it would be six to 12 months after we open the Moncton Keg."

The Moncton restaurant will open next June, he added.

Mayor Norm McFarlane said in a separate interview the franchisee seems to be very serious about opening a location here. "We did a lot in the day-and-a-half they were here," he said.

"I have been continually calling them for the last year-and-a-half," the mayor said. "A decision to locate here will be made sooner rather than later."

Enterprise Saint John and the Saint John Waterfront Development Partnership also met the Keg representatives to pitch Saint John as a great opportunity for a new location for the franchise, he said.

McFarlane described the Richmond, B.C.-based chain as "a huge, upscale, really recognized chain, the one people would like to use. It will be another icon to have in the city."

He said another good thing about their visit is that it shows that people hear about what's going on in Saint John and then they come here to get more information.

McFarlane said he was very excited when they called him and told him that "the reason they wanted to explore Saint John again was because of all of the exciting news and economic activity they continue to hear about in Saint John."

The restaurant is said to have a casual atmosphere and friendly service.

Founded in 1971 by Vancouver entrepreneur George Tidball, the chain now has 100 locations across North America, Henderson said. About 10 years ago it was bought by Vancouver restaurateur and businessman, David Aisenstat.

[GUB]

Thanks to Helladog & Seely for the nice shots. I especially like the pick of brunswick house.
I'm in SJ visiting family and had the opportunity to drive around the city to check things out. There are signs of great progress in the core, but still lots of room for improvement..---that huge bargain shop uptown has seriously got to go. I remember probably 7-8 years ago there was an attempt to put an Imax theatre in that space, but in typical SJ fashion, city officials s--t all over that deal. Robertson's Wharf is well done, also impresive are the comex bus stops in the valley. I'm quite sure SJ will be booming for the next 20 years.

[random11]

Thanks Helladog for posting the Brunswick House pics - very cool. Hopefully we'll see more structural steel taking form soon.

[michael_d40]

ComeX starts tomorrow eh,,

[COMEX BUS SERVICE BEGINS TOMORROW]
SEPT03/07 11:49AM

COMMUTERS FROM HAMPTON, KV AND GRANDBAY CAN HOP ON THE CITY’S NEW COMEX COMMUNITY BUSES STARTING TOMORROW. COUNCILLOR CHRIS TITUS SAYS THERE IS A BIT OF A DELAY ON BUS DELIVERY BECAUSE THE BUSES ARE COMPLICATED AND THERE ARE A FEW BUGS TO WORK OUT ON THEIR POLLUTION REDUCTION SYSTEM.
TITUS SAYS THE DELAY WONT AFFECT THE BUS SERVICE. HE SAYS THE COMEX WILL REDUCE THE PARKING JAM IN THE UPTOWN AREA.

[Helladog]

Are there still plans to expand/develop Market Square? By the response from the Hardman Group in City Watch, it sounds like it's still a possibility...


Published Monday September 3rd, 2007
Appeared on page C1

What's wrong? The lighthouse at the corner of St. Patrick Street looks bad and obviously not cared for, says Anne Bulgaris. It could use a coat of paint at least, she said, adding that if the lighthouse were painted, the Marco Polo sign that stands in front of it, could be placed somewhere else. "It just looks like no one cares about that corner and it is turning into more of an eyesore than anything else," Bulgaris said.

Who is responsible? The Hardman Group Ltd.

Remarks: Heather Peterson, manager, said the company plans to remove the lighthouse because it plans to develop the site to expand the Market Square complex. If it decided not to develop the site, it might build a new lighthouse because the existing one is beyond repair. As for the Morco Polo sign, she said, it was put there at the request of the group that is planning to build a replica of the ship.

[Helladog]

dp

[Helladog]

ERIN DWYER
DEVELOPMENTS
Published Tuesday September 4th, 2007
Appeared on page C5

Just in time for the first month of school, the new Staples Business Depot in Rothesay will open on Sept. 29.

From the company's head office in Toronto, spokesperson Jennifer Hills said there will be a ceremony and opening-day specials to mark the event. As a sponsor of Special Olympics Canada, the store will be inviting some athletes to the ribbon cutting as well as local dignitaries.

The 1,400-square-metre store is one of eight new Staple stores opening in smaller communities and suburbs across Canada in the next few months, adding to the company's some 270 present locations.

"It's such a strain for customers to always rely on the delivery process," she said. "They just want to go in and buy. It shouldn't be such a performance to drive half an hour or hour to go to a more main town.

"So we're opening up in a lot of locations across the country that are a bit smaller just so people can have the same access as someone from Toronto."

Rothesay's new Staples store occupies the space where the Riverboat Entertainment Centre bowling alley, owned by Atlantic Wholesalers Ltd., used to be.

The bowling alley closed over a year ago, leaving a large retail space vacant. While the new office supplies store takes up most of the space, another 675 square metres at the centre is up for lease by Arcturus Realty Corporation, which looks after real estate for Atlantic Wholesalers Ltd. in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces.

The new Rothesay store will also be a job creator for the Valley, employing between 25 and 35 full- and part-time associates.

"We try to hire all our associates from the local area, including management," Hills said.

"We might have to bring someone else in the beginning just to shadow, but we try to hire everyone directly from the surrounding area."

When the store opens later this month, customers will find it carries the same inventory as other Staple stores across the country.

It will house a furniture section, a copy centre, an electronics department containing computers, printers and cameras, as well as its full complement of office supplies.

"It will be a full-out store," Hills said.

[michael_d40]

Perk up, coffee drinkers



Telegraph-Journal
Published Friday September 7th, 2007
Appeared on page C1
SAINT JOHN - American coffee giant Starbucks is upping the ante in the brewing war with Canadian icon Tim Hortons.



Starbucks announced Thursday it will open its first free-standing retail outlet in New Brunswick at East Point Shopping, on the city's East Side.

Patrick Keefe, the vice-president of operations for Coffee Vision Atlantic, the company that owns the exclusive rights to operate Starbucks outlets in Atlantic Canada, joined Mayor Norm McFarlane and East Point developer Troy Northrup to announce the province's first such outlet - Starbucks operates smaller outlets in Chapters bookstores in Dieppe and Fredericton - will be open before Christmas.

The Starbucks will be located just off Westmorland Road, on Depot Drive, adjacent to the Home Depot store.

"There are a couple of reasons that we chose Saint John," said Keefe. "The customers have been asking us to come here. They've been calling us and some people who have visited our locations in Halifax have been asking when we're coming to Saint John. That piqued our interest. And with all the big things that are happening in Saint John - all the announcements - the city is a very attractive market."

Keefe said the plans call for a 2,000-square-foot outlet with all the amenities - including a fireplace and comfortable seating for about 35 customers - and a drive-through window.

He said his company - which has four outlets in Halifax and one in St. John's, N.L. - had been looking for the right Saint John location for a while. And he said that more locations could be popping up in the not-too-distant future.

"We've been looking for a location here for about a year and we're thrilled to be part of this development," said Keefe. "Traffic, convenience, visibility - this site has all that. We're interested in opening more stores in and around Saint John. We've been looking at the uptown and we're interested in the Rothesay/Quispamsis area. Those can be considered target areas and it's just a matter of coming up with the right locations."

The Starbucks outlet at East Point Shopping is in addition to the Starbucks kiosk that will open in McAllister Place next Friday. Northrup was pleased with East Point's latest tenant and says he expects to be able to announce further developments before the end of the month.

"We pursued Starbucks aggressively, as we did with all of our other tenants," said Northrup. "We gave them a good understanding of the community and why it's the right place to go.

"We've seen a lot of retailers, when they arrive in Atlantic Canada, go to Halifax first and Moncton second. And we're usually the next consideration - a toss-up between Fredericton and Saint John. In this case, we convinced them to come to Saint John first."

