Official Fredericton, NB projects thread

[OliverD]

Here's a rendering of 10 Cornerstone, which is one of the buildings on off of High Point Ridge. This one is 45 units.

Edit: Linking to it since it is a massive image.

https://colpittsdev.ca/images/gallery/Cornerstone.jpg

[NB_ExistsToo]

Originally Posted by OliverD

Yeah, I doubt we'll be seeing any new office space built any time soon.

Salesforce is closing their local office and IBM has abandoned their space in Knowledge Park, which leaves KP5 mostly empty aside from Planet Hatch.

Apparently IBM is also not moving into the new Cyber Centre as originally planned.

The new cyber building will get tenants eventually, the intention and design is primarily for security purposes, not general office work. Servers will still be required and there was mention of labs being built, so a company doing product testing of intellectual property with high level of security may be interested.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by NB_ExistsToo

The new cyber building will get tenants eventually, the intention and design is primarily for security purposes, not general office work. Servers will still be required and there was mention of labs being built, so a company doing product testing of intellectual property with high level of security may be interested.

Sure, but it certainly sucks to lose the premiere cybersecurity company in town.

[cl812]

Originally Posted by OliverD

Sure, but it certainly sucks to lose the premiere cybersecurity company in town.

Are they gone, or just no longer have a physical office space (ie, employees working from home)?

Was out the Hanwell this morning, and there have to be at least 8 or 10 new buildings under construction in the industrial park out there, lots happening (a few relatively large as well). I see why there has been little development in the industrual parks in the city over the last few years, everything is going out there instead. Guessing property taxes are much lower and the location is desirable (immediately adjacent to the TCH). Unforntunate for the city, and I would be curious about water supply issues with all the development in an area with no municiple services.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by cl812

Are they gone, or just no longer have a physical office space (ie, employees working from home)?

They still have a physical office space on Bishop drive, they're just not moving into the Cyber Centre AFAIK.

[cl812]

Thanks, misread your previous post.

[KnoxfordGuy]

Update on the expansion of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery:

[/url]20201109_164502 by James McGrath, on Flickr

[MonctonRad]

I thought I would give you guys this little present (from Huddle).

Fredericton Council Selects Designer For New Performing Arts Centre
Nov 9, 2020 by Liam Floyd
https://huddle.today/fredericton-cou...g-arts-centre/

The replacement for the Fredericton Playhouse will move forward with a $1.1-million contribution from the City of Fredericton for Diamond Schmitt Architects to design the new Performing Arts Centre.

The total cost of the project is expected to cost approximately $45-million. According to Councillor Bruce Grandy, Chair of Fredericton’s Development Committee, the detailed design from Diamond Schmitt will be helpful in obtaining funding from other levels of government for the project.

[OliverD]

Those renderings look great! That will be a great addition to the east end of downtown. Along with the redevelopment of the Centennial Building which will add a new hotel and restaurant and the expanded art gallery, the east end is solidifying its role as the cultural and hospitality hub of the city.

[cl812]

Agreed, hopefully it proceeds. I have my doubts at least in the near term, given the current financial situation of the Provincial and Federal governments I dont see them funding this anytime soon. Also given the PCs in power provincially seems even less likely.

[NB_ExistsToo]

Will they tear down the current playhouse? I assume so, but it's not mentioned in the article.

Also, the CBC article has everyone complaining, which I always enjoy reading

[FreddyGuy]

I like the look of the building but I'm disappointed with the layout. Especially with the proximity to the conference center. I feel space could be much better utilized in order to make the principal theater larger, I'm not sure why it needs so many extra rooms. Spending 45 million for 700-900 seats seems a little crazy. Still not big enough to draw any major acts, we should be thinking about the long term growth, not something that barely suits our needs today.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by FreddyGuy

I like the look of the building but I'm disappointed with the layout. Especially with the proximity to the conference center. I feel space could be much better utilized in order to make the principal theater larger, I'm not sure why it needs so many extra rooms. Spending 45 million for 700-900 seats seems a little crazy. Still not big enough to draw any major acts, we should be thinking about the long term growth, not something that barely suits our needs today.

Presumably the extra rooms are dressing rooms, storage, etc.

The rationale:

Size matters when it comes to venues. Both too much and too little seating can limit options for artists and touring groups.

Extensive research led to this configuration. Nearly 400 people were consulted, including current and potential users, the arts community and business and civic leaders. We considered how the Playhouse is used, missed opportunities, the needs of local users and future trends.

