Convention centre project is on time and on budget
Published Wednesday April 22nd, 2009
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BY HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com
Subterranean work will soon yield to structural steel and a big crane as the next big leap occurs in the construction of a downtown east end convention centre, provincial government office building and parking garage.
Shape of things to come: This conceputal illustration from ADI Ltd. depicts what the new convention centre and government office complex in downtown Fredericton will look like.
RISING UP: A construction worker prepares some lumber to be hoisted at the site of the construction of the Fredericton convention centre on Tuesday.
City councillors were briefed on the $79-million project this week by Greg Cook, executive director of special capital projects for the city.
The project cost includes $9 million in tax money the city will eventually claim back from the federal government.
The provincial and federal governments have each pledged $4 million to the construction cost, while the province will pay between $4 million and $5 million per year in lease costs for its new digs.
"We expect the structural steel to be delivered the end of May or the first of June, and the crane will go up once we're sure the flood waters have receded," Cook said.
Contractors had been preparing in case the St. John River spilled its banks and halted work temporarily, but so far that hasn't happened.
"We watch the water levels. We haven't got any water in the hole now, so we're doing quite well... But we're not through (flood season). We're well aware of that," Cook said.
"The crane will go up once we're sure that the flood waters have receded ... It's late June that the crane will come. It will mainly be used for the office tower which is a concrete construction building."
The concrete slabs and foundation walls for all three buildings have been constructed with only a bit more work to complete.
"Right now, we have finished all of the slabs for the conference centre basement, and this week we will pour the last section for the office building. And then we're left with the parking structure portion of the site," Cook said.
"We'll have three pours for that ... We'll kind of work our way out of the hole with the last slab."
The first of a number of environmentally friendly measures associated with the project has been built.
A cistern in the basement of the structure is underway.
"Rain water will be collected from the roof, and it will go into the cistern and be used to reduce the water consumption in the building, so that we don't have to use potable water for the toilet fixtures and the urinals in the building," Cook said.
The six-storey, 16,071-square-metre government office building is the only one that will require structural steel framing.
"Everything else will be reinforced poured concrete," Cook said.
The project is on time and on budget, but there are major contracts still ahead to be called, Cook said.
Downtown businesses appreciate the fact that the work site has been kept tidy and the construction area clean, Coun. Stephen Kelly said Tuesday.
Below the government office building will be secure parking for 68 government vehicles.
The city will build a seven-level parking garage for another 444 vehicles.
Below the two-storey, 6,800-square-metre conference centre will be parking for another 73 vehicles.
Construction of the conference centre will introduce the first overhead and street-level pedways to the city as the office building, conference centre, Crowne Plaza Hotel and The Playhouse theatre structure are interconnected.
There's room for a second downtown hotel with a similar interconnecting link.
The conference centre will have ground floor and second floor meeting rooms with elevator and escalator services.
The main ballroom can be subdivided into four separate rooms or left open.
The kitchen area will be able to serve 1,000 people for a dinner in the ballroom.
The ceiling in the main ballroom will be the equivalent of two-stories.
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Less construction happening in city in 2009
Published Wednesday April 22nd, 2009
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By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com
Fredericton isn’t starting off 2009 with the same heat as 2008.
Construction totals between January and March of this year hit $6.8 million, but that’s down $16.1 million from the $22.9 million for January to March 2008.
In March 2008, construction totals for that month alone hit $15 million.
For this past March, the dollar value of local construction was only $4.1 million.
Mayor Brad Woodside isn’t alarmed and said that considering the global economic downturn, the capital city should count itself fortunate.
Unlike Ontario, where businesses are closing and people are losing their jobs, Fredericton is holding its own.
“This is truly amazing. The growth we continue to have despite all that’s going on around us,” Woodside said.
“We’re doing extremely well with the economic environment that we’re in around the country and around the world,” said Coun. Dan Keenan, chairman of the city’s development committee.
“We’ve got a lot of activity occurring from permits that were actually issued in 2008. The activity is occurring in 2009. You can see that at the convention centre, at the Currie Centre and the Shannex facility that’s being built right now.”
Keenan said there are plenty of projects moving forward in the next few months.
He said it’s still early in the construction year and he expects there’s more construction to be had in the days ahead.
Fredericton has had 40 multiple units added to its housing stock since the start of the year, but only 12 new homes built.
“We feel that will pick up,” said Alex Forbes, director of development services for the city.
The average cost of a single detached dwelling, without the land value, is at $151,000 in Fredericton.
The total value of commercial construction in the city is at $1.5 million, down from the $5 million posted for the same time period last year.
There has been no new industrial construction so far this year.