Northrup said East Point has developed about half of the 80 acres it has available and he hinted similar announcements are on the horizon.

"What we're trying to build out here is a full-service centre. And in any full-service centre, you need complements. There's the service sector such as coffee and food, then you have fashion, general merchandise and home decor. We're trying to have a well-rounded centre.




Moncton should love that !

[Helladog]

Confidence soars
Survey Consumer faith reaches its zenith in Saint John with energy mega-projects on the horizon

ROB LINKE
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
Published Monday September 10th, 2007
Appeared on page A1

OTTAWA - Consumer confidence in Saint John has reached a record high, surpassing one measure of the buoyant mood in the Moncton area for the first time.

Pollster Don Mills credits the major energy sector projects and other investments already apparent in Saint John, as well as the buzz about even larger mega-projects on the drawing board.

Mills, president of Corporate Research Associates, has been using questions about perceptions of the provincial economy, household budget and intentions to make major purchases to create a confidence index since 1989.

The index is a snapshot of perceptions of current economic conditions and an outlook of the coming year.

"Consumer confidence in Atlantic Canada has been quite good for some time," said Mills. "But look at the surge in Saint John - it's quite a difference."

"People are definitely more upbeat" than just a few years ago, said Imelda Gilman, president of the Saint John Board of Trade.

An economic leader in Moncton evoked the familiar image of Saint John shoppers flocking to his metropolis' Champlain Place in reaction.

"Saint John is doing well," said John J. Thompson, CEO of Enterprise Greater Moncton. "As a retail hub, we think that's great news. It means we'll do better, too."

In August, the index reached 115.4 in Saint John, compared to 112.9 in Moncton. The provincial figure stood at 107.3.

Those figures are all higher than the benchmark of 100, set the year the index was created, 1989.

Gilman said the numbers confirmed the changes she was seeing in the cityscape, in the pace and scale of public and private-sector announcements for the region and in conversations around the city.

"On the ground, I'm seeing a lot of excitement among business people. We see the projects underway like the Point Lepreau (nuclear plant) refurbishment and the Canaport LNG (terminal) generating spending and spinoffs already with well-paying jobs.

"And there are signs of a lot more to come, with the possibility of a second (Irving Oil) refinery and a Lepreau II."

Construction announcements - for a new highway interchange, completion of the twinning of Route 1 to St. Stephen and a bypass to avoid a treacherous stretch of highway near Welsford en route to Fredericton via Route 7 - have added to the community's sense of momentum, she said.

"There have been so many good-news announcements of late," Gilman said, and people are starting to think the old cycle of boom and bust has a better chance this time of becoming a boom without a bust.

"The way they're unfolding one after the other now - it appears as if we're planning better."

Mills called high consumer confidence "a great support for (Premier Shawn Graham's) goal of self-sufficiency," or turning New Brunswick into a "have" province, no longer qualifying for federal equalization payments, in 20 years.

"Consumers make up two-thirds of our gross domestic product," he said.

Economic optimism and satisfaction with the ruling political party also cross-fertilize, Mills pointed out.

A poll released last week found a solid majority of New Brunswickers satisfied with the Graham government, which is just shy of celebrating one year in power.

But Mills also threw in a challenge to governments.

"These numbers are part of the accelerated urbanization we're seeing in New Brunswick and throughout Atlantic Canada," he said.

"It's good news for the economy when that happens.

"And government needs to support the cities in a stronger way."

Thompson also put Saint John's new peak in another perspective, pointing out that both Moncton's long-term trend in consumer confidence is higher and more stable than Saint John's.

As well, "while Saint John is positioned to grow in population, nobody in the region has growth projections like we have."

Still, Gilman pointed to several reasons to suggest Saint John did not have to take a back seat to anybody.

"East Saint John has just exploded" with new stores, she said. "And we have four new hotels being built in the city and one in the Kennebecasis Valley.

"Cirque du Soleil just sold out for seven nights.

"Another airline has chosen to come, and those people do their research first.

"And we'll have our biggest year ever for cruise ship visits, sometimes with three vessels here on one day."

In the 1980s, Moncton had its hard times with the closure of the CN rail yards, but recovered strongly.

In the 1990s, Saint John lost its shipyard "and we've receovred strongly, too," she said.

Gilman said Saint John didn't need or want to compare itself to Moncton.

"We're a close-knit province," she said.

[Helladog]

Waterfront announcement set Tuesday

Telegraph-Journal
Published Monday September 10th, 2007
Appeared on page C3

SAINT JOHN - Federal Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson and Roly MacIntyre, the provincial minister of Supply and Services and minister responsible for the province's Regional Development Corporation, will join Saint John Mayor Norm McFarlane on Tuesday at 10 a.m. for a major waterfront development announcement.

The press conference will be held near the Pugsley Terminal at the intersection of Duke and Water streets or in case of rain, the Market Square Atrium.

[Helladog]

Not listed in the project page are the refurbishment of Point Lepreau and separate retubing plant as well as the proposed Lepreau II and III.

[Seely32]

I would Like to be at the The announcement but I am extremely happy to see that Starbucks chose Eastpoint. They Should draw more people there and that will attract other stores and chains to come to that area. I've never really thought it out but the hotel will bring a lot of potential customers and a restaurant and some convience type stores like a shoppers would do well in a place like that. As long as they Had the right section of the mall for it. I am still trying to get a peek at that floor model and If anyone can get done there and let us know the news at duke and water street I would be much obliged.

[michael_d40]

Complex to feature 168 apartments


John Mazerolle
Telegraph-Journal
Published Tuesday September 11th, 2007
Appeared on page C1

SAINT JOHN - It will likely be the biggest apartment building in Saint John, and developer John Rocca promised common council Monday night that his proposed three-building complex on the East Side will feature some of the city's best apartments, too.
Advertisement

"As things continue to improve economically in the city, there is going to be a need for a luxury apartment," Rocca said, noting that the last such apartment here was built in 1973.

Council gave first and second reading Monday night to Rocca's proposal, which barring any snags will see the developer more than double the number of apartments originally slated for the site at 461 Ellerdale St.

Instead of the trio of two-storey walkups previously approved that would have represented 80 apartments, Rocca would like to build an eight-storey building and two walkups for a total of 168 apartments.

The 3.6-acre property will include 90 three-bedroom units, 48 one-bedroom units, and 30 two-bedroom units.

Rocca believes it will be the largest apartment complex in the city. It will comprise $20 million in investment and should generate $400,000 a year in property taxes, he said.

Rocca plans on completing construction, which has already begun, over the next couple of years, depending on the economy. In particular, Rocca said the high-rise is dependent on Irving Oil's finding a partner for its proposed second oil refinery. Without that news, Rocca will wait and watch the market.

"I don't see more than a six-month time lag between buildings," he said.

Coun. Stephen Chase praised the plans for the building, especially its "curb appeal."

"Build it, they will come. Design it well and they will stay," Chase said.

Rocca said each of the three buildings is meant for a different market.

One of the smaller buildings is "one townhouse stacked on top of another townhouse, that's the concept."

It is not an apartment in the traditional sense, since there are no hallways. Tenants will walk directly into their homes.

The second building will focus on single, one-bedroom apartments, meant for nearby workers in the retail district and workers here temporarily for energy hub projects.

The high-rise, meanwhile, will include two- and three-bedroom apartments of a quality one would expect in a downtown core, Rocca said.

The apartments will also be dog-friendly, with an on-site dog handler a possibility in the future.

Rocca's landscaping is being done by the park-planning firm Daniel K. Glenn, and will include planting areas for tenants.

"By the time we're done with the landscaping, it will be second to none in the metropolitan area," he said