The 850-seat theatre will better position Fredericton among other facilities in the Maritimes, creating more opportunities for commercial touring productions. It is large enough to attract users that currently pass by Fredericton, such as touring Broadway shows, marquee stand-up comedians and commercial concerts.

The 300-seat flexible venue was identified as a pressing need in the community. Local musicians, dance artists and theatre companies – amateur and professional – find the current Playhouse too big and other local venues too small. The 300-seat space is perfect for many emerging artists and smallers touring productions.

[FreddyGuy]

Originally Posted by OliverD

Presumably the extra rooms are dressing rooms, storage, etc.

The rationale:

I appreciate that but I don't see 850 attracting any large acts. The current playhouse seats 709 people and is remarked as being too small, popular shows sell out quickly. The original was built in 1964 when the population was shy of 20,000 people, maybe add another 5000 for the GFA. 25k people. The population is now beyond a 400% increase and yet the replacement is just 21% larger than the original? Don't need a survey to know that's ill-conceived.

Simple as sectioning the main theater into zones with curtains or dividers where it could be cut into smaller sections when not needed and opened up when demand requires it. Shows are infrequent enough that they could be scheduled accordingly. I doubt that both the large and small theaters will hardly ever be in use at the same time.

[Matzel_27]

Originally Posted by FreddyGuy

I appreciate that but I don't see 850 attracting any large acts. The current playhouse seats 709 people and is remarked as being too small, popular shows sell out quickly. The original was built in 1964 when the population was shy of 20,000 people, maybe add another 5000 for the GFA. 25k people. The population is now beyond a 400% increase and yet the replacement is just 21% larger than the original? Don't need a survey to know that's ill-conceived.

Simple as sectioning the main theater into zones with curtains or dividers where it could be cut into smaller sections when not needed and opened up when demand requires it. Shows are infrequent enough that they could be scheduled accordingly. I doubt that both the large and small theaters will hardly ever be in use at the same time.

All good points.

[Matzel_27]

Originally Posted by NB_ExistsToo

Also, the CBC article has everyone complaining, which I always enjoy reading

The outrage always seems to be the same: don't spend money on THAT; spend it on the homeless; fix potholes; don't change/demolish instead preserve; ...

[MonctonRad]

Most other theatres in the region average between 800 and 1000 seats. Both the Capital in Moncton and the Imperial in Saint John would be similar sized to the new Playhouse. The Rebecca Cohn in Halifax is similar and the Neptune is smaller.

For larger concerts than about a thousand, you are starting to get into arena territory, like the Avenir Centre or Harbour Station.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Most other theatres in the region average between 800 and 1000 seats. Both the Capital in Moncton and the Imperial in Saint John would be similar sized to the new Playhouse. The Rebecca Cohn in Halifax is similar and the Neptune is smaller.

For larger concerts than about a thousand, you are starting to get into arena territory, like the Avenir Centre or Harbour Station.

Which is another thing Freddy needs/will need in the nearish future as well, but if it is on anyone's radar, they are keeping quiet about it.

Sadly, too many people only see their pet causes, and don't recognize that the city needs to keep growing in general, and projects like the Playhouse are investments in our future, making the city more appealing for people to come here, income generators and so forth.


And on a different topic, I can see the new building going up at the end of Main Street near the stone bridge. As noted it is a steel frame building, at least for the first floor. They've also been installing sheet metal 'roof' on top of the frame.

I had originally heard that this was going to be a commercial-residential project similar to the building right next to it. But the steel frame is confusing. It doesn't look like a second steel frame story will go on top. Could they be building a wood frame floor on top of the steel frame? If they were to do that, would they put a roof on the steel part before the wood part?

The building is L shaped, going along the road and one leg going back. The corner of the L is not roofed yet, so there is still room for an elevator or stair case to be put through there.

[Smevo]

I don't see the seating capacity being a big issue, as MonctonRad said, but I do wish they did this on a new piece of land as they had talked about earlier.

1) They could operate the current playhouse while the new one is being built.
2) It would allow for more room for deliveries, which could help speed up show set-up and take-down.

I like it from a design standpoint, just not from a logistics one.

[OliverD]

I think you'll have delivery challenges basically anywhere in the downtown core.

I do agree that it would have been nice to retain the Playhouse and build a new one elsewhere. I really did think that putting it behind city hall was the best option. The city already owns that land, and it could have been a catalyst for further developments along Sainte Anne's Point.

As for the capacity, I think we're still a long ways away from being able to justify a larger events centre (in addition to the PAC). It would be nice to have but I think the city has other more important priorities at the moment.