Last year, there had been $2.2 million posted within the first three months of 2008.
Forbes said $1.5 million of the $2.2 million spent during the first quarter last year was for a new Covey Basics warehouse.
Government and institutional construction is also negligible so far this year.
Last year, the provincial government spent $7.5 million on a new school on Kimble Road and finishing work is continuing this year.
Forbes said the same is likely again this year, but there are major projects lined up for 2009.
List of projects
Here's a list of current and anticipated construction projects for 2009.
Ongoing projects
* 16-unit apartment building at 990 College Hill Rd.
* 19-unit apartment building at Ridgeview Lane.
* Giant Tiger store to open at 1160 Smythe St.
* Renovations to the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital.
* More retail expected at Corbett Centre and Two Nations Crossing.
* Phase 2 of West Hills mall on Brookside Drive.
* UNB Wellness Centre construction is ongoing
Anticipated projects
* Building # 4 at Knowledge Park Drive.
* Shannex Senior Living Complex at Patience and Rainsford Lanes is in construction.
* Downtown convention centre construction continues.
* Southside sports and leisure complex may move to construction in 2009.
* York Manor is expanding.
* Fredericton is looking at construction of a south side fire station.
* Ambulance NB dispatch and operations centre to be built near Cliffe Street.
* A seniors retirement complex is under consideration near Cliffe Street.
* The province is considering replacing the Marysville School.
* 46 lots in Brookside West Phase 5.
* 24 single-detached lots, 10 semi-detached lots and one apartment building in North Brook Subdivision off Brookside Drive
* 40-unit apartment building, 30 townhouses and four semi-detached units at Rainsford Gardens off Sarah's Lane
* 80 townhouse units at 850 Kimble Dr.
* 48 single-detached dwelling lots, two medium density lots at Phase 1 of The Meadows at Neill Farm.
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Residents have concerns about FredRock 2009
Published Wednesday April 22nd, 2009
A6
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com
Sunshine Gardens residents want answers about this summer's first outdoor rock festival in Fredericton.
A neighbourhood meeting as been called for Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Stepping Stone Seniors Centre at 15 Saunders St.
The neighbourhood has invited event organizers, city Coun. Stephen Kelly and city officials to attend to answer questions.
FredRock 2009 is slated for June 19-21, and the show will take place on the infield of the Fredericton Raceway at the Fredericton Exhibition Grounds.
The Black Crowes and Live will be the two major headliners at the show.
Organizers are expected to sell up to 15,000 tickets.
While Sunshine Gardens area residents are used to putting up with the noise, commotion and parking disruptions of the annual Fredericton Exhibition, this could be a different kettle of fish, said Rookwood Avenue resident Chris Baker.
"We had a meeting on April 2, organized by the city, that actually brought some of us from the neighbourhood together with the organizers," Baker said.
"If the event organizers succeed at what they're planning on doing, they're looking at bringing 15,000 people into our neighbourhood on both a Saturday and Sunday in June."
He said he doesn't think the neighbourhood is ready for the noise.
"Parking is always a problem when you have an event like the FREX, but at least with the FREX people come and stay for a couple of hours, they get back in their car and they leave," Baker said.
But with FredRock, it sounds like rock festival participants will come early, park and stay late.
"The first time any of us heard of this event was when it was first reported on in The Gleaner. To date, there has been no outreach from the event organizers to the community ... We had to go," Baker said.
"What assurance do we have that at 11 o'clock the amplifiers get turned off and that sort of thing. We've got kids. We've got elderly people (in our neighbourhood).
"If there's going to be a beer tent and stuff like that, I'm hoping that people are not going to be getting into their cars at midnight."
Organizers say they want to make the event an annual one, but Baker said the community needs a chance to hear first-hand from the organizers and from the city to hear how crowd control, parking, foot traffic noise, and other issues surrounding the event will be handled.
"There's a lot of interest in hearing directly from the organizers and from the city about what their plans are," Baker said.
Organizers Matt Harris, Nick Zildjan and Mike Babineau have been invited to attend.
Kelly said the event application was approved through normal channels.
"We felt this was an excellent group with an excellent plan to hold an exciting event for a festival in the city ... Since the announcement, city staff have been working diligently with the organizers and the community to ensure this event goes off well and that it becomes an asset to the community," Kelly said.
"We have had the benefit of a community response from Sunshine Gardens area, although some of the concerns about having an event of this magnitude and those concerns are eagerly being dealt with by the organizing committee for the event."
The councillor said the organizers are looking forward to meeting area residents to address their concerns.
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This is the same neigborhood that complained that the flag at the superstore was too loud, so not a surprise about